Why do we think something is funny enough for us to laugh or smile or feel something?
What is funniness?
The word "funny" is an American derivative of the word fun and probably means something strange or odd.
What is it in a joke that we find funny? the situation,tragedy,words used,imagery,irony or a complex interplay of all and more of this stuff that makes us think it to be funny.
Even more than that, what does funny mean to our brain? Interesting topic. I know there are courses which deal with humour in an academic way but if anybody has any idea what they think is funny,let me know.
Funnily enough, (pun unintended) the word "joke" is older than the word funny. It seems to be derived from Latin. See this for the exact etymology.
Showing posts with label etymology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label etymology. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 29
Thursday, May 24
Scrivening Day 9
Having received critical emails from SG like"Put page numbers" in a rather exasperated tone and an even scarier "I cant send you the corrections in an email. I need to talk to you about it", my mood has slowly been deflated through the day. However, I think I have possibly figured out my next paper and only need to find the data to fit the figures. I sort of know what I want to write but have to critically analyse the data to allow me to write the paper.
Hopefully, my written paper forms Ch.3 and 6 of thesis and this second paper should cover Ch.4,5,7 and half of 8. So, I reckon if I can get this done then my thesis is half way there. The main difficulty in any paper is to get the figures just right. Having spent so much time writing, I sometimes look at words and wonder how they came about.
For example, the word "also", almost looks like a random mix of four letters. Etymology: [Middle English, from Old English ealsw
: eall, all; see al-3 in Indo-European roots + sw , so; see so1.] I sometimes forget how to spell words when I am in a fugue like state and "also" is one of those words which I often stare at wondering...
Another good example is "figure". Break it up fig + ure doesn't really make sense. fi+gu+re doesn't make sense. I was incessantly writing the word today and suddenly it appeared rather odd. So, I tried to look for its roots. It turns out that it is not a very old word. It comes from the Latin meaning shape or form and its other meanings like figurehead come from sailing terminology for figure on the bow of a ship. Interestingly, its scientific use as I seem to be using it often, is a Latin translation of the Greek word "skhema".
My google home page has a word a day from Merriam Webster dictionary and Dictionary.com. Merriam Webster usually has interesting, less commonly used words and gives a etymological history of the word while Dictionary.com seems to be educating those among us who have not done Barron's GRE word list.I still have to check out Wiktionary and the Free Online Dictionary which seem much better sources to improve my vocabulary and satisfy my curiosity.
What I find most annoying in my quest for arcane and antiquated vocabulary is a good online thesaurus. If anyone finds one other than the difficult Roget's online Thesaurus,let me know.
Hopefully, my written paper forms Ch.3 and 6 of thesis and this second paper should cover Ch.4,5,7 and half of 8. So, I reckon if I can get this done then my thesis is half way there. The main difficulty in any paper is to get the figures just right. Having spent so much time writing, I sometimes look at words and wonder how they came about.
For example, the word "also", almost looks like a random mix of four letters. Etymology: [Middle English, from Old English ealsw
: eall, all; see al-3 in Indo-European roots + sw , so; see so1.] I sometimes forget how to spell words when I am in a fugue like state and "also" is one of those words which I often stare at wondering...Another good example is "figure". Break it up fig + ure doesn't really make sense. fi+gu+re doesn't make sense. I was incessantly writing the word today and suddenly it appeared rather odd. So, I tried to look for its roots. It turns out that it is not a very old word. It comes from the Latin meaning shape or form and its other meanings like figurehead come from sailing terminology for figure on the bow of a ship. Interestingly, its scientific use as I seem to be using it often, is a Latin translation of the Greek word "skhema".
My google home page has a word a day from Merriam Webster dictionary and Dictionary.com. Merriam Webster usually has interesting, less commonly used words and gives a etymological history of the word while Dictionary.com seems to be educating those among us who have not done Barron's GRE word list.I still have to check out Wiktionary and the Free Online Dictionary which seem much better sources to improve my vocabulary and satisfy my curiosity.
What I find most annoying in my quest for arcane and antiquated vocabulary is a good online thesaurus. If anyone finds one other than the difficult Roget's online Thesaurus,let me know.
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