It is difficult to find a person who would not know what a joke is. Perhaps this is the most common slang concept that has leaked literally to all walks of life.
Psychologists, not without reason, believe that a sense of humor allows you to cope with many difficult life situations. All kinds of jokes are a kind of panacea, salvation from everyday disorder, moral feelings and even physical suffering.
Categories of humor
A variety of jokes allows us to talk about genre orientation. There are significant differences between the so-called subtle humor, when a certain level of intelligence is required to recognize it, and ordinary straightforward witticisms. The so-called Russian jokes can be completely incomprehensible to foreigners, and English humor seems boring to us.
The comedy genre itself can be "high" or "low." It makes no sense to demonstrate the subtlest sense of humor to people who are used to more straightforward and unambiguous statements. By and large, jokes are exactly what everyone understands. But they can be frankly unsuccessful when formally there is a reason, but I don’t want to laugh. You can safely talk about the quality of humor as a phenomenon. This is an important parameter.
The meaning of the word "joke"
In any works there are large and small forms, each of which has its own connoisseurs. A huge novel in several volumes can be fascinating, but according to the experience of many writers, it is a small story that turns out to be the most difficult. Indeed, it requires a limited number of words to convey the main idea.
A joke is a small humorous form. In fact, it is a miniature in which sometimes there are only a few words. A good example is the children's joke "the bun is hanged." Once this phrase seemed very funny, but funny sayings tend to become obsolete.
Origin of the term
A joke is a slang concept that gradually penetrates into everyday speech. Perhaps the slang tint will be lost over time. In fact, this is a very logical word with deep roots. No wonder the ability to joke and perceive humor is called wit. Jokes are called jokes, and if the degree of maliciousness is increased, then with barbs or stilettos. In the USSR, the humorous magazine "Crocodile" was popular, in which there was a heading "Pitchfork".
It turns out that a well-aimed joke was compared with any piercing object, accurately conveying the orientation of the catchy phrase and hitting it at the target. Therefore, the word "joke" can be considered a logical derivative, which may well take root in the lexicon for a long time.
Who is a prankster?
There is a category of people who are not able to restrain their own wit even in rather difficult situations. Doctors tell stories about patients who managed to joke with severe physical injuries, while displaying amazing courage.
Perhaps this is a kind of protective system of the psyche - someone cries and screams, and someone gives out all kinds of jokes, to tears that bring laughing people. A talented joker has the ability not just to say something funny or funny in time. First of all, this is an observant and attentive creator of accurate comparisons, unexpected conclusions, and even quite caustic epigrams.
This requires a special look and a rather specific attitude to the surrounding reality. A real prankster is both an author and an artist. Most of all, this is similar to the modern comedic genre of stand-up. It requires the ability to express your thoughts as briefly as possible, while at the same time provoking laughter and applause.
The relevance of jokes in communication
One of the most valuable skills of a truly clever wit is a sense of proportion. For most people, situations are obvious when the funniest jokes (tearing a laughing public to tears) are truly unacceptable: they will not amuse, but only exacerbate the situation. For example, this is a funeral.
Of course, grieving relatives need comfort. But if someone starts joking, it shows disrespect. As a result, the feelings of people who have suffered a loss of value. Even if the deceased was a merry man himself, this does not mean that the funeral can be turned into a circus tent. The nearest relatives determine the tone, and it is advisable to voice only what they consider appropriate.
On the other hand, the ability to joke in time, defuse the situation and distract the interlocutor's attention from some awkward moment is considered very valuable. A short joke is much more appropriate than a long and ill-conceived joke, especially if it is prolonged. After all, long rants cause only boredom and irritation when humor is declared, but in practice it turns out that the story is very sad.
Of course, you should not include all kinds of acuity in business and official correspondence. But in informal communication, humor and fun will be just the way. The ability to joke lends itself to training, hones. You can easily acquire this skill. The main thing at the same time is not to forget about emotional sensitivity, then the reward will be the fun and sincere sympathy of other people.