Joke
" Whether it is used in the process of making new friends or breaking the ice at parties and business meetings, having a good sense of humour and the ability to crack a joke is an asset to social interaction.
Laughing at a person who slips on a banana skin or who receives a cream pie in the face are things most humans snigger at once in a while. Whether or not it is mature or moral to laugh at others, we just can’t help ourselves.
A drunken man falls on his bottom, and we laugh before we run to his aid. It is the wicked side of human nature, but a side which also keeps us sane. If we don’t laugh, we go mad.
Therefore, it is an important part of learning a language and understanding a different culture that we come to grips with the jokes, gaffes, pranks and all manner of witty asides which we may encounter.
Aside from the rather more slapstick events which we find amusing, jokes or amusing comments can help others to warm to us.However, there is also unintentional humour, such as presented in the speeches and utterances of President George W. Bush, a political buffoon who is so renowned for his cornucopia of rhetorical blunders that his detractors have coined the term “Bushisms” to describe his unending verbal bloopers.
“They misunderestimated me.”
“More and more of our imports come from overseas.”
“The illiteracy level of our children are appalling.”
“I know the human being and fish can co-exist peacefully.”
Whilst I am certain that poor old President Bush did not intentionally refer to a possible war with hostile tuna or that he believed imports were a domestic American product, he had in fact produced very funny statements.
Error-ridden English on signposts and notices is usually referred to as “Chinglish” or Chinese-English, despite the fact that such signs and notices can be found across the entire continent of Asia.Common “Chinglish” blunders are:
“Have a dog”, instead of “Beware of dog”.
“Deformed man toilet”, instead of “Disabled toilet”.
“Slip and fall down carefully”, instead of “Watch your step”.
Aside from Chinglish, there is also “Manglish” or Malaysian-English, which sometimes causes confusion and laughter for English tourists. In KL, a tourist may be confused by the ubiquitous hair saloon signs on barber shops, a saloon being a place where cowboys usually get drunk rather than the salons where hairdressers practise their art.
Another funny bit of Manglish is the use of “can” and “cannot” in place of “yes” and “no”. Much to my horror, I once had a counter assistant in Kajang KFC ask me if I wanted breast cancer! I was shocked to think that KFC had added such a fatal condition to its previously harmless menu. Of course, what he actually said was “breast (chicken) can, Sir?”, meaning did I want a breast of chicken or a leg of chicken.
I laughed out loud when I realised what he meant, but managed to contain myself until I had left the premises. Otherwise, I might have offended the polite and helpful counter assistant, who after all was doing me the honour of speaking my language and not his own. "
Have a laugh,
Break the ice,
Let us laugh,
So that we are not mad.
Comments