How to Build a Joke

Jokes are, along with gossip, perhaps the oldest form of storytelling. At their best, they are an intuitive and unexpected take on reality, but even silly, naive or simply bad jokes fulfil an important function in lightening the load of our existence. 

From a linguistic point of view, jokes are the most sophisticated form of using language; one that connects different levels of our shared knowledge and our ability to communicate, taking them to a higher dimension with beneficial outcomes, both psychological (in joy) and physical (in laughter).

so human

Jokes are also inherently human. Although animals communicate, they do not have the ability to tell jokes (at least as far as we can tell.) Similarly, while artificial intelligence can perform difficult tasks at breakneck speed, a machine has yet to be invented that can make us laugh intentionally.

Anatomy of the joke

The mechanism of a joke, however, is pretty simple: it consists of a setup that establishes some expectation, and a punchline that disrupts it, triggering a response. If the joke is good and the delivery is well done, the response would be laughter. If the joke is bad or the delivery is poor, it could be a smirk, a groan, indifference or puzzlement.

Let’s have a laugh

While cultural differences may apply, a joke that works creates a communal ripple effect. Through a joke, two or more people — the speaker and the listener or listeners — get to share a common cognitive process; often a simple yet absurd interpretation of an everyday situation. Whether you prefer intellectual satire or infantile silliness, having a laugh with someone is undoubtedly a great way to build connections. Ready for some jokes?  

YOU MUST BE JOKING

Telling jokes in a language that you’re still learning is not easy, not least because of the intonation required in effective delivery. A rule of thumb is to tell a joke naturally and with effect. Even if it does not come across as well as intended, you can be pleased that you have attained a sufficient proficiency level in that language to make the attempt!

Did you get it?

So if you want to have a go at telling a typical joke in English, there are a few typical formats you can use. If you make a mistake, however, or if people don’t get the punchline, don’t worry! Just be self-deprecating about it and you’ll probably get a laugh anyway. Laughing at yourself (self-deprecating humour) seems to be a typically British characteristic.

 1. Observational jokes 

These examine everyday things or situations. They are often structured as a question and answer format, where the teller asks the question, pauses to elicit a response, and then answers it him or herself in an unexpected way. For example, comparing two things in the ‘What do X and X have in common?’ format:

— What do Alexander the Great and Winnie the Pooh have in common?

— They have the same middle name!

Or, the ‘What do you call X?’ format:

— What do you call a woman who sets fire to all her bills? Bernadette. 

This is a wordgame, the woman’s name ‘Bernadette’ is pronounced exactly the same as ‘burn a debt’!

2. Situational jokes

These jokes are more like stories, although they are often short and simple enough to be called ‘one-liners’. They introduce a set of characters, a location and an event, and often start with the line, ‘Did you hear about X?’:

Did you hear about the new restaurant called Karma? There's no menu — you get what you deserve!

There is also the classic, ‘A X walks into a bar’ format:

A horse walks into a bar. The bartender asks, “Why the long face?” 

Because horses don’t normally go into bars, jokes such as these have an absurd quality that is humorous from the outset. But, in fact, the punchline is based on the expression 'to have a long face' meaning one has a sad expression. Horses, of course, literally have long faces all the time.

3. Stereotypes 

Unfortunately, many so-called jokes are based on negative stereotypes now known to be sexist, racist or  homophobic. Notably, very few groups are not targeted by one joke or another, although the insult can differ in severity. Most such jokes are the legacy of hundreds of years where people have used humour to internalise what was considered acceptable or otherwise. Here we must proceed with caution, because if a joke marginalises some people then it isn’t funny; one must make sure that the target benefits from the joke. Stereotypes thrive on the ‘How many Xs does it take to change a lightbulb?’ format:

— How many surrealist artists does it take to change a lightbulb?

— Three: two to hold the giraffe, and one to put the clocks in the bathtub.

There is also a wide range of ‘There was an Englishman and Irishman and a Scotsman…’ jokes,  many very long. They play on the apparent differences between the nationalities. Sadly, the stereotype is often that the Irishman is simple, the Scotsman is miserly and the Englishman generally comes out best as eccentric or (at worst) repressed. Most countries have a variation on the format based on prejudice against people from a particular country or region. This can be dangerous. If someone tells you a joke such as this the best response is silence.  

4. Dialogue jokes

In Doctor Doctor jokes, the joke teller plays the roles of both doctor and patient in a dialogue:

— Doctor, doctor! I think I'm a dog.

— Okay, sit down here.

— I can't, I'm not allowed on the furniture!

Knock Knock jokes are a bit more complicated, because the person being told the joke has to participate in the dialogue, too! But the format is easy to learn: 

— Knock, knock!

— Who’s there? 

— Boo.

— Boo who?

— Don’t cry, it’s just a joke!

‘Boohoo’ in English represents the sound of someone crying noisily.

5. The Dad joke

The Dad Joke label is subjective and can be applied to a whole range of infantile jokes. These are the kind of jokes that a father likes to tell his kids, but which his kids find pathetic. Simplistic wordplay is a common feature of the dad joke. For example:

— Which vegetable do sailors hate the most? 

— Leeks. 

A ‘leek’ is a vegetable and also a homophone with ‘leak’, meaning a hole that lets in water.

6.  One-liners

The aforementioned one-liners are the shortest yet usually the most difficult jokes, given their brevity and punch. They usually come in response to something that has just happened, has been said or an image, eliciting another response in a back and forth exchange known as ‘banter’. In the age of messaging and high-speed commenting on social media, it is perhaps this joke format that has thrived the most.