a study on the main features of short jokes and implications for teaching speaking to students of grade 12 at ngoc tao upper secondary school

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv INTRODUCTION 1 Significance of the study Aims of the study Scope of the study Methods of the study Design of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I.1 Humour I.2 The distinction between humour and witticisms I.3 The language of humour I.3.1 The Incongruity theory I.3.1.1 Structural ambiguity I.3.1.2 Unconventional use of language I.3.2 The Superiority theory I.3.3 The Release/Relief theory I.4 Humour competence I.4.1 Joke competence and humour competence I.4.2 Social factors of humour competence 10 I.5 English language and the English sense of humour 12 I.6 Jokes and the use of jokes in teaching English as a foreign language 13 I.7 Ambiguity in language and humour studies 15 CHAPTER TWO: MAJOR LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH SHORT JOKES II.1 Ambiguity in English short jokes 19 19 II.1.1 Focus of ambiguity 19 II.1.2 Proportion in the focus of ambiguity 23 II.2 Further analysis of ambiguity exploited in English puns 24 II.2.1 The ambiguity devices 24 II.2.1.1 Lexical ambiguity 24 II.2.1.2 Syntactic ambiguity 25 II.2.2 Proportion of ambiguity devices exploited in English humour 28 CHAPTER THREE: LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL DIFFICULTIES IN APPRECIATING SHORT JOKES OF NGOC TAO STUDENTS SUGGESTIONS ON IMPLYING TEACHING SHORT JOKES IN SPEAKING CLASSES III.1 Ngoc Tao Upper Secondary School‟s Profile 30 III.2 Linguistic difficulties in appreciating jokes of students at Ngoc Tao High School III.2.1 Attitude of the learners to the humour in speaking lessons 31 III.2.2 Difficulties in appreciating English short jokes of students in Ngoc Tao High School 32 III.3 Cultural difficulties in appreciating jokes of students at Ngoc Tao High School 35 III.4 Suggestions to use short jokes in teaching speaking skill to students of grade 12 in Ngoc Tao Upper Secondary school 35 III.5 Finding 37 PART III: CONCLUSION 39 REFERENCES 41 APPENDICE 44 PART I: INTRODUCTION Significance of the study Discussing about the role of humour in a foreign language class, I must use a saying from Antonio L.Tolsta (2001, p.27) to begin my thesis: “The use of humour makes the class atmosphere more pleasant, increases the interaction among teacher and students, makes learning meaningful and enjoyable, is a useful tool to get students’ attention, motivates learners and most of the time, pleases students.” Loomax and Moosaci (1998) in an article on the use of humour in a university statistics class point out that anecdotal evidence in past studies consistently suggests that humour is an extremely effective tool in education These same studies suggest that that use of humour in the classroom reduces tension, improves classroom climate, increases enjoyment, increases student-teacher rapport and even facilitates learning One reason for using humour is that as a human trait it is a self-effacing behaviour (Provine, 2000) It can allow the shy or timid students in our class to participate with the group If it is used properly, humour allows the students to feel a part of the class and possibly contribute without loosing face, feeling exposed or vulnerable This is of particular importance in a communication classroom where the emphasis is on verbal authentic communication, participation and interaction It is a way of reaching out to those students who are afraid or nervous to attempt expressing themselves in their second language Humour is as human and as authentic as the need to communicate As with other facet of our lives, it plays a major part in every day social interaction We should therefore not ignore it but instead make it of our every day classroom learning The benefit of using humour in the communicative language classroom is undeniable Using humour can play an important part in helping students to relax and encourage them to overcome stress and nerves and make them more receptive to learning Humour can also help to improve the classroom atmosphere particularly for students who are worried about making mistakes or nervous about their speaking abilities It is, however, very important that we learn with our students to laugh “about” mistakes rather than at the people who make them From the above reasons, a question is raised in my mind “What are linguistic features of short jokes Should short jokes be adapted as an extra material in the speaking class to motivate students of grade 12 at Ngoc Tao Upper Secondary School?” Although students may have to overcome the challenges of cultural and linguistic understanding in English short jokes, it is really worthwhile when these jokes bring joy over the classrooms That is why I desire to carry out an experiment on linguistic features of short jokes and their uses in speaking class to motivate students with the hope that I could find out a more effective way in creating interesting learning environment in the speaking class Aims of the study The study is set out to address the following objectives: - To find out some linguistic features of English short jokes - To examine how language activities based on short jokes motivate students in their speaking class at Ngoc Tao Upper Secondary school Scope of the study: The study is confined to English simple puns of various themes The reason for the choice is that puns are typically popular in English humour/witticisms The puns selected for the survey and for analysis are mainly taken from websites and from the book “5000 One-and-Two Liners for Any and Every Occasions” by Leopold Fetchner The informants for the investigation are 40 students from one class 12A1 at Ngoc Tao Upper Secondary School where the author works as a teacher of English These are gifted students who, in my expectation, have better background of English than their partners from other classes So, the generalizations gained from the research may not hold true to every learner of English Methods of the study In order to complete the thesis, the following major approaches and techniques are done:  Firstly, data, including relevant theories and short jokes (puns) for analysis will be collected Relevant theories will be extracted from various linguistic books written by several linguists, such as Alison Ross (1998) (mainly), Attardo,S (1994), Raskin, V (1994), some related topics from the Internet and previous MA thesis English jokes (puns) will be collected from the Internet Source and 5000 One-and-Two Liners for Any and Every Occasions These puns will be provided in the list at the end of this thesis  Secondly, relevant theories will be presented on the ground of several linguists‟ viewpoints  Next, 100 puns selected will be analyzed to work out some linguistic features; each pun will be analyzed in terms of lexical and syntactical features  Finally, based on the results of the analysis, some concluding remarks can be generalized and some implications for improving speaking skill through English short jokes can be proposed So, the methods used mainly in the thesis are qualitative (observation) and quantitative (survey questionnaires for students) Design of the study This research is composed of three main parts Part One, the INTRODUCTION, presents the rational, the aim, the scope and the methods of the study as well as the organization of the study Part Two is the DEVELOPMENT, which consists of three chapters Chapter One: Theoretical background Chapter Two: Investigation of main linguistic features of English short jokes Chapter Three: Linguistic and cultural difficulties in appreciating short jokes Suggestions of using short jokes in teaching speaking skill in a language class Part Three is the CONCLUSION In this part, a review of the study is presented, together with implications for teaching and learning, limitation of the study and suggestions for further studies The study is ended with APPENDICES showing lists of English short jokes and puns taken into consideration and questionnaire PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I.1 Humour Humour is infectious The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle or sneeze When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy In addition to the domino effect of joy and amusement, laughter also triggers healthy physical changes in the body Humour and laughter strengthen our immune system, boost our energy, diminish pain and protect us from the damaging effects of stress Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free and easy to use No one can deny the positive psychological effect laughter may have on human physical and mental state A little smile can “work wonders” to your appearance and for an everlasting youth of the soul It is the best medicine which arouses enthusiasm for work, the antidote for pains and sorrows It makes us tolerance, and keeps us gay and young Humour is considered as a form of entertainment and a form of human communication with its aim to make people laugh and feel relaxed Humour is also considered as a part of culture, ability or quality of a person, enrich the language of a person A sense of humour is variable depending on age, sex, geographical location, culture, maturity, level of education and context However, not only for entertainment is humour created Aware of the psychological impact it can exert on human feelings, people often resort to humour when they want to break the ice in tension situations To warm up the relationship, nothing is better than a good laugh together It signal some sort of solidarity has been established between speakers Actually, the world of humour has a great deal to offer It is a lose-and-gain trip where you can lose tears to gain laughter, lose pain to gain relief, lose sorrows to gain happiness, lose despair to gain hope It is an exploration into the depth as well as the wealth of the human mind, the fortitude as well as the vulnerability of human heart It is a joy ride when you can enjoy a happy smile, when a gloomy mood gets subsided, when you can start a laughing “epidemic” and spread happiness around The humour of a nation or individual is an integral part of that person or nation‟s culture Being the teacher we need to help students to appreciate the humour in order to help them understand the culture and language 10 I The distinction between humour and witticisms Humour reflects the comical aspect of life and points out some inner contradictoriness of a phenomenon, some discrepancy between form and content Humour is intended to excite mirth, it is kindly and tolerant on the whole It usually reflects the entire course of thoughts, that is to say, it is sustained, not concentrated in a few words The linguistic aspects of humour are manifold A kin to humour is wit, a clever and humorous expression of ideas Unlike real humour which is sustained, wit is abrupt and often more biting than humour Many witticisms are based on word play or puns on words The puns is humourous or ludicrous use of words which sound the same or nearly the same or of two meanings of the word I.3 The language of humour “Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be” These words of Hazlitt(1964:285) are true to humour Humour is a term which may be used in both a wide and a narrow sense In the wider sense, it is applied to all literature and to all informal speech or writing in which the object is to amuse, or rouse laughter in, the reader or hearer In its narrow sense, humour is distinguished from wit, satire and farce It is less intellectual and more imaginative than wit, being concerned more with character and situation than with plays upon words or upon ideas, more sympathetic and less cruel than satire; more subtle than farce On the other side, it shades into fancy and imagination, since it concerned, as they are, with exploring the possibilities of unlikely situations or combinations of ideas, but differs from them in being concerned only with the laughable aspect of these imagined situations But what exactly is it about a situation that makes it laughable? We all know that some things make us laugh; but it is very hard to say just what it is that these laughable things have in common Theories of humour (in the wider sense) are attempts to solve this problem They may be divided into three main types: incongruity theories, superiority theories, and release theories A fourth type of theory, which takes the central feature of humour to be ambivalence, a mingling of attraction and repulsion is of minor importance Each theory has its own definition of that humour is and is generalized mainly based on 11 Alison Ross‟s framework These three theories of humour will be one by one discussed in turn The Incongruity Theory focuses on the art of using language while the Superiority and Release Theories have a look at the social aspects of humour I.3.1 The Incongruity theory The context for humour is crucial for determining whether an individual finds something amusing or not Even so, it is possible to examine the features of language that have the potential to make people laugh The incongruity theory focuses on the element of surprise It states that humour is created out of a conflict between what is expected and what actually occurs in the joke This accounts for the most obvious feature of much humour: an ambiguity or double meaning, which deliberately misleads the audience, followed by a punch line “Do you believe in clubs for young people?” “Only when kindness fails.” (W.C Fields) It is reasonable to understand the word “clubs” in the sense of “leisure groups”, but the punch line shows that it was referring to “weapons”, a rubber stick to hit people A dictionary definition of incongruity is “inconsistent; not fitting well together; disjointed; unsuitable”, which all sound like negative terms In Alison Ross (1998), the term incongruity refers to the possibility for two meanings being understood from the utterance This often called a pun The humour will have the following elements: - There is a conflict between what is expected and what actually occurs in the joke - The conflict is caused by an ambiguity at some level of language The punch line is surprising, as it is not the expected interpretation, but it resolves the conflict: “Have you got a light, Mac?” “No, but I’ve got a dark brown overcoat.” In this joke, there is an ambiguity in syntax: the listener interprets the structure as finishing on the noun “light”, with the name of the person added on The punchline shows that “light mac” should be regarded as an adjective + noun unit I.3.1.1 Structural ambiguity The humour based on puns will often involve: + A conflict between what is expected and what actually occurs in the joke which is caused by an ambiguity at some level of language 12 + The conflict is finally resolved with the surprising punch-line, which is not the expected interpretation In Alison Ross (1998), Structural ambiguity can occur in the English language at various levels: Phonology – many jokes are based on the fact that there can be two possible interpretations of the same group of sounds Graphology- the way the jokes are represented in written form Morphology- The same sound or the same group of letters can function as a syllable, a bound morpheme or a word This possible ambiguity in the way that morphemes are used to construct word meanings have been exploited in some examples of humour Lexis-Puns take advantage of double meanings of a word or polysemy Syntax- the way the words are structured into phrases, clauses and sentences I.3.1.2 Unconventional use of language The incongruity of language in use is examined in the four sections on semantic, pragmatic, discourse and register This aspect of incongruity theory refers to metaphor, simile, overstatement, understatement, Irony, tautologies and so on I.3.2 The Superiority theory Very often we laugh at people because they have some failing or defect, or because they find themselves at a disadvantage in some way or suffer some small misfortune The miser, the glutton, the drunkard are all stock figures of comedy, so is the henpecked husband or the man who gets hit with a custard pie We laugh, too, at mistakes: at schoolboy howlers, faulty pronunciation, bad grammar These are all fairly crude examples, but it may be that even the most subtle humour is merely a development of this; and that the pleasure we take in humour derives from our feeling of superiority over those we laugh at According to this view, all humour is derisive The philosopher Thomas Hobbes explains that a person laughs about misfortunes of others, because these misfortunes assert the person‟s superiority on the background of shortcomings of others According to any superiority theory of humour the laugher always looks down on whatever he laughs at, and so judges it inferior by some standard Obviously many varieties of superiority theory are possible, according to the particular standard adopted 13 Henri Bergson (1859-1941) gives us both the clearest and most famous instance of a particular application of the superiority theory Bergson‟s ideal is elasticity, adaptability Hence the laughable is for him “something mechanical encrusted upon the living” The typical comic character, he says, is a man with an obsession, or idee fixe, like Don Quixote, or Moliere‟s miser He is not flexible enough to adapt himself to the complex and changing demands of reality As a typical example of comic rigidity, Bergson cites the story of the customs officers who went bravely to the rescue of the crew of a wrecked ship The first thing the customs men said when they finally got the sailors ashore was: “Have you anything to declare?” Here, Bergson says, we have the blind, the automatic persistence of a professional habit of mind, quite regardless of altered circumstances In other words, the superiority theory assumes that we tend to laugh at the misfortunes of others: it reflects our own superiority Of the three major categories of humour theories, superiority seems the most open to criticism, sometimes even unwittingly by its own purported supporters For example, Ludovicy, a follower of Hobbes, makes the point that not only we laugh when the butt of a joke is a person of dignity i.e someone to whom we may feel inferior rather than superior, but we may even laugh more heartily if this is the case (Monro, p.103) In deed, this could be extended to say that having a position of superiority (teacher, judge, politician etc.) could make people more liable to humorous sniping from below with proportionately greater consequences, based on the principle that “the higher they are, the harder they fall” Yet there is no talk of an “inferiority theory” However, such anti-authoritarianism would at the same time lend at least partial support to superiority theorists as aggression is aggression whatever its source I.3.3 The Release/Relief theory Since humour often calls conventional social requirements into question, it may be regarded as affording us relief from the restraint of conforming to those requirements The relief may be only temporary: a smoking room story, for example, is not usually a serious challenge to conventional morality, but it does enable us to air the sexual impulses which society makes us repress Moreover, people who have been undergoing a strain will sometimes burst laughter if the strain is suddenly removed It may be, then, that the central element in humour is neither a feeling of superiority nor the awareness of incongruity, but the feeling of relief that comes from the removal of restraint 46 REFERENCES Attardo, S (1994) Linguistic Theories Of Humor Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter Austin, J (1975) How To Do Things With Words London - Oxford – New York: CUP Brown, E K., and Miller, J E (1980) Syntax: A linguistic Introduction to Sentence Structure London: Hutchinson Brown, G and Yule, G (1989) Discourse Analysis Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Carrel, A (1997) Joke Competence and Humor Competence Humor 10 (2):173-185 Chapman, A (1983) Humor and laugher in social interaction and some implication for humor research In P E McGhee & J.H Goldstein (Eds.), Handbook of humor research: vol.1 135-157 New York: Spring-Verlag Chiaro, D (1992) The language of Joke: analyzing verbal play New York: Routledge Chomsky, N (1965) Aspects of the theory of syntax Cambridge: M I T Press Clark, D A (1968) Jokes, Puns, and Riddles Garden City, NY: Doubleday Clifton, C Jr., & Ferreira, F (1989) “Ambiguity in Context.” Language and Cognitive Processes, 12,77-103 Croft, W and A Cruse (2004) Cognitive Linguistics Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Empson, W (1947) Seven Types Of Ambiguity London: Chatto and Windus Esar, E (1952) The humor of humor New York: Horizon Ferreira, V.S and Dell, G.S (2000) Effect of Ambiguity and Lexical Availability On Syntactic and Lexical Production Cognitive Psychology, 40 (4), 296-340 Fetchner, L 5,000 one – and- two liners for any and every occasion New York: Kew Gardens Hatch E & Brown, C (1995) Vocabulary, semantics, and language education Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 47 Hill, D.J (1988) Humor in the classroom: a handbook for teachers (and other entertainer!) Springfield: Charles Thomas Publishers Huddleston, R (1984) Introduction to the Grammar of English Cambridge: Cambridge UP Ilieva, R (2001) Living with ambiguity: toward culture exploration in adult second language classrooms TESL Canada Journal 19 (1) Kooj, J (1971) Ambiguity in Natural Language Amsterdam: North-Holland Lampert, & S M Ervin-Tripp (Eds.), The Sense of Humor: Explorations of a Personality Characteristic Humor Research (pp 231-270) New York & Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter Lippitt, J (1994) Humour and Incongruity Cogito 8(2): 147-158 Littlewood, W (1990) Communicative language learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Maurice, K (1988) "Laugh While Learning Another Language: Techniques That Are Functional and Funny" English Teaching Forum, 26/2:20-25 Nilsen, Alleen Pace, and Don L F Nilsen (2000) Encyclopedia of 20th Century American Humor Westport, CT: Greenwood Norman C Stageberg (1968) Structural Ambiguity for English Teachers University of Northern Iowa Oaks, Dallin Structural Ambituity in English: An Applied Grammatical Inventory New York, NY: Continuum Press, 2010 Paul-Emile Chiasson Using Humour in the Second Language Classroom The Internet TESL Journal Retrieved Sep, 10, 2010 from http://itesl.org/techniques/Chiasson-Humour.html Pepicello, W J & Weisberg, R W (1983) Linguistics and humor In P.E McGhee & J H Goldstein (Eds) Handbook of humor research: vol Basic Issues Pp 59-83 New York: Springer-Verlag Raskin, V “Humour and language” The international Enclopedia of Linguistics, Vol Bright, W (Ed) New York and Oxford: OUP, 1992: 180-81 Raskin, Victor, ed The Primer of Humor Research New York, NY: Mouton de Gruyter, 2008 48 Raskin, V (1985) Semantic Mechanisms of Humor Dordrecht, Holland: D Reidel Pub Co Redfern, Walter Puns London, England: Blackwell, 1984 Rod A Martin Approaches to the sense of humour Retrieved Nov, 18, 2010 from www.humoursummerschool.org Ross, A (1998) The language of humor London and New York: Routledge Schmitz, J R (2002) Humor as a pedagogical tool in foreign language and translation courses Humor, (15), 89-113 Strauss, C & Quinn, N (1997) A cognitive theory of cultural meaning CUP Thao, Phan Phuong (2005) A study on historical, political and social background of English humour through English jokes MA thesis: VNU Trachtenberg, S (1979) Joke-telling as a tool in ESL TESOL Quarterly, 13(1), 89-99 Truc, Nguyen Thi Thanh (2004) Major linguistic and cultural barriers to learners of English at Qui Nhon College in appreciating American one-and-two liners MA thesis: VNU Witherspoon, Gary (1980) Language in Culture and Culture in Language International Journal of American Linguistics New York Widdowson, H G (1978) Teaching English as communication Oxford: Oxford University Press Sense of humour retrieved Sep, 10, 2010 Website: http://www.teachingnenglish.org.uk/think/article/sense-humour Syntactic Ambiguity as a Device in British humour Retrieved Sep, 18, 1010 Website: http://biblioteca.universia.net/html_bura/ficha/params/id/35526919.html Websites of English jokes http://iteslj.org/c/jokes-puns.html http://www/ahajokes.com 49 APPENDIX 100 ENGLISH SHORT JOKES/SIMPLE PUNS No Puns Mommy, Daddy just fell off the roof! I know, dear; I saw him pass the window I knew her 40 years ago and she looked just like she looks today: Old She must be 28 years old I counted the rings under her eyes A woman stops telling her age as soon as it starts telling on her A: I wish I had been born in the Dark Ages B: So I You look terrible in the light A: Do you remember when you were born? B: No, I was too young A: What is the worst month for soldiers? B: A long March No one has ever complained of a parachute not opening A: Can you telephone from an airplane? B: Sure, anyone can tell a phone from an airplane 10 A: Do you have any experience in flying? B: I fell out of a window once 11 A: This baby of mine might be a president B: Whoever heard of a baby president? 12 A: what you call your new baby? B: Prince of Wails 13 A: Were there any great men born in this town? B: No, only little babies 14 A: We got a new baby in our house B: What did you with the old one? 15 A: When the baby cries at night, who gets up? B: The whole neighborhood 16 Mum: During the last year my boy has grown another foot Neighbor: Remarkable, on his left leg or on his right one 50 17 Son: Can I go out and play? Mother: What with those dirty trousers? Son: No, with Tom next door 18 A: Men are all alike B: Yes, men are all I like 19 A: Who is bigger, Mr Bigger or his baby? B: The baby is a little Bigger 20 Teacher: Sally, you‟re pretty dirty Sally: Yes, and I‟m even prettier when I‟m clean 21 Stern Librarian: Please, be quiet! The people near you can‟t read Small boy: Why, they ought to be ashamed of themselves I‟ve been able to read since I was six 22 Patient: Doctor, doctor I‟ve broken my arm in several places Doctor: You should stop going to these places, then 23 A: Your dog‟s been chasing a man on a bicycle B: Don‟t be stupid! My dog can‟t ride a bike 24 A: Waiter, will my hamburger be long? B: No, sir It will be round and flat 25 Customer: Do you serve lamb? Waiter: I‟m sorry, sir We don‟t allow animals to dine here 26 My doctor said I should bathe in milk but I couldn‟t get into the bottle 27 A: Do you exercise after a morning bath? B: Yes, I usually step on the soap as I get out 28 A: My wife ran away while I was taking a bath B: I‟‟ bet she waited years for the opportunity 29 A: Can you give me a room with a bath B: I can give you the room but you have to take your own bath 30 A: She is the ugliest girl I ever saw B: Dear, you forgot yourself 31 Every time I meet a beautiful girl either she is married or I am 32 You said your mother is dying and I just saw her at the beauty parlor 51 33 A: Did you ever read a book by Shakespeare? B: No, but I read a book by candlelight 34 A: what‟s wrong, son B: I just had a fight with your wife 35 A: Should women have children after 35 B: No, 35 children are enough 36 A: Are you a college man? B: No, a horse stepped on my hat 37 A: How were the exam questions? B: They were easy but I had trouble with the answers 38 A: I spent three years in college taking medicine B: Are you well now 39 A: How long you cook spaghetti? B: Oh, about ten inches 40 A: Have you been dancing long? B: Yes, since six o‟clock 41 Patient: Doc, I‟m afraid I‟m going to die Doctor: Nonsense! That‟s the last thing you‟ll 42 A: I want to something big and something clean B: Then wash an elephant 43 Why are fish smart? Because they travel in schools 44 Where would you go to see a man-eating fish? A seafood restaurant 45 While fishing I spotted a whale Nonsense Who ever heard of a spotted whale 46 My, the flies are sure thick around here Ah, I see you like them thin 47 I don‟t like the flies in here Well, come around tomorrow, we‟ll have some new ones 48 What flowers make you think of a kiss 52 Tulips 49 What did you have for breakfast this morning Oh, the usual argument 50 Did you have any difficulty with your French in Paris No, but the French people did 51 What is the first thing a gardener sets in his garden? His foot 52 What you grow in your garden? Tired 53 Why should you never tell secrets in a vegetable garden? Because the corns have ears 54 That‟s a nice wallet your wife gave you Was there a bill in it? Yes, the bill for the wallet 55 My doctor told me I can‟t play golf So he‟s played with you too? 56 Do you like my hair? I spent a long time over it Indeed I spend all my time under it 57 I can‟t keep my hair in place Why don‟t you remember where you put it 58 May I hold our hand? No, thanks It isn‟t heavy 59 What has four legs and flies? A dead horse 60 Why are clouds like people riding horses? Because they hold the rains 61 Would you shoot a horse with a wooden leg? No, I‟d shoot him with a gun 62 I can‟t believe he‟s in a hospital Why, only yesterday I saw him with a blonde So did his wife 63 There‟s a man outside with a wooden leg named Smith What‟s the name of the other leg? 53 64 Are you chewing gum? No, I‟m John Smith 65 I love men who are frank Too bad, my name is Joe 66 Please, call me a taxi Okay, you‟re a taxi but you look more like a truck to me 67 Say, aren‟t you hot from the Sun No, I‟m Smith from the Times 68 Doc, I‟m worried My little son swallowed the film out of my camera Don‟t worry Nothing will develop 69 Shall I put the stamp on myself? No, on the letter 70 Can you spell a word that has more than 100 letters in it? Post Office 71 What would you if you were in my shoes? Polish them 72 Teacher: John, give me a sentence with “centimeter” in it John: When my aunt was arriving at the station, I was sent to meet her 73 A: My father is a Pole B: North or South 74 Do you hear about the novelist who lived on the ninth floor of a block of flats? He dropped six storeys into a wastepaper and lived 75 Q Darling, if the boat sank, who would you save first, me or the children? A Me 76 Teacher, to Sam, who had just knocked Mac down: Sam, did you strike Mac in the excitement? Sam: No, sir, I struck him in the stomach 77 A: Some girls think I‟m handsome and some girls think I‟m horrible What you think, Mary? B: A bit of both, pretty ugly 78 Man in restaurant: I‟ll have two lamb chops, and make them lean, please 54 Waiter: To which side, sir? 79 A coed college is a college where the girls go in for facts and the boys go in for figures 80 Q Which story in the Bible involves tennis? A The one in which Moses served in Pharaoh‟s Court 81 Q What‟s black and white and read all over? A A newspaper 82 A friend in need is a friend to avoid 83 A lot of women don‟t care who wear the pants in the family, as long as there is money in the pockets 84 The friendly gardener had a lot of thyme for the woman 85 Stop! You know the school rules – No fighting allowed No, sir, we weren‟t fighting aloud We were fighting quietly 86 Here‟s Miller running into bowl He‟s got two short legs and one behind 87 Many blonde dyes by her own hand 88 Angles can fly because they take themselves lightly 90 A holiday-maker on the farm is inquisitive: “Can you tell me how long cows should be milked?” To which the farmer answers: “They should be milked the same as short ones, of course 91 The court will now stand for Judge Schonorrer-and if you‟ll stand for him you‟ll stand for anything 92 Funny man: Have you heard about the one about the bed? Feed: No, I haven‟t Funny man: I‟m not surprised- it hasn‟t been made up yet 93 Inspector: How many people work in this office? Manager: About half of them 94 One day an English grammar teacher was looking ill A student asked “What‟s the matter?” “Tense”, answered the teacher, describing how he felt The student paused, then continued “That was the matter? What has been the matter? What might have been the matter?” 55 95 Patient: Doctor, doctor, I feel warm and out of breath Doctor: you must have flu Patient: No, I walk over 96 A: Have you hunted bear? B: No, I always hunt with my clothes on 97 A: How can I get rid of my headache? B: Hit your head against a window and the pane will disappear 98 Singer: Did you notice how my voice filled the hall? Critic: And did you notice how the audience left to make room for it? 99 A: If we become engaged, will you give me a ring? B: Sure What your phone number? 100 Wife: Tomorrow is my mother‟s birthday What shall we buy for her? Husband: What does she like? Wife: Maybe something electrical Husband: What about a chair? 56 APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE I Your involvement in pre-speaking stage You find reading short jokes a very interesting II b fairy interesting c not interesting d boring Your attitude toward the use of short jokes in your speaking class Do you enjoy the speaking lessons using short jokes? a If your answer to the question is YES, explain why? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… b If your answer to your question is NO, explain why? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… III Your attitude toward speaking activities exploited from short jokes How much you enjoy speaking activities exploited from short jokes comparing to other types of activities used? a Not at all b A little c Much IV Your comprehension of English short jokes Read 20 jokes and explain the funny point in each of them No Jokes Do you hear about the novelist who lived on the ninth floor of a block of flats? He dropped six storeys into a wastepaper and lived A: My father is a Pole B: North or South A: Did you save anything for rainy day? Funny point d Very much 57 B: Yes, washing my car A: Are you college man? B: No, a horse stepped on my feet A: Should woman have children after 35? B: No, 35 children are enough A: Did you ever read a book by Shakespeare? A: No, but I read a book by candlelight Teacher: John, give me a sentence with “centimeter” in it John: When my aunt was arriving at the station, I was sent to meet her Patient: Doctor, doctor, I feel warm and out of breath Doctor: you must have flu Patient: No, I walk over A: Have you hunted bear? B: No, I always hunt with my clothes on 10 A: How can I get rid of my headache? B: Hit your head against a window and the pane will disappear 11 Singer: Did you notice how my voice filled the hall? Critic: And did you notice how the audience left to make room for it? 12 A: If we become engaged, will you give me a ring? B: Sure What your phone number? 13 Wife: Tomorrow is my mother‟s birthday What shall we buy for her? Husband: What does she like? Wife: Maybe something electrical 58 Husband: What about a chair? 14 15 No one has ever complained of a parachute not opening A: Can you telephone from an airplane? B: Sure Anyone can tell a phone from an airplane 16 A: why cows wear bells B: Because their horns don‟t work 17 A: What bus crossed the ocean? B: Columbus 18 A: Darling, I want to dance like this forever B: Don‟t you ever want to improve 19 A: Why doesn‟t the corn like the farmer? B: Because he picks his ears 20 Yesterday I called my wife “Mary”, which is very embarrassing because her name is Sue V Your attitude toward short jokes Do you meet any difficulty of linguistic and culture in comprehending English short jokes? A Yes B No What factors create difficulty for you to realize humour in the short jokes? (Choose more than one choice) a double sound words b structures What factors you think create the most humour to short jokes? a double sound words b structures 59 APPENDIX Sample material for teaching speaking: DO YOU KNOW? When is an actor happy the show? When he steals the show Why is it impossible to play tennis quietly? Because you can‟t play it without raising a racket How could you help a starving cannibal? Give him a hand When does a patient find an operation funny? When it leaves him stitches Why did the tired man put his bed in the fireplace? He wants to sleep like a dog When are the traffic police strong? When they hold up cars with one hand Why birds in a nest always agree? Because they don‟t want to fall out Why did the burglar take a shower? He wanted to make a clean gateway What you call a happy tin in the USA? Merry can 10 What happened to the thief who stole a kilometer of elastic? He was put in prison for a long stretch 11 When does a boat show its affection? When it hugs the shore 12 Who is the strongest criminal? A shoplifter 13 What are you going to when you are as big as your mother? Go on a diet 14 How can you double your money? Look at it in a mirror 15 How can you make eleven an even number? Remove the first two letters 60 16 Why is a pocket calculator reliable? Because you can always count on it 17 Why cows wear bells? Because their horns don‟t work 18 Why is a room full of married people always empty? Because there isn‟t a single person in it? 19 Why the tiger like to eat raw meat? Because they have no stove 20 why the stone submerged in the water? Because the stone can‟t swim ... short jokes be adapted as an extra material in the speaking class to motivate students of grade 12 at Ngoc Tao Upper Secondary School? ” Although students may have to overcome the challenges of. .. on the one hand, and, for example, phrasal attachment and elliptic phenomena on the other Within the category of syntactic ambiguity, attention will be also dedicated to the fewer examples of. .. the basis of Attardo‟s and Oaks; classifications: lexical and syntactic ambiguity The latter was further divided into class ambiguity and a miscellaneous class of ambiguities, including attachment