Phonetics and Phonology: Which English Sounds Are Funny, and Why
Words like “snap,” “crackle” and “pop” are funny because they are onomatopoeic. In Germany, these words become “schnap,” “Krakkle,” und “Popp.” In Japanese, the words become “Pichi,” “Pachi,” “Puchi” with the final vowels being voiceless. Words like “Twinkie” and “marshmallow” are funny not only because they sound funny, but also because the thing itself actually looks funny. The Pillsbury Doughboy is funny for the same reasons. Words containing plosive sounds, like p, b, t, d, k, and g tend to be funny, because these sounds “explode” into the word. Since the letters Q, J, Z, X, V, and K are the least used letters in English, they appear as unusual, and often funny.
In Star Trek: The Next Generation, “The Outrageous Okona” features Joe Piscopo as a comedian who is teaching Data about humor. He explais that words ending in k are funny. In an episode of King of the Hill entitled “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Clown,” Bobby takes a college class on clowning and later tells Hank that he has learned that “k” is a funny sound. In the Dilbert comic strip, Dilbert uses his computer to find the funniest words in English. They are chainsaw, weasel, prune, and Gilligan’s Island. In 30 Rock, Dr. Leo Spaceman says that “kidney” is a funny word and that it is the k sound that makes him giggle. Later, Jenna accuses Liz Lemon of not giving her any lines with k sounds, and Peter Hornberger responds with “Oh m God. My cousin Karl crashed his car. And now he is in a coma at the Kendall Clinic.”
Other funny words include “wool,” “titter” and “bamboozle.” There are also funny numbers. In Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 42 is funny because it is “an ordinary, smallish number.” But it is also the meaning of life, the universe and everything. In Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows, it is determined that the number 32 is the funniest number, because it is the transposition of 23, which is the number of the floor on which Your Show of Shows was written. On the Dick Van Dyke Show, Buddy says “32 has always been a funny number. I hear 32; I get hysterical.” Weird Al Yankovic considers 27 to be a funny number and encorporates it into his parody songs and videos. In How I Met Your Mother, Barney Stinson uses 83 in his made-up statistics because 83 is funny.
Don and Alleen Nilsen “Humor Across the Academic Disciplines” PowerPoints:
https://www.public.asu.edu/~dnilsen/
Rifka: You're absolutely correct. The African accent and African culture have brought much excellent humor into the English language. Here is a PowerPoint about "African-American Humor." Enjoy!
In the context of humor, certain English sounds can be perceived as funny due to a variety of linguistic, psychological, and cultural factors. Here are some key points to consider for a research study on why certain English sounds are perceived as funny:
1. Phonetic Properties
- Plosives (Stop Consonants): Sounds such as /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, and /g/ often appear in humorous contexts. These sounds involve a sudden release of air pressure, which can create a surprising and amusing auditory effect.
- Nasal Consonants: Sounds like /m/ and /n/ can also be funny, especially when exaggerated, due to their resonance and the vibration they produce.
- High Front Vowels: Vowels like /i/ (as in "bee") and /ɪ/ (as in "bit") can sound amusing because of their high pitch and perceived "squeaky" quality.
Nisar: Well stated. In my phonology classes I have fun making all of my sounds nasal (as if I had a cleft palate), then none of my sounds nasal (as if I had a cold in my nose). Then I demonstrate the difference between whispering and talking softly, saying that if you don't know the difference, you're annoying everyone in church.
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