engleski

Humour in English classes

The paper focuses on the role of humour in the context of teaching English as a foreign language. Humour significantly influences students´ motivation but can also be instructive, since it aids in the acquisition of vocabulary and grammar, thereby helping students recognise linguistic features as outlined in a lighter note. Special attention is paid to jokes based on polysemy, homonymy and homophony and the cognitive processes that make such jokes possible. The paper addresses the issue of polysemic/homonymic/homophonic jokes from the cognitivist perspective. Cognitive science understands homonymy as a result of polysemy, which is in turn perceived as an issue of categorization. Metaphorical extensions of a core word within a category act like multiple, polysemic meanings of the core word. Models of categorization including Rosch´ s prototype model (1978), Lakoff´s radial model (1990) and Langacker ´s network model (2002) of categorization served as the bases of studying the functioning of jokes based on polysemy/homonymy/homophony. The study refers to Nerlich, Todd and Clarke´s empirical study of semantic development of children related to the use of polysemes, homonyms and homophones in jokes and riddles (1998). The initial hypothesis that humour based on polysemy and homonymy relied on the specificacies of the studied languages proved to be right. Humour based on homophony is characteristic for English but not Croatian humour. The main outcome of the study was the finding that differences in conceptualization result in a different use of polysemes and homonyms in English and Croatian jokes, while similar conceptualization leads to a similar use of polysemes and homonyms in humour. Jokes based on polysemy, homonymy and homophony contribute to the establishment of a more relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere in class.

humour ; homonymy ; polysemy ; motivation ; cognitive processes

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