Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why English is such a great language for puns

economist.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 80 posts

Re: Why English is such a great language for puns

#31

Post by johan_larson »

vlunkr wrote: post #26
johan_larson wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I seem to recall that young children of a certain age delight in puns, but eventually grow out of it as they find other parts of life and language more fascinating. Perhaps it would accordingly be apt to tell adult pun-slingers to find more age-appropriate humour, as one might point an adult devotee of nursery-rhymes toward more adult poetry.

Yes, they've surely never heard of other types of humor /s

Repetition is sometimes instructive.

Repetition is sometimes instructive.

Repetition is sometimes instructive.

Re: Why English is such a great language for puns

#32

Post by jcoffland »

jcoffland wrote: post #24
nostromo95 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To quote a better man than me: >The assumption that puns are per se contemptible, betrayed by the habit of describing every pun not as a pun , but as a bad pun or a feeble pun , is a sign at once of sheepish docility and desire to seem superior. Puns are good, bad, and indifferent, and only those who lack the wit to make them are unaware of the fact. [0] [0] Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage, 2nd Edition

Those who possess the wit but refrain, are the most admirable.

> Adding wit to a conversation makes it strictly better.

Clearly there are many exceptions to the above assertion. The most common being when the main purpose of the wit is not to entertain but to showcase the punner's cleverness.

Re: Why English is such a great language for puns

#33

Post by Mikeb85 »

jcoffland wrote: post #14

The pun is the lowest form of humor. There is a tendency, especially among educated males of a certain age, to start to feel themselves quite clever. These fellows, in order to demonstrate their cleverness to the world, being to subject their friends and family with an onslaught of puns. If you know such a punner, and you probably do, don't encourage them by saying things like, "I just love how your mind works" or "I…

That's why the worst, most cringeworthy puns are the funniest. Still probably deserve a slap though.

Re: Why English is such a great language for puns

#34

Post by nostromo95 »

jcoffland wrote: post #32
jcoffland wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those who possess the wit but refrain, are the most admirable.

> Adding wit to a conversation makes it strictly better. Clearly there are many exceptions to the above assertion. The most common being when the main purpose of the wit is not to entertain but to showcase the punner's cleverness.

>The most common being when the main purpose of the wit is not to entertain but to showcase the punner's cleverness.

Not to get bogged down by minutiae, but I'd argue that wit and ostentation are two separate things, and that it's certainly possible to practice one without the other.

But sure, I'll concede that some puns are made pretentiously.

Re: Why English is such a great language for puns

#35

Post by ewrcoffee »

Taniwha wrote: post #9
jasonjei wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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"

Chinese here, I agree that it is very easy to have puns in Chinese. But I don't think Chinese find puns very humorous in general (probably it is too easy?), is it more often used to make blessing or satirical phrases.

Re: Why English is such a great language for puns

#38

Post by stephengillie »

jcoffland wrote: post #24
nostromo95 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To quote a better man than me: >The assumption that puns are per se contemptible, betrayed by the habit of describing every pun not as a pun , but as a bad pun or a feeble pun , is a sign at once of sheepish docility and desire to seem superior. Puns are good, bad, and indifferent, and only those who lack the wit to make them are unaware of the fact. [0] [0] Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage, 2nd Edition

Those who possess the wit but refrain, are the most admirable.

A witty saying proves nothing -Voltaire

Re: Why English is such a great language for puns

#39

Post by adrianratnapala »

nostromo95 wrote: post #30
jcoffland wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those who possess the wit but refrain, are the most admirable.

Ha, who said that? Stating your opinion as aphorism doesn't make it true. The application of wit seems to me to only be a positive. Humor brings joy. Adding wit to a conversation makes it strictly better.

Like good hammers, good wit can be used for evil. After it is how we mock people.

Voltaire, in spite of his other good attributes, was a villain in this regard. He could tell lies about opponents, but he would do it wittily so that the opponents couldn't set the record straight without it seeming that they can't take a joke.

Re: Why English is such a great language for puns

#40

Post by Sleeep »

Boothroid wrote: post #7
alphydan wrote: post #2

The 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...

Even governments embrace the pun, I saw this registration plate yesterday - http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Vehicle/ShoreToPlease.htm
Post reply on HN