Linguistics -- Funny Stuff

So many English gags depend on the difficulty speakers of other languages have with our language. Part of that is that so many people, from so many countries, study English -- so we have a lot of different accents to make fun of. (But trust me, English speakers are not alone -- every language is made a butt of some joke, somewhere.)

The fact that speakers of many Asian languages cannot wrap their lips around the English liquids /r/ and /l/ is probably the most demonized of any pronunciation problem. I did my BA in Linguistics and taught English as a Second Language for 12 years, 3 of those in Korea, so pronunciation is one of my interests.

Simply put, English /r/ and /l/ are two completely different phonemes -- two distinct sounds. In languages like Korean, what we hear as /r/ and /l/ are allophones of the same phoneme -- essentially the same sound, used in slightly different ways. To a Korean ear, 'pirate' and 'pilot' are the exact same word. Korean has its own complexities, and if more non-native speakers learned it, there would be (and probably are) loads of gags about how we pronounce their language. Hell, they have 3 completely different phonemes for where we would have the /p/ and /b/. [Fascinating stuff.]

All of that said, one of the funniest (and poignant) elements in the movie Team America: World Police (2004) is the characterization of Kim Jong Il of North Korea, especially his song, "I'm So Ronery":



I saw the movie for the first time this week, and had to watch it again last night 'cause it was haunting me a bit.

Imagine my surprise when this morning in my inb0x is a video of a Korean toddler singing "Hey Jude":



So cute, my teeth are melting.

Have a pun day! (Koreans also do not have the phonemes /f/ and /v/, they use sounds similar to our /p/ and /b/ instead.)

Lori

Uh...Merry Christmas?!

Found this delightful holiday fun over at the Sneeze.

That alone should warn you.

What? Don't know the Sneeze? He's a delightfully twisted, intermittent blogger with a long-suffering wife, a precocious child, and a younger Lil' Sneeze who, so far, is not quite demonstrating much of any father-inherited oddness. (Do not read his Steve, Don't Eat It! series while drinking coffee, as you will laugh it out your nose!)

Anyway, here's a holiday video from a friend of his, Tom:



Oh, Santa!

Lori

Another Reason Canada is Cooler than the USA

In Canada, we have no problems with this poster (and a 18A movie rating):


But in the States, it's an R rating, and the Immortal Mr. Smith had to settle for this poster:

The official site is right here...

(Pictures lifted off WorstPreviews.com, where you can also see trailers and clips.)

Kevin Smith, you're my hero. Don't stop making movies...well, unless you stop being funny.

Lori

The Reason I Could Never be a Photojournalist:

more animals


Lori

A Pie Chart for Procrastination

This guy is funny...if a calm nerdy guy can be funny with a flipchart...

But he is!!



Watch all the way through...fascinating stuff you've never really contemplated before!

Lori

What's funny?

Since university, my answer has always been "Three rocks." 'Tis a Zippy the Pinhead reference which seems silly now. (The official Zippy website is the most blatantly commercial site I've ever seen -- you can't really look at a strip without buying it. Go and see who Zippy is, then leave. We can't be encouraging that kind of shite.)

What's the line? Humour is pain + time? Does that explain why this is funny:?

We recently went to see a traveling group doing The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), the intensely funny play by the Reduced Shakespeare Company. The warning from the website reads:

This show is a high-speed roller-coaster type condensation of all of Shakespeare's plays, and is not recommended for people with heart ailments, bladder problems, inner-ear disorders and/or people inclined to motion sickness.

Well, this group from the Kootenays did a brilliant job of it -- three of the most physical and naturally funny guys I've ever seen. One of them, who happened to be Jewish, was even able to throw in a joke about concentration camps.

Huh?

Well, you know I won't be trying that soon...

Lori