Treasures in jokes and cartoons: You really must be joking!

• Main Author: Vellaykuti, Pokar
• Format: Book Section
• Language: English
• Published: Faculty of Communication and Modern Languages, Universiti Utara Malaysia 2007
• Subjects: LB2300 Higher Education; PE English
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/3236/1/V1.pdf; http://repo.uum.edu.my/3236/; http://staf.uum.edu.my/tleia2/

Humour has been practically neglected in the teaching of English in Malaysia and Asia as well, perhaps due to the conservative nature of its people. Yet, we go through cartoons in the dailies, enjoy jokes over the radio and try by all means not to miss humorous sitcoms like Friends or Seinfield. Mr Bean is a hit though he hardly speaks a word. Humour, undeniably is a health provider. It is also a relationship builder. However, much more can be gleamed from jokes and cartoons, especially for educational purposes. Jokes and cartoons are not simply written. A review of many cartoons and jokes in the dailies and books has shown that there are hardly any flaws in the words and phrases used in them. However, some are culturally biased, thus making comprehension difficult. In this paper I have highlighted some of the rich treasures or resources found in cartoons and jokes, especially that of the words, sounds, colours and have suggested ways they can help the English language teachers in the classroom.