Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3
#122762 02/12/04 04:39 AM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 137
L
member
OP Offline
member
L
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 137
In a class that I'm taking we were told that punning was a strictly western phenomenon. English being one of the few languages in which it's possible. German and Japanese being examples given in which it's not possible. Opinions? If we were discussing in Russian would Ted be... Ted?


#122763 02/12/04 06:35 AM
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475
J
veteran
Offline
veteran
J
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475
Rubbish. I was told a Sanskrit pun by an Indian professor. Japanese and Chinese lend themselves easily to punning. (Jiguchi is the Japanese word for pun.) I've heard puns and even told one in German. The people they have teaching today. Really.


#122764 02/12/04 07:34 AM
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
There are several examples of puns in the Tanakh, from memory Jeremiah uses quite a few.


#122765 02/12/04 07:41 AM
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 81
J
journeyman
Offline
journeyman
J
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 81
I would have thought that every language in the world had punning and word-play. The Sumerians punned in the Epic of Gilgamesh.


#122766 02/12/04 11:23 AM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Not to mention that punning is an important element of haiku.


#122767 02/12/04 01:44 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
W
wow Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
In a class that I'm taking we were told that punning was a strictly western phenomenon.
Which just goes to show you ya gotta challenge everything!
Read "Mau Mauing the Flack Catchers" by the guy who wrote "The Right Stuff" and whose name escapes me at the moment. It's a very short essay thing that I recommended to all reporters.


#122768 02/12/04 08:59 PM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
That'd be Tom Wolfe, methinks.


#122769 02/12/04 10:39 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 137
L
member
OP Offline
member
L
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 137
An important element of haiku, this I don't remember ever knowing. Maybe the puns have been lost on me in the translation. My japanese is limited to greetings and apologizing for not knowing japanese on the phone.


#122770 02/12/04 11:23 PM
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Nope. Ted would be Fyodor, or the bad smell coming from taking an illegal bribe.

Puns are, I imagine, ubiquitous. Romans and Greeks were quite fond of them. Semper ubi sub ubi.

Some of you will remember the almost rancorous discussion we had after I posted a reward for a joke that was (a) not a pun and (b) had no butt of the humor. Humor begins with puns.

Try telling a joke to a six-year-old. The ONLY thing they laugh at it puns. It's only later, when they become aware of sarcasm, hatred, malice, etc., that they begin to understand jokes that are not word plays.

I've always maintained that the maturity of a race or ehtnic group can be judged somewhat reliably by the self-deprecation of their humor. To perhaps stereotype a bit, Jews REALLY know how to laugh at themselves and certainly do not mind others telling Jewish jokes. Until recently, the same could not be said of, for example, blacks and Hispanics.

But as these groups become more aware of themselves and more comfortable with themselves, they are able to laugh at their own stereotypes.

Note that these are generalizations based on my own empirical observations.

Parenthetically, I've noticed that the more conservative Christians aren't there yet. I made the mistake recently of telling this joke where there was such a person present:

A Texan was sitting next to a born-again Christian on an airplane. The flight attendant brought the Texan a double whiskey neat and inquired of his seatmate if he would like a drink. The Christian drew back: "I'd sooner be raped by a thousand prostitutes than have liquor cross my lips."

The Texan handed the drink back to the flight attendant. "Hell, ma'am, take this away, I waren't aware we had a choice."

The person I told this joke to told me in no uncertain terms that I was going to Hell!

Oh well. At least I'm gonna be in good company.



TEd
#122771 02/12/04 11:27 PM
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Z
Zed Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Z
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
And the Isrealites in old testament times used to take enemy's names and replace them with phonetically similar insults. I forget which king was renamed Dog's Vomit.
Effective resistance technique as the enemy would just think you were having trouble pronouncing his name.



Page 1 of 3 1 2 3

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,271
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 397 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,502
LukeJavan8 9,915
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5