What's in a Pun? (OFAI Lecture by Tristan Miller)
Channel: Austrian Research Institute for AI (OFAI)
Date: 2022-09-12

What's in a Pun? Assessing the Relationship Between Phonological and Semantic Distance and Perceived Funniness of Punning Jokes
Dr.-Ing. Tristan Miller, BSc Hons, MSc, OFAI (Joint work with Anna Palmann, BSc, BA, MSc)
20 July 2022

Puns are a form of humorous wordplay based on semantic ambiguity between two phonologically similar words. By using and extending a large annotated corpus of punning jokes, we quantify the phonological and semantic distance between the two words of a pun and assess possible correlations with funniness ratings of the joke. Statistical analyses reveal a significant negative correlation between phonological distance and perceived funniness, which is in line with a longstanding conjecture in humour studies. Interestingly, none of the semantic distance measures we applied showed significant correlations with funniness ratings. We discuss other factors, such as situational context or cultural norms, which may influence the perception of funniness of punning jokes, with a view to guiding future research on this topic.