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English humour, an elusive concept – rather something to bear than to enjoy? Do you understand and appreciate English verbal humour (be it, eg., British or American)? Humour, wit and laughter: a learning objective or even a learning aid? Riddles and jokes of various types, puns and other forms of word play, witty headlines and witty ads or commercials, certain catch phrases or punchlines, graffiti, limericks and other types of nonsense or comic verse: do you find them funny – funny-haha or funny-peculiar? And what about parody and satire, irony and black humour, the grotesque or even the macabre or the absurd? Have YOU ever landed a successful joke in English? Do you enjoy James Thurber’s fables, Roald Dahl’s poems, stories or re-creations of traditional fairy tales? Have you ever read or watched Sue Townend’s novels (or the plays based on them)? And what about Woody Allen’s movies or Shakespeare’s comedies or even tragedies (they contain funny bits as well)? Do you turn the television off when they show a Mr. Bean or Monty Python sketch? Do you follow the famous „soaps“ like „Yes, Minister“, „Blackadder“, „Keeping up Appearances“ or „Little Britain“? Have you heard of „Fawlty Tower“ or „Spitting Image“? Surely, humour is a culturally embedded phenomenon, so what can we learn about (specific aspects of) British and/or American culture when we look at what makes people smile and laugh in another society? – You are welcome to bring in your own favourite specimens of English humour provided they can be dealt with in some systematic (ie. linguistically and culturally fruitful) way in an English language classroom (see also the sample of materials – maybe a bit dated now – in Alexander 1997, pp. 201-209); but some goodies will never lose their value and their fans – and they may constitute part of the cultural heritage of a language community.
Recommended pre-reading:
- J: Alexander (1997): Aspects of Verbal Humour. Tübingen: Narr.
- Nash (1985): The Language of Humour. London: Longman.
- C, Zijderveld (1983): „The sociology of humour and laughter“, in: Current Sociology 31, No. 3, pp. 1-100.
You are expected to attend regularly, use English in class, prepare an oral presentation, and hand in a written assignment by Sept 2017 (if you decide to write it in this area). Please, register with „Agnes“ and the office, UdL 6, room 3011. |
