D EAF H UMOR What do deaf people laugh at?

O PPRESSION Most jokes are caused by oppression of a group A deaf couple check into a motel. They retire early. In the middle of the night, the wife wakes her husband complaining of a headache and asks him to go to the car and get some aspirin from the glove compartment. Groggy with sleep, he struggles to get up, puts on his robe, and goes out of the room to his car. He finds the aspirin, and with the bottle in hand he turns toward the motel. But he cannot remember which room is his. After thinking a moment, he returns to the car, places his hand on the horn, holds it down, and waits. Very quickly the motel rooms light up, all but one. It's his wife's room, of course. He locks up his car and heads toward the room without a light.

D EAF : S LAPSTICK What is slapstick? Very visually stimulating

F ORMULA Sub in Deaf, Blind, and wheel chair Four men (a Russian, a Cuban, and a Deaf American, and an interpreter) are on a train. The Russian throws a half empty bottle of vodka out the window. When the Deaf American and the Cuban react with surprise, he explains that "That vodka tasted bitter. Back home in Russia, we have much better vodka!" So then the Cuban throws a half smoked cigar out the window saying, "That cigar tasted awful. Not like the ones we have in Cuba." Then the Deaf American stands up, grabs the interpreter, and throws him out the window, signing "He used signed English."

A husband and wife went to the doctor. [The husband is hard of hearing] The doctor says to the wife, "You've got to do 3 things to keep your husband well." "1st you got to keep everything real clean and smooth. You got to iron everything." "2nd you got to fix him fresh meals every day from scratch. No left overs, no fast or frozen foods." "3rd you got to give him more lovin." They get home and the husband asks, "Well what did the doctor say?" The wife looks at him and responds, "You're going to die."

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5 PARAMETERS These can be funny when played with NMS can be exaggerated These can represent inanimate elements Signing bigger/slower can be funny Location can be funny Hearing mind deaf person Food on the mind NYC Changing handshape Understand Movement Understand less and less

I N - GROUP VS. OUT - GROUP Laugh at out-group How people sign

S IGN H UMOR Beyond NMS This has content TIMBER

BILINGUAL Signs in 2 modes Honeymoon Golf Jaws

ABC JOKES Loan translation Knowing sounds in one language and playing with another Puns Metaphor