*This study was mentioned in Vice Ganda's page in Wikipedia under Cultural Impact
Sarcasm and Criticism as Basis of Filipino Humor: An Interactional
Sociolinguistics Approach to Exchange of Jokes among College Students
by
Lablynn
Yvette F. Bautista
A major paper submitted to Prof. Jerry R. Yapo
of
University
of the Philippines Los Banos
in
partial fulfilment of the requirements for
COMA
202: Discourse Analysis in Communication
Los
Banos, Laguna
October
12, 2012
I.
Context
and Significance
We Filipinos love jokes. We are very humorous. We laugh at jokes
even if it is full of sarcasm and criticism. According to Victor Raskin (1985),
“responding to humor is part of human behavior, ability or competence, other
parts of which compromise such important social and psychological
manifestations of homo sapiens as
language, morality, logic, faith, etc. Just as all of those, humor may be
described as partly natural and partly acquired”.
In this
paper, I will use interactional sociolinguistics to analyze the exchange of jokes
among college students using sarcasm and criticism as basis of humor. Interactional
sociolinguistics (IS) looks into the socially conditioned patterns in conversations. It
is influenced by John Gumperz, an anthropologist and Erving Goffman, a sociologist. It tries to
explain how social conditions and technicalities in language affect
interaction— the way we utter and the way our utterances are interpreted.
Since the backbone of interactional sociolinguistics is the detailed
transcription of audio-or-video interaction, a recorded conversation among
college students exchanging jokes will be deeply discussed. Additional opinions
from other college students via the internet will also be use as additional
references. Tannen 1992 said that in sum, interactional sociolinguistics is a
major field of research at the intersection of linguistics and anthropology.
Because it frequently identifies discourse strategies as associated with
culturally identifiable speakers, and examines the effects on interaction of
the differing strategies of culturally different speakers. It sheds light on
the nature of meaning in language, and on the nature of language in
interaction.
Since I am going to concentrate on analyzing sarcasm and
criticism as the basis of humor, let me give a brief definition for these
terms. Sarcasm is defined in The
Oxford Universal Dictionary, published in 1933, as "a sharp, bitter,
or cutting expression or remark; a bitter gibe or taunt." More
contemporary definitions often emphasize the false, mocking praise and verbal
irony of sarcasm rather than its malicious or scornful intent. However, the
etymology of the word "sarcasm" clearly indicates that wounding
was--at least historically--the primary point. Scientific proof has emerged in
the past few years that understanding sarcasm requires social intelligence
(from the website of Sarcasm Society). On the other hand, criticism is defined
in Webster's New World College
Dictionary, published in 2010 as
“the act of finding fault; censure; disapproval”.
Today,
we are very fond of using sarcasm and criticism in our jokes. To
better understand these jokes that became a normal part of our lives, this
paper will analyze the IS structures, and the different impacts of these jokes
in each of us.
II.
Problematique
and Objectives
Nowadays, it has been an ordinary part of any casual conversation
(sometimes even in serious talks) to exchange jokes, using sarcasm and
criticism as basis of humor. One of the major factors, I believe is due to
media portrayal. Though almost all of us use this kind of jokes (sadly even
children), in this paper we will only focus on college students, since they can
create darker jokes using sarcasm and criticism. These jokes have different
impact to each student since not all the time that these jokes are harmless and
not all of them are really enjoying it. Using interactional sociolinguistics we
will be able to dig deeper on the structures of these jokes.
Specifically, this paper hopes to achieve the following
objectives:
1. To
identify the structures of these jokes using interactional sociolinguistics
approach.
2. To
evaluate the influence of media portrayal in using sarcasm and criticism as
basis of humor.
3. To
determine the different impacts of these jokes in each student.
III.
Theoretical
Framework
The
theoretical framework that guides this study is interactional sociolinguistics.
By using competing perspectives, I am able to develop uncharted perspectives in
analyzing the use of sarcasm and criticism as basis of humor, how media portrayal
contributes to these jokes and the impacts it gives per individual.
IV.
Analysis
and Interpretation
Complete Conversation
as Recorded with English Translation:
A:
Bakit? Tulong mo na nga yun sakin eh.
Why? That’s all you can help me with.
B:
No, no, may birthday din ako. May birthday din ako.
No, no, I also have a birthday. I also
have a birthday
C:
May birthday kaming lahat, kami talaga, nakikisali.
We all have birthdays, as in we, like
I’m involved.
B:
Oo, kasi may party, dito rin sa baba. Attend ka.
Yes,
because there’s a party, in the lobby. You can attend.
May
paparty ako sa buong White House (Apartment).
I
will organize a party for the whole White House (Apartment).
A:
Bilis na…
Please…
D:
Yung wala si Ogre.
When
Ogre is not around.
B: Oo,
kaso te, kaylangan mo akong tulungan nun, since party yun kaylangan natin ng
disco ball. Ikaw lang yung tagahawak dito sa taas (3rd floor).
However
te, you need to help me, since it is a party, we need a disco ball. You will be
the one to hole it here in the third floor.
D:
Hahaha..Ganun, lagi umiikot?
Hahaha..Really?
always moving?
B:
Hahaha. Hindi nakaano lang, nakasabit yun disco ball sa stick tapus ihahaba mo
lang. Icenter mo dun sa baba ha.
Hahaha. No, just put the disco ball in a stick then make it longer. Put
it in the center of the lobby huh.
A:
Ang sama nyo.
You’re
all bad.
C:
Hindi na natin kaylangan ng disco ball.
We don’t need a disco ball.
B:
Ayan oh, nakakarecieve ka na ng ano jokes namin.
See,
you are already receiving jokes from us.
C:
Hindi tayo maano yan, kailangan ng ano, kaylangan nalang natin syang isabit
tapus magrerent nalang tayo ng lightstop.
No, we don’t need that, we just need to
hang her and then we just need to rent a lightstop.
D:
Hahahaha.
Hahahaha.
B: Hindi,
di di di.
No, no, no, no.
A:
Bakit napakakuripot nyo pagdating sa ganyang bagay?
Why are you so thrifty on things like
that?
B:
Anung sabi mo C?
What did you say C?
D:
Ano si Ate A, mirror?
What do you think of Ate A, mirror?
B: Si
Ate A yung..
Ate is..
C:
Oo, birthday daw ni Ate A.
Yes, it’s Ate A’s birthday.
B:
Ahhhhhhhhh…
(Clapping
of hands)
D:
Hahahaha
A:
Enough! (rising intonation)
*Each
letter signifies the participants.
This is an actual conversation of the
author with her housemates, who are college students in the same university.
First let us analyze the obvious use of sarcasm and criticism and its
underlying meaning in the table below:
Sarcasm
|
Underlying
Meaning
|
Criticism
|
Underlying
Meaning
|
B:
No, no, may birthday din ako, may birthday din ako.
No, no, I also
have a birthday. I also have a birthday
|
A
is requesting for something since it’s her birthday but B jokingly disagrees
saying that he also has a birthday. Underling meaning is equivalent to saying
“So what if it’s your birthday, I also have a birthday”.
|
D:
Yung wala si Ogre.
When Ogre is
not around.
|
Ogre
is a monster. Here, B calls someone as Ogre. This “Ogre” is not good looking,
that is why some of the boarders gave her the nickname Ogre. For other
reasons besides her appearance, the author is not aware.
|
C:
May birthday kaming lahat, kami talaga, nakikisali.
We all have
birthdays, as in we, like I’m involved.
|
C
here supports B, same meaning as mentioned above. However, as another basis
of humor, the speaker himself ridicule himself joking for chipping in.
|
B:
Oo, kaso te, kaylangan mo akong tulungan nun, since party yun kaylangan natin
ng disco ball. Ikaw lang yung tagahawak dito sa taas (3rd floor).
However te,
you need to help me, since it is a party, we need a disco ball. You will be
the one to hole it here in the third floor.
|
In
this joke, A is being teased to be the one who needs to hold the disco ball
on the party. It is making fun of someone to do the odd job.
|
B:
Oo kasi may party, dito rin sa baba, attend ka.
Yes, because
there’s a party, in the lobby. You can attend.
|
The
criticism mentioned above is the follow up of this sentence. B is joking that
A should attend and there’s a funny reason why she needs to attend.
|
C:
Hindi tayo maano yan, kailangan ng ano, kaylangan nalang natin syang isabit
tapus magrerent nalang tayo ng lightstop.
No, we don’t
need that, we just need to hang her and then we just need to rent a
lightstop.
|
Since
A has a broad forehead, C used it as joke, saying there is no need for a
disco ball and a lightstop is all needed.
|
B:
Ayan oh, nakakarecieve ka na ng ano jokes namin.
See, you are
already receiving jokes from us.
|
A
is asking for permission to record their conversation for the purpose of this
paper and this was also use as a sarcastic joke in this conversation.
|
D:
Ano si Ate A mirror? (Criticism)
What do you
think of Ate A, mirror?
|
The
mirror is also connected with the broad forehead of A. This one can also be
identified as sarcasm. Today, not all sarcasm sound sarcastic since it is
used as basis of humor, there are many variations on how it can be delivered
in a conversation.
|
C:
Oo, birthday daw ni Ate Lab.
Yes, it’s Ate
A’s birthday.
|
C
makes fun that A is the birthday celebrant. It like saying that this our
birthday gift for you, to hold the disco ball or be used as a disco ball or
all the previous jokes can be taken as a gift also.
|
Let us
discuss the structure of the conversation based on interactional sociolinguistics.
Social situation dictates how we behave during
interaction and it was shown in this conversation. Language, culture and
society are “situated”, meaning based on
context. That is why these jokes were understood by all the participants. As we
read or listen to this conversation, the conversation displays the relationship
of the participants with one another. They are friends. Besides going to the
same school, they are also living in the same house. In terms of discourse
strategies, it is shown in the conversation how the participants speak for one
another, overlapping and interrupting each other in the process yet it’s no big
deal for anyone. The humor is more important and since they have an intimate or
personal relationship with each other, it becomes a natural thing in the
conversation. The conversation is very spontaneous with chipping in from time
to time. Another key element in Gumperz's theoretical
framework is shown in the sequence of this conversation, this is called conversational inference: not only do
participants glean meaning from words and phrases as they occur, but they also
make active predictions about what will come next, based on the line of
interpretation suggested by on-going talk as measured against prior interactive
experience (Tannen, 1992). Also, as seen by Goffman, the language
produced in this interaction becomes the means for accomplishing continual shifts
in footing among participants. In
this conversation, A is the author. B is the principal or spoken for, while C
and D are the animators. Below is a table that shows the parts of the
conversation. The chipping ins were highlighted, also we will also identify the
direct and indirect recipient of these messages and how variables like prosody
(intonation, pitc, etc.), grammar and pronunciation can result to a
misunderstanding if not fully aware to the flow of conversation. I will also
give additional observation since I am also a participant of this conversation.
Conversation
|
Analysis
|
A:
Bakit? Tulong mo na nga yun sakin eh.
Why? That’s
all you can help me with.
B:
No, no, may birthday din ako. May birthday din ako.
No, no, I also
have a birthday. I also have a birthday
C: May
birthday kaming lahat, kami talaga, nakikisali.
We
all have birthdays, as in we, like I’m involved.
|
Here
A is originally talking to B only. B answered. C chips in. Indirect recipient
of C’s message is A.
C’s
intonation here is slightly sarcastic, however since the mood of the
conversation is joking, it’s not an issue to the other participants. There
age bracket are almost the same too which contribute also to a better
understanding of each other, beside the facts that they are friends,
schoolmates and housemates.
|
B:
Oo, kasi may party, dito rin sa baba. Attend ka.
Yes,
because there’s a party, in the lobby. You can attend.
May paparty ako sa buong White House
(Apartment).
I
will organize a party for the whole White House (Apartment).
A:
Bilis na…
Please…
D: Yung wala
si Ogre.
When
Ogre is not around.
B: Oo, kaso te, kaylangan mo akong tulungan nun,
since party yun kaylangan natin ng disco ball. Ikaw lang yung tagahawak dito
sa taas (3rd floor).
However te, you need to help me, since it
is a party, we need a disco ball. You will be the one to hole it here in the
third floor.
D: Hahaha..Ganun, lagi umiikot?
Hahaha..Really? always moving?
|
B
is talking to A when D chips in. Direct recipient of D’s message is B. He
received an answer with a Yes from B.
|
B:
Hahaha. Hindi nakaano lang, nakasabit yun disco ball sa stick tapus ihahaba
mo lang. Icenter mo dun sa baba ha.
Hahaha. No, just put the disco ball in a
stick then make it longer. Put it in the center of the lobby huh.
A:
Ang sama nyo.
You’re
all bad.
C: Hindi na
natin kaylangan ng disco ball.
We
don’t need a disco ball.
B:
Ayan oh, nakakarecieve ka na ng ano jokes namin.
See,
you are already receiving jokes from us.
C: Hindi tayo
maano yan, kailangan ng ano, kaylangan nalang natin syang isabit tapus
magrerent nalang tayo ng lightstop.
No, we don’t
need that, we just need to hang her and then we just need to rent a
lightstop.
D:
Hahahaha.
Hahahaha.
B:
Hindi, di di di.
No, no, no,
no.
A:
Bakit napakakuripot nyo pagdating sa ganyang bagay?
Why are you so
thrifty on things like that?
B:
Anung sabi mo C?
What did you
say C?
(Received
an answer later from B asking what he says again, this is after 5 exchange of
dialogues with the other participants from the time it was said)
D:
Ano si Ate A, mirror?
What do you
think of Ate A, mirror?
B:
Si Ate A yung..
Ate is..
C:
Oo, birthday daw ni Ate A.
Yes, it’s Ate
A’s birthday.
B:
Ahhhhhhhhh…
(Clapping
of hands)
D:
Hahahaha
A:
Enough! (rising intonation)
|
In
his first message highlighted here, C’s direct recipient is B. In the second
message, C’s indirect recipient is A
A
jokingly said “Ang sama nyo (You’re all
bad), using an intonation which makes her seem sad. A here seems to just
go with the flow of the conversation even if the main subject is her.
At
the end of the recorded conversation, A uses a rising intonation. For those
who will listen to it with an ending like that, they may think that A was
angry after all the jokes centered on her. However in real life, there was no
misunderstanding that happened among the participants, they are all aware
that the complete conversation was just a joke. A uses a rising intonation as
another way of joking too. Although the conversation started with A
requesting for B’s approval for a recorded conversation, it was just lucky
that this conversation was recorded at the appropriate time where the mood is
good. It is just a proof that today, in almost all casual conversations among
college students, these kinds of jokes, using sarcasm and criticism as basis
of humor is very common. According to Goffman, social condition affects how we behave in social interactions and
our behaviors in interaction may also be influenced by the setting. It also
affects our involvement in conversations. If we are with people we are close
to, we may be as involved as we could get and interact more, compared to when
we are with people who are just acquaintances, we may just be involved in the
conversation minimally.
A here has the minimal response, one of the possible
reason affecting her response is because she is the main subject of the jokes.
|
Beyond this recorded conversation,
it is important to discuss one of the major factors which resulted to this kind
of jokes to be common which is the influence of media portrayal. However we
will focus on its influence to college students. Today, almost all of us know
Vice Ganda.
Even though sarcasm and criticism is
already being used as basis of humor before he became mainstream, still we
cannot deny the fact that his joking style became so popular that even its
influence can now be seen in all forms of Filipino life. Our society and culture
greatly affects our language which can be seen in our everyday conversations. We
chose to follow what we see and hear however there are also times where
subconsciously we are already doing it without really noticing especially if
almost everybody around us is doing it. This applies with jokes.
According
to Wikipedia, Vice Ganda is best known for his stand-up
routines, for which he uses observational comedy on typical “Pinoy”
lifestyle and using situational irony and sarcasm pertaining
to Filipino culture & behavior and human sexuality. Even if it is not
mention here, he also uses criticism as a basis of humor. These facts are not
mentioned here as a negative trait, in fact I believe that many of us were
amazed with his verbal wit.
I found a blog via the internet
entitled “Vice Ganda Syndrome”, the author is unknown. However, this blog was
able to get the attention of many people especially college students who post
their comments in the site. The blogger defined the syndrome in the following
manner “- ugali o asal ng isang taong pilosopo; bagong sakit ng tao na sobrang
advance kung sumagot at nakakayamot mangatwiran; lumilikha ng pansamantalang
katalinuhan habang ginagawang mangmang ang kausap; sintomas ng isang taong
mahirap kausapin na parang sinapian ng abogadong lulong sa pintura o barnis” (www.definitelyfilipino.com/blog).
One of the comments is from Sheen Muega
of Polytechnic University of the Philippines,
she posted: “It just implies how influencing Vice Ganda is. Kahit ako, ganyan
din ako magbiro. Sometimes kasi, nakakainis yung mga taong magtatanong pa na
obvious na ang sagot, nakakabobo lang. If they really want to start a
conversation, as you stated, mag effort naman silang mag isip no”. While Enrique Mendoza Dela Viña
from the University of the Philippines Diliman
posted this: “Minsan kasi yun ang paraan to acknowledge your presence,
tatanungin ka ng obvious. Dapat
nga appreciate mo pa na acknowledge ka nila hindi yung dadaanan ka lang.”
Another comment
is from NIF: “The article was
well-written. I get the author’s point, but I don’t think Vice Ganda should be
blamed for this kind of “syndrome”, as the author classified. Sarcasm has been
around for as long as we can tell. It is synonymous with satire, and satires
are used as a source of entertainment during the olden times. Sarcasm,
therefore, is present to entertain (and not to bash others). Some people just
don’t get the point that it is not cool to make sarcasm a habit, or even a
lifestyle. I’m not an avid fan of Vice Ganda, but amongst all the comedians at
present, I think he’s the smartest and most articulate. This “syndrome” was not
initially caused by him. Vice was more like a trigger than a cause. Viewers
have this mentality that whatever this renowned personality does is fad or
“in”, and they tend to imitate them. In this case, people should be wiser to
know whether what and what not to adapt. We should know better, because in this
judgmental society we are in, every little move becomes a big deal”. Indeed I
totally agree with him.
Another comment
is very disturbing in relation to the impact of jokes in each of us. This is
from Elijahsamayel O Blancaflor, he
posted “It has become a new form of bullying,
commonly displayed in front of a group or audience. I cannot even call it
sarcasm. it's an insult sugar coated with a joke and yes it is sad that as
young as we are, we're exposed to this syndrome.”
I also found a research on the internet about the Impact of Vice
Ganda's Jokes and Expressions to Selected College Students of University of San
Jose – Recoletos. The study was conducted in the said university with 100
randomly selected respondents. However, the questionnaires were evenly
distributed to 4 gender preferences. To put,
25 for men, 25 for women, 25 for gays, and 25 for lesbians.
I just chose some
of the most important results.
1.
Vice Ganda jokes and
expressions are considered new and popular by the most number of respondents.
2.
The respondents strongly agree
that Vice Ganda has a good sense of humor and that they are able to relate on
the jokes and expressions of Vice Ganda.
3.
Majority of the respondents say
that they are sometimes affected with the jokes of Vice Ganda because of
discrimination, 53% of the respondents said so.
4.
The 50% of the respondents say
that they gain more confidence when they imitate the jokes of Vice Ganda.
5.
Majority of the respondents say
that some people do not accept the way they follow the jokes and expressions of
Vice Ganda.
6.
The 64% of the total number
respondents affirmed to this statement. Majority of the respondents said that
they usually imitate the jokes of Vice Ganda while conversing with other people
like the "hindi hindi" (sarcastic) jokes of Vice Ganda.
7.
Majority of the respondents
also said that they see the jokes of Vice Ganda as a threat to friendship. The
54 out of 100 respondents said that they are used to talk in the Vice-Ganda
manner.
Indeed,
the impact of jokes using sarcasm and criticism as the basis of humor has
different impacts on each student. For college students, some may find it
funny, some may not and some just go with the flow. However, this kind of
conversation should be avoided to be used by little children talking to older
persons or even to other children, just like other bad habits, the results will
surely not be good for them.
V.
Summary
and Conclusions
I
am always proud to say that Filipinos are very cheerful people. No one can deny
that. We find humor even in difficult times. We can honestly laugh at our own
mistakes. We love to be happy. After my analysis on the interactional
sociolinguistics structure of jokes with sarcasm and criticism, I am amazed how
we were able to handle this kind of humor and even enjoying it. We were able to
use sarcasm and criticism in a light way, we may not sometimes like it but most
of the times we do. At least I can say it in behalf of all the college students
I encounter from my college days until today. Honestly, I think the general
public were hooked by the Vice Ganda syndrome.
However, at the end of the day, we
still need to be sensitive enough to the feelings of others. As I mention, not
everyone enjoy these kinds of jokes especially if they have a different culture
(e.g. our foreigner classmates) or even other Filipinos with a different
perspective on sarcasm and criticism as basis of humor. In terms of media
portrayal, for college students who already know what is right from wrong and
that everything has a limitation, we must also apply it in our jokes. Again,
the impact differs depending on the individual. If you would like to avoid
hurting other people’s feeling, it’s better to pass an ordinary joke without
sarcasm and criticism. Remember, our humor is limitless; there are other ways
to be funny and have fun.
VI.
Implication
and Recommendations
As
I analyze the structures of jokes in the recorded conversation I got, I
realized how broad it is, my example here is not enough, since there are still
many other forms of jokes that uses sarcasm and criticism as basis of humor.
However, it feels good to know that with our friends, we can exchange these
kinds of jokes without being onion-skinned for the sake of fun (just be sure
that all of the participants are in a good mood). It is also a battle of wit,
since you need to answer in the exact way or better than the joke he/she gave
you. If you have nothing to say, it’s better to just go with the flow of the
conversation. In terms of media portrayal, it is good to appreciate the sense
of humor of Vice Ganda, its ok to follow his style if you want to but still,
let us be responsible in every word we say. Let us remember that the impact it
gives varies per individual, we may never know that we already left a scar into
someone’s dignity due to these jokes. Let us use these in the appropriate time,
mood and place.
A further study regarding the following subjects can be made:
1. Interactional
sociolinguistics structures of other jokes with a different basis of humor.
(e.g. sexual seduction/green jokes)
2. Other
factors affecting jokes with sarcasm and criticism that has not been fully
discussed. (e.g. other media portrayals that influence the general public)
3. Specific impacts of jokes (e.g. physical and
psychological) using sarcasm and criticism as basis of humor.
VII.
References:
Cameron, D. (2001).
Working with Spoken Discourse. London, California, New Delhi. SAGE Publications
Criticism. Retrieved on October 7, 2012, from Your
Dictionary online data basehttp://www.yourdictionary.com/criticism
Impact of Vice Ganda's Jokes and
Expressions to Selected College Students of University of San Jose – Recoletos,
Retrieved on September 29, 2012, from online database: http://jijiuk.wix.com/viceganda-
Raskin, V. (1985) Semantic Mechanisms of Humor. Dordrecht,
Holland: D. Reidel Pub. Co.
Sarcasm - The Definitive Guide to Sarcasm: Etymology,
History & Lore. Retrieved on October 7, 2012, from Sarcasm Society online database: http://www.sarcasmsociety.com/-
Schiffrin,
D. (1994). Approaches to Discourse Analysis. Massachusetts. Blakwell Punlishers
Tannen,
D. (1992). Oxford International Encyclopedia of Linguistics, vol. 4, ed. by
William Bright (page 8-13). Oxford and New York. Oxford University Press
Unknown
Author. (2012). Vice Ganda
Syndrome. Retrieved on October 7, 2012, from Definitely Filipino online
database: http://definitelyfilipino.com/blog/2012/02/12/vice-ganda-syndrome/-
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