Why English is such a great language for puns
economist.com
Why English is such a great language for puns
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Re: Why English is such a great language for puns
#2The article provides no evidence about why English, specifically, is great for puns.
>> . It has a large vocabulary and a rich stock of homophones from which puns can be made
Ok. What about the other 6000 languages? Do they have more/less homophones. French sure has a ton of them.
>> It is constantly evolving, with new words being invented and old ones given fresh meanings
Yes, like any other language.
>> And it is mostly uninflected, allowing for verbs and nouns to switch places
Good. But other languages, like German, can keep the suspense until the end of the sentence (where the verb is located), ending the sentence in an unexpected twist. So is this a distinct advantage? Is it so unique?
>> it has no gendered nouns
You would think languages with lots of declinations allow for smart puns too, right?
It seems it has been written by an English speaker with little knowledge of any other language.
Re: Why English is such a great language for puns
#3The article provides no evidence about why English, specifically, is great for puns. >> . It has a large vocabulary and a rich stock of homophones from which puns can be made Ok. What about the other 6000 languages? Do they have more/less homophones. French sure has a ton of them. >> It is constantly evolving, with new words being invented and old ones given fresh meanings Yes, like any other language. >> And it is m…
I like reading TE, but articles about countries other than the US or the UK always give me the impression that they simply cannot fathom that people think differently in other cultures.
Re: Why English is such a great language for puns
#4The article provides no evidence about why English, specifically, is great for puns. >> . It has a large vocabulary and a rich stock of homophones from which puns can be made Ok. What about the other 6000 languages? Do they have more/less homophones. French sure has a ton of them. >> It is constantly evolving, with new words being invented and old ones given fresh meanings Yes, like any other language. >> And it is m…
I like reading TE, but articles about countries other than the US or the UK always give me the impression that they simply cannot fathom that people think differently in other cultures.
You’re being charitable- they give the impression that they think those other cultures are wrong
Re: Why English is such a great language for puns
#5The article provides no evidence about why English, specifically, is great for puns. >> . It has a large vocabulary and a rich stock of homophones from which puns can be made Ok. What about the other 6000 languages? Do they have more/less homophones. French sure has a ton of them. >> It is constantly evolving, with new words being invented and old ones given fresh meanings Yes, like any other language. >> And it is m…
Also to note is pictograph based languages allow for visual puns/jokes.
Re: Why English is such a great language for puns
#6The article provides no evidence about why English, specifically, is great for puns. >> . It has a large vocabulary and a rich stock of homophones from which puns can be made Ok. What about the other 6000 languages? Do they have more/less homophones. French sure has a ton of them. >> It is constantly evolving, with new words being invented and old ones given fresh meanings Yes, like any other language. >> And it is m…
Chinese also is a great language for puns. I was in Taipei a few weeks ago and saw a restaurant named 糖朝 (tangchao, Sugar Dynasty), when most people would expect to see 唐朝 (tangchao, Tang Dynasty).
In addition, many cultural sayings are based off "puns." For example, 年年有餘 (nian nian you yu, year after year there will be a surplus) is a common saying during the Chinese New Year. However, many families eat fish (魚, yu, fish) during the Chinese New Year because it sounds like surplus. And so, 年年有餘 is sometimes rendered 年年有魚 (nian nian you yu, year after year there will be fish).
Re: Why English is such a great language for puns
#7The article provides no evidence about why English, specifically, is great for puns. >> . It has a large vocabulary and a rich stock of homophones from which puns can be made Ok. What about the other 6000 languages? Do they have more/less homophones. French sure has a ton of them. >> It is constantly evolving, with new words being invented and old ones given fresh meanings Yes, like any other language. >> And it is m…
I think the vocab has a fair amount to do with it - for example I understand English is far broader than Spanish. Don't forget also that our tabloid press are hooked on puns and word play: http://www.shortlist.com/news/the-60-greatest-newspaper-head...
Re: Why English is such a great language for puns
#8The article provides no evidence about why English, specifically, is great for puns. >> . It has a large vocabulary and a rich stock of homophones from which puns can be made Ok. What about the other 6000 languages? Do they have more/less homophones. French sure has a ton of them. >> It is constantly evolving, with new words being invented and old ones given fresh meanings Yes, like any other language. >> And it is m…
I can't read the article because I'm at my limit for free Economist articles this week.
Does the article assert that English is the only language that is great with puns or is noticeably better than other languages at puns? That's what your points are addressing. The title only implies that English is great for puns, saying nothing about whether or not others are too.
Re: Why English is such a great language for puns
#9The article provides no evidence about why English, specifically, is great for puns. >> . It has a large vocabulary and a rich stock of homophones from which puns can be made Ok. What about the other 6000 languages? Do they have more/less homophones. French sure has a ton of them. >> It is constantly evolving, with new words being invented and old ones given fresh meanings Yes, like any other language. >> And it is m…
Chinese also is a great language for puns. I was in Taipei a few weeks ago and saw a restaurant named 糖朝 ( tangchao , Sugar Dynasty), when most people would expect to see 唐朝 ( tangchao , Tang Dynasty). In addition, many cultural sayings are based off "puns." For example, 年年有餘 ( nian nian you yu , year after year there will be a surplus) is a common saying during the Chinese New Year. However, many families eat fish (…
I had a conversation with someone in Taipei once, asking them if they had puns in Mandarin, after explaining what's puns were he said "oh no", which mystified me because just about every word has different meanings by changing the tone on the vowel ... When I asked about that it was "oh yes we do that all the time"
Re: Why English is such a great language for puns
#10Vietnamese humour is remarkably focused around puns and other word-play, much more so than American humour. The reason is presumably because Vietnamese has a ton of homophones, and even more words that differ by only one vowel or tone.
(this makes learning Vietnamese a kind of trying experience, as every mispronunciation is a source of hilarity for native speakers :) )