Tuesday , March 28 2023

Scientists find pleasant English words: Why are they funny?



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That wiggly jiggly poodle simply inqabbdet puffball. Do what makes you giggle and guffaws?

Can & # 39; is that, because those two sentences are flat & # 39; what some scientists in Canada say they are some of the most entertaining words in the English language, according to a new study called "Wriggly, squiffy, lummox and boobs: S & # 39; to make some funny words?" Published in Journal of in Experimental psychology & # 39; in November.

F & # 39; that study, the psychologist of & # 39; University & # 39; Alberta and the author & # 39; Chris Westbury study tried to identify the most entertaining words in English – but also tried to find what made it so funny in the first place.

Those words? Upchuck, Bubby, Boff, wriggly, yaps, giggle, cooch, guffaws, puffball and jiggly.

"The humor is, of course, is still personal," he said in a news release. "Here, do elements & # 39; humor not personal; things that are universally funny."

There are a few theories about why we find things funny. One theory is inkongruwita, saying that when we find things funny lived violate norms or push the envelope, according to the study. Another theory is superiority, saying that we laugh when we see people make bad or feel worse minnna, as in slapstick comedy.

The study & # 39; Westbury individual words supports a combination of both theories. The meaning of the word fits, because sometimes make pleasure to someone or something, and we find that funny.

But its structure is also important: If it seems most unlikely, we find it more fun. He called this effect "snunkoople" f & # 39; previous research about why people had prepared some words more than others. Dr. Seuss was a master & # 39; so, overlapping is not sensitive words like sneedle, humpf humpf-and-a-dumpfer gootch.

For the study, participants were asked to evaluate how thousands were wonderful & # 39; words, and scientists could predict those who were most likely to find funny, according to a news release.

The forecast was based on both a category of speech (sex, bodily functions, insults, swear words, partying, and animals) and as expected the composition. For example, the words with sound "o" long, like "Poot" or "boobs" were more fun than others, according to the study. The double letters and words that end "not" like "giggle" were also winners, according to the Star & # 39; Toronto.

The average distance & # 39; words from all six categories also helped predict whether it was funny.

"This makes sense, because many words that people find funny fall in & # 39; more than one category, such as sex and bodily functions – like boobs," said Westbury in releasing news. "I was amazed at how well we were able to predict judgments."

So why study it? For one, "we are studying the things that are important to us," and that includes humor, Westbury said, according to Global News Canada. But it also said that there are other potential impacts: for example, people come can strengthen our ability to think b & # 39; clear and creative way, according to the site.

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