(20)(In the window of a hearing-aid shop) “Trust us. Over 5,000 ears of experience.”
(21) “Waiter! This coffee tastes like mud!”
“Well, sir, it was ground only a few minutes ago.”
Here in these two examples the humorous effect is produced due to the special features of English language. In Example (20) the advertisement for a hearing-aid instrument means that over 5,000 “years” of experience can make the customer trust them. The word “ears” is the homophone of “years”. The advertisement sentence combines two aspects of information, which includes the long history of over 5,000 year of the hearing-aid instrument and a large number of customers have experienced it with their own “ears”. Also in Example (21) the amusement is caused in the same way. The past participle of the verb “grind” is “ground”, which is the homonym of the noun “ground”. The humor created by English language in this way can not be expressed by other languages, so it can not be translated into proper Chinese without losing its fun.
2.3 The pragmatic analysis on the functions of English humor
The significance of humor may easily be neglected by most of the people. But if people note their actual behaviors, think what they actually value and experience, they will observe that humor is often the most important thing in our lives. If one had everything else he wanted, but without humor his world would still be dreary. Imagine, for example, a marriage or a job without any humor, they would be intolerable and oppressive. Humor provides people with the quality of their lives. It is seen to involve adjustment, happiness, hope, intelligence, joy, and love. Here, some main uses of humor are classified.
2.3.1 Providing amusement and eliminating embarrassment
The basic function of humor is providing amusement. Humor can bring about laughter and smile, which give people a lot of enjoyment. It is an invisible bridge to shorten the gap existing between people. We might all have this experience--- when we met someone new, normally at first both sides were not so outspoken to each other or even a little bit nervous. Then if a humor was introduced and well recognized, the talking atmosphere would become more relaxing right away. Abraham Lincoln was well-known for his sense of humor. When he had an interview, usually he would start to talk with a joke or a funny story, which not only broke the ice but also helped the nervous visitor relax soon.
Additionally, humor is also a good way to make people out of trouble. When facing embarrassment, we always fail by dealing with it in a normal way. But if we try to employ some humor, the result may quite different. For example:
(22) “Waitress,” shouted the impatient diner, “do I have to sit here and starve all night?”
“No, sir, we close at nine o’clock.”
In Example (22), it’s no doubt that the customer was extremely dissatisfied with the restaurant’s service. The waitress’s service was so slow. The customer had waited for a quite long time. Maybe the waitress was not feeling so well that day, or she got angry with somebody or at something, or she was so busy to serve the rest customers, or the other reasons. She didn’t offer timely service to the customer. When the customer finally got impatient and expressed his complaint, the waitress knew that it’s her fault to neglect a customer. But we say she was cute enough. When the customer politely and tactfully hinted her, she comforted the customer by deliberately understanding the customer’s words on his locutionary act. She would not make him stay so long. The business hour was not all-day round. Even though the customer was angry, he had no excuse to blame the waitress. Of course, the waitress would notice her fault and quickly give the customer service. But really her humor did her great help.
2.3.2 Defending oneself
In interpersonal communication, one might be mocked by others by saying something or doing something. A proper humor can not only prevent a potential conflict, but also properly defend oneself. Here is a story happening between George Bernard Shaw and Winston Churchill:
Before the opening of his new play, George Bernard Shaw telegrammed to Winston Churchill: “Have reserved two tickets for first night. Will come and bring a friend if you have one.” Churchill wired back, “Impossible to come to first night. Will come to at the second night, if you have one.”
In this story, Bernard Shaw’s joking remark implied that Churchill had no friend, and Churchill’s answer indicated that Shaw’s play was not good and couldn’t have the chance for another performance, which successfully defended his own dignity and appropriately counter attacked. Here has another interesting story concerning self- defense.
(23)A cowboy rode into town and stopped at a saloon for a drink. Unfortunately, the locals always had a habit of picking on strangers. When he finished his drink, he found his horse had been stolen. He went back into the bar, handily flipped his gun into the air, caught it above his head without even looking and fired a shot into the ceiling. “Which one of you sidewinders stole my horse?” he yelled with surprising forcefulness. No one answered. “Alright, I’m gonna have another beer, and if my horse ain’t back outside by the time I finish, I’m gonna do what I have done in Texas! I don’t like to have to do what I have done in Texas!”
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