The Linguistic Structures That Make Goofy ‘Dad Jokes’ Funny in Their Own Way

Linguist Patrick Foote of Name Explain looked at the specific linguistic structure behind goofy dad jokes", noting that they fall under the larger umbrellas of anti-humor and puns.

Jokes are one of our most playful ways in which we can use language, taking the regular words of our lexicon and using them in unexpected ways to gain reactions of joy and hilarity. ...Sometimes a joke is received with a groan, a sense of annoyance, and even a couple swear words due to how bad it was. These purposefully terrible jokes have become infamous and live in a league of their own.

Anti-humor incorporates a surprise factor, while puns are a bit more complex. Variations include homonymy (same spelling and sound but different meaning), homophony (same sound but different meaning and spelling), homography (same spelling but different sound and meaning), and paronymy (slightly different sound and meaning).

Most dad jokes instead fall into the second category, puns. ... Puns work in tandem with dad jokes to be an incredible way we use our language. Puns involve us taking words of English and using them in unexpected ways.

The non-linguistic yet incredibly important parts within a dad joke include inoffensiveness and timing.

Dad jokes tend to be clean and not rude down to the fact their main audience is children. So, they tend to be a bit less blue in their content. The other non-linguistic factor in dad jokes is when they are said. Timing is a key factor in the art of a dad joke. They are often said at a time when the receiver really doesn't want to hear a joke.

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The post The Linguistic Structures That Make Goofy Dad Jokes' Funny in Their Own Way was originally published on Laughing Squid.