Deaf Humor and Sign Language Humor
What is humor for?
What makes deaf people laugh?
Sign Language humor
Funny in Sign language, but not in spoken language
for fun
forming connections
making light of tough times
making fun of others
forming In groups and Out groups
Bilingual humor
international deaf humor
Taboo
deaf humor translates boarders easily, often with personal contract or the internet
deaf jokes translate between sign languages without losing the humor because of shared deaf experiences
jokes do not always come across as funny to non-deaf folks as they do not have the cultural background
largely a visual experience
jokes that are "bad" or insensitive
hearing people jokes may fall under this category
Caricature: overstating a characteristic of a person for humor
Speed and size of signing: large over-exaggerated signs or slow motion
Metalingistic play: having control of the world, acknowledging the signer is in control of their world
Anthropomorphism: showing non human things with human characteristic
Changing internal sign structure: "hidden in plain view" jokes, often a change in handshape
use of spoken language to make joke, often as FS
jokes made using the visual aspect of sign does not always translate as funny in spoken language