40
Appendix B
Humour
Present Meaning
Some believe the only nation that had the word 'humour' in its language, where the word was associated with the meaning of 'being funny,' were the English.
The French, for example, have such words as the equivalents of 'comedy,' 'wit' and 'buffoonery,' but their word, 'humeur,' means 'disposition' or 'mood.'
Similarly the Chinese characters for 'humour' are believed merely to imitate the sound of the English word. The term is said to have been introduced into the Chinese language in 1924 by the eminent Overseas Chinese scholar Lin Yutang.
Although the Germans, the Italians and the French enjoyed upper-class wit and proletariat clowning, but, so it is claimed (Muir, 1990; XXIX), only the English took pleasure in the middle area: which included the recording of small significant human traits. Muir maintains in Humorous Prose that:
Wit is concerned with ideas,
Buffoonery is concerned with deeds, and
Humour is concerned with people
Although it appears somewhat of an exaggeration, Sir William Temple, diplomat and essayist (1628-99), claimed the English (not the Scots, Irish or Welsh) gave the world humour (Muir, 1990; XXIX). It was, he believed, a product of the 'richness of the English soil.'
The human, stubborn behaviour of the English, so he said, needed a free society and a temperate climate before it could flourish.
40
Appendix B
Humour
Present Meaning
Some believe the only nation that had the word 'humour' in its language, where the word was associated with the meaning of 'being funny,' were the English.
The French, for example, have such words as the equivalents of 'comedy,' 'wit' and 'buffoonery,' but their word, 'humeur,' means 'dis- position' or 'mood.'
Similiarly the Chinese characters for 'humour' are believed merely to imitate the sound of the English word. The term is said to have been introduced into the Chinese language in 1924 by the eminent Over- seas Chinese scholar Lin Yutang.
Although the Germans, the Italians and the French enjoyed upper- class wit and proletariat clowning, but, so it is claimed (Muir, 1990; XXIX), only the English took pleasure in the middle area: which in- cluded the recording of small significant human traits. Muir maintains in Humorous Prose that:
Wit is concerned with ideas,
Buffoonery is concerned with deeds, and
Humour is concerned with people
Although it appears somewhat of an exaggeration, Sir William Temple, diplomat and essayist (1628-99), claimed the English (not the Scots, Irish or Welsh) gave the world humour (Muir, 1990;XXIX). It was, he believed, a product of the 'richness of the English soil.'
The human, stubborn behaviour of the English, so he said, needed a free society and a temperate climate before it could flourish.
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