Analysis of Jokes Based on General Linguistics.

(1)

ABSTRACT

Salah satu bentuk penggunaan bahasa untuk berkomunikasi dengan mitra

tutur adalah melalui jokes atau lelucon. Lelucon merupakan fenomena bahasa

yang dapat dengan mudah dijumpai di lingkungan sekitar kita. Lelucon acapkali

ditemui dalam keseharian karena hal tersebut telah menjadi hal yang biasa

dilakukan manusia.

Dalam lelucon terkandung humor yang dapat membuat orang tersenyum

atau bahkan tertawa. Hal ini disebabkan dalam setiap lelucon terdapat unsur yang

disebabkan oleh perbedaan pemahaman dalam kebahasaan.

Perbedaan pemahaman ini dapat dianalisis melalui ilmu linguistik, yang

dalam skripsi ini, dapat dikaji melalui general linguistics atau biasa disebut

linguistik murni. Linguistik murni dibagi dalam empat tataran yakni fonologi,

morfologi, sintaksis, dan semantik. Teori dari keempat tataran linguistik tersebut

menjadi dasar dalam menganalisis jokes.

Dari hasil analisis yang telah dilakukan, diperoleh temuan bahwasanya

sebagian besar lelucon berkaitan dengan semantik dan sintaksis sedangkan

lelucon yang berkaitan dengan fonologi cukup sulit ditemui, serta yang paling

(3)

APPENDIX

Phonology Morphology Syntax Semantics

(4)

Maranatha Christian University 1

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Human beings are known as living creatures that are full of needs. The

needs are usually classified into two major categories, they are basic and

complementary needs. However, it is an innate tendency for them to always find

ways to fulfil all their needs. Due to the fact that people are social beings, we need

to communicate our needs with others in order to fulfil them. The only way we

can share and communicate with others is through language.

According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, language is defined

as ‘manner of expressing oneself’ (700). Language becomes a system for people

to express their ideas, feelings, and etcetera. Language also facilitates what people

need, which is to exchange ideas with others. Through language people

communicate with one another, and they can socialise with others as well.

According to Crane, Yeager, and Whitman, “language in turn is often said

to help make humans human” (10). In language, we learn a number of things such

(5)

used to communicate with others, so that it can help us to relate with others.

Language becomes a basis for us to make personal and social relationships.

Language itself is divided into two basic forms, the oral form and the

written form. Language in the oral form is used when people are talking.

Normally people are able to use language in the oral form, since it has been

initiated in their early age. Therefore, it has become their habit. There are some

people who are not able to use language in the written form because it usually has

to be learnt from a process of education, and not everyone has the opportunity to

have it.

Sometimes there are words which are pronounced similarly. In other case,

a word may have several meanings. Therefore, there is a chance for

misunderstanding when the word is used in a sentence. These may cause us to

have a different interpretation with the speaker’s or even prevent us from

understanding it, which are the factors that can cause humour. People usually call

such instances jokes.

In Webster’s Encyclopaedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English

Language, a joke is defined as ‘something said or done to provoke laughter or

amusement, as a witticism, a short and amusing narrative, a prankish art, etc’

(770). A joke is definitely part of language. Since a joke is delivered through

language, people can analyse it based on certain theories on language. What is

funny in a joke can be explained in some ways using Linguistics.

Sometimes I find some misunderstandings that occur while I am talking

(6)

understand one another, correcting the misinterpretation for things we have said.

Yet, there are times when we have to think a bit longer to understand why such a

misunderstanding can emerge. It is always interesting to wonder why this happens

and to think about it, and then to explain it in a logical way. These are what draw

my attention and encourage me to analyse jokes. I would like to know not only the

general linguistic areas and the linguistic features that occur in the jokes, but also

the way they makes jokes funny.

In analysing the jokes, I use the theories of the four branches of general

linguistics. I use general linguistic areas since they deal with language properties

independently from any other disciplines and they do not deal with linguistics for

the purposes of application. Besides, they are the basic study of Linguistics. In

order to know which area is likely to have more jokes, I use all four branches in

general linguistics: phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics.

Finally, the source of data that I use is taken from the Internet. The data

which I can gather from it is so unlimited that they vary from one-line jokes to the

long ones, from recent jokes to the old ones, and they are written by different

people, while the data from the other sources are limited.

Statement of the Problem

In this thesis I would like to discuss the following problems:

1. What linguistic feature makes each joke funny?

2. Which area of general linguistics is used in creating the humour?

(7)

Purpose of the Study

In this thesis I would like to show:

1. The linguistic feature that makes each joke funny.

2. The area of general linguistics which is used in the jokes.

3. The way the linguistic feature in the joke contributes to the humour.

Method of Research

First, I gather the jokes from the Internet. Then I read and classify the

jokes into their categories, depending on the causes of the misunderstandings,

whether the misunderstandings deal with phonology, morphology, syntax, or

semantics. Next I analyse the data and finally I draw a conclusion based on the

analysis.

Organisation of the Thesis

This thesis consists of four chapters, preceded by Acknowledgements,

Table of Contents, and Abstract. Chapter I is Introduction, containing Background

of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Method of Research, and Organisation of

the Thesis. Chapter II is Theoretical Framework of General Linguistics used in

analysing the jokes. Chapter III contains the analysis of the misunderstandings in

the jokes. Chapter IV is the conclusion. It contains comments and opinions, as

well as suggestions for further researches. At the end of this thesis is Bibliography,

(8)

CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

Having analysed twenty jokes that deal with general linguistics, I come to

the conclusion that finding certain jokes that can be analysed from general

linguistic area on the internet is quite difficult. It is because there are so many

jokes that seem fit to be analysed with the theory in general linguistics, but

actually they do not belong to these areas. That is why, I have to select them

carefully and classify them into the appropriate areas.

Most of the jokes that I find deal with only one branch of general

linguistics, except for seven data, i.e. data 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 13, and 18, each of

which deals with two branches of general linguistics. There are five cases dealing

with phonology, two dealing with morphology, seven dealing with syntax, and

sixteen dealing with semantics. Table 1 below shows in percentage the areas of

general linguistics used in the data.

Area Percentage of Data

Phonology 22.72 %

Morphology 9.09 %

Syntax 27.27 % Semantics 77.27 %

(9)

Data 3, data 9, data 13, data 18, and data 20 deal with phonology.

However, the funny effect in each joke is not caused by the same factor. In data 9,

the linguistic feature which causes misunderstanding is homophony. The similar

sound of the two words causes different interpretations.

In data 20, the joke becomes funny because of a linguistic feature called

juncture. The phrase a frayed knot and afraid not has a different meaning but they

are pronounced similarly because of the same number of syllable and the sound.

The similar pronunciation can cause a different interpretation.

In the rest of the data, i.e. data 3, data 13, and data 18, the linguistic

feature which causes jokes to be funny is minimal pair. Those jokes become

funny because there are words that are pronounced similarly.

In short, jokes which deal with phonology usually occur because of the

similarity of sounds between words or phrases. It happens because of different

interpretations.

There are only two data which deal with morphology. They are data 5 and

data 11. The cause of misunderstanding in both data deals with a linguistic feature

called bound morpheme. Bound morpheme, which adds meaning to the word such

as in data 5, and which affects the root of the word such as in data 11, causes

misunderstanding.

In short, jokes which deal with morphology are caused by the additional

morpheme that is attached to a word. It may affect the meaning of the word and

(10)

There are seven data in total that deal with syntax. They are data 1, data 2,

data 4, data 6, data 10, and data 22. The funny effect in those data occurs for more

than one cause.

The first cause is the word that can be applied into two sentence structures.

The word may cause people to have more than one interpretation since it can be

applied into more than one sentence structure and causes misunderstanding. It can

be found in data 1.

Another cause is an incomplete sentence that may lead to an ambiguity,

such as in data 2. It is not clear to which the clause refers, so the ambiguity causes

different interpretations.

The formation of a phrase may causes misunderstanding to occur. A

phrase which is formed from two single words may be misunderstood when it no

longer has the same meaning as its original meaning. The formation of the phrase

that changes the original meaning of the words may be misleading, such case can

be found in data 4.

Another cause is the combination of words in a sentence. It deals with

parts of speech. A word in a sentence which can be categorised into more than one

part of speech may cause more than one interpretation; moreover it may have

more than one meaning. This case can be found in data 6 and data 22.

The combination of two clauses may also cause more than one

interpretation. The arrangement of the two clauses may result in more than one

sentence so that it is possible for people to have different interpretation. That is

(11)

In short, jokes that deal with syntax usually occur because of the

arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses that is not very clear so it may suggest

more than one interpretation.

Most of the jokes that I have analysed deal with semantics. There are three

linguistic features that cause a different interpretation. The major cause is most

likely due to a linguistic feature called homonymy. This case leads the hearer to

have a different interpretation from the speaker. The more meanings a word has,

the bigger is the chance for it to be misunderstood. It can be found in most jokes,

i.e. data 1, data 3, data 4, data 5, data 6, data 7, data 8, data 11, data 12, data 14,

data 15, data 16, data 17, and data 19.

In addition, synonymy or words that share similar meaning may also be the

cause for jokes to be funny. Synonymy can be one of the factors for

misunderstanding when it is used in a person’s name such as in joke 13.

Another cause is due to the meaning of a phrase and words. When a phrase

is translated literally, it may produce a different meaning from its idiomatic

meaning. Thus, it will result jokes to be funny since there will be a different

interpretation. Such jokes may be found in data 18 and data 21.

In short, jokes which deal with semantics are mostly caused by the word

with more than one meaning. Thus, it is possible for different interpretations to

occur.

In conclusion, the field which can be explored in analysing jokes is

semantics. It is proved by the fact that more than half or fifty percent of the jokes

(12)

meaning. Syntax is on the second place because it is still easy to play with

sentence, clause, and phrase structures. As is the case of phonology, it is still quite

easy to find since there are a lot of homophones and minimal pairs in English. On

contrary, the field that has fewer jokes is morphology. It is proved by only few

jokes deal with this area since it is not so easy to play with a word formation.

It is possible for jokes to be further analysed by simply focusing on only

one area of general linguistics. Semantics and syntax are the fields in which many

jokes deal with. Those areas are possible to be explored more as field for

(13)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

References

Crane, L. Ben, Edward Yeager, Randal L. Whitman. An Introduction to

Linguistics. Canada: Little, Brown & Company (Canada) Limited, 1981.

Hornby, A.S. Guide to Patterns and Usage in English (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 1975.

Hornby, A.S. Oxford Learner’s Advanced Dictionary (4th ed.). Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 1989.

Leech, Geoffrey. An A-Z of English Grammar and Usage. London: A division of

Hodder & Stoughton, 1989.

McArthur, Tom. The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford:

Oxford University Press, 1992.

Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. New

York: Dilithium Press, 1989.

<http://football.about.com/cs/football101/g/gl_quarterback.htm>

(14)

Electronic Publications

<http://www.comedyexpresstv.com/pg/jsp/general/jotdarchives.jsp>

<http://www.funshun.com/jokes/joke-96-2488.html>

<http://www.gcfl.net/index.php>

<http://www.hiren.info/funstuff/funny-jokes/grounds-for-divorce>

Jokes in English for the ESL/EFL Classroom, A Project of The Internet TESL

Journal:

<http://iteslj.org/c/jokes-short.html>

<http://iteslj.org/c/jokes-long.html>

<http://iteslj.org/c/jokes-puns.html>

<http://www.lotsofjokes.com/short_jokes.asp>

<http://www.mirriam-webster/dictionary/joke>