Lexical Ambiguity and Verbal Humor in Some English Jokes and Riddles

Abstract

Linguistic ambiguity is a pervasive phenomenon in language. It occurs when a word, phrase, or sentence has more than one meaning. Although it is often considered a problem since it may cause confusion and hinder the precise understanding of language, it has its own value. Linguistic ambiguity enriches language and produces positive effects such as creating irony and adding a sort of humor. This study focuses on how lexical ambiguity, one type of linguistic ambiguity, can be a source of verbal humor. The data of the study are 20 examples of jokes and riddles that are taken from three internet sites; each example relies on lexical ambiguity. The data are analyzed to identify the words that contain lexical ambiguity in the selected jokes and riddles, classify them into the forms of lexical ambiguity, i.e. homonymy with its three sub-types (absolute homonymy, homophone and homograph) and polysemy showing the frequency of each form, and illustrate how lexical ambiguity can create a sort of humor in the light of the Incongruity Theory of humor. The results of the data analysis show that lexical ambiguity can create verbal humor according to the Incongruity Theory of humor. Also, it reveals that the ambiguous words involved in the selected jokes and riddles are of the two forms of lexical ambiguity, i.e. homonymy and polysemy and that homonymy is the most frequently used form of lexical ambiguity whereas polysemy is the least. Keywords: Lexical ambiguity, Verbal Humor, Absolute Homonymy, Homophone, Polysemy