Comedy Can Teach You About Grammar, Speaking
2020-06-26
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1Jokes can not only challenge your ideas and make you laugh. They can also teach you about grammar.
2Today on Everyday Grammar, we will show you how humor can help you with speaking, word stress, content words and function words.
3Dick Gregory had a long career as a comedian.
4Gaining fame in the 1960s, he was involved in comedy and civil rights issues in the United States.
5Gregory continued performing late into his life.
6In the late 2000s, he recorded a special performance that dealt with politics, race and even the questions of journalists, such as reporters from The Associated Press and CNN.
7Let us listen to part of it.
8"I came back in from Europe last month..."CNN: "Mister Gregory, do you think we'll ever catch Bin Laden?""I say' 'We?'
9I ain't looking for him.
10I'm still trying to find out who my daddy is."
11Now, let's think about each of these lines.
12I came back in from Europe last month.
13Note that Gregory stresses, or says more forcefully, the words Europe and last month.
14The reason he does this is because Americans usually stress content words - words that carry the most meaning.
15Content words are usually nouns, verbs, adjectives or adverbs.
16In addition, Americans often stress content words toward the end of the sentence.
17Let's listen to the next line from the recording:
18CNN: Mr. Gregory, do you think we'll ever catch Bin Laden?
19In this question, Gregory tells what the journalist asked him. Note how he stressed the content words.
20He seemed to call attention to the nouns Bin Laden, Mr. Gregory, and CNN.
21He also stressed the verbs think and catch and the adverb ever.
22Note that he did not stress the pronouns you or we.
23He also didn't stress the auxiliary verbs.
24That is because these words are function words.
25Pronouns and prepositions are two examples of function words.
26So are auxiliary verbs such as BE or DO.
27Americans generally do not stress function words when speaking -- unless there is a good reason... which leads us to our next line:
28I say 'We?'
29In this question, Dick Gregory stresses the pronoun we. Although function words are usually not stressed, Gregory stresses it because he is noting its importance.
30He wants to make clear that he is not part of the "we" that the journalist is talking about. He then says the following:
31I ain't looking for him.
32Note that he does not stress the pronoun him.
33But he does stress the word ain't. This is a casual kind of negation.
34It is short for the words am not.
35Although Americans generally do not stress auxiliary verbs, in cases of negation, Americans sometimes stress them - especially if they want to show that they have a different opinion.
36In the next line, Gregory makes the surprising claim that he still does not know who his father is.
37Ask yourself: Which words does he stress?
38I'm still trying to find out who my daddy is.
39In our report today, we examined two kinds of words in English: content words and function words.
40The idea is that function words show relationships between content words.
41Content words - nouns, verbs, adjectives - generally get stress because they are the most important words in the sentence.
42Function words - prepositions, auxiliary verbs, pronouns - often do not get stress because they are less important.
43But, as you have learned, in some cases, Americans stress function words. And when they do, it is likely for a good reason.
44The next time you are watching the news or a comedy special on the Internet, listen to how the speaker stresses certain words.
45Over time, you will begin to note regular, repeated ways that English speakers stress words.
46And if they do something different from what you expect, then ask yourself why.
47And, hopefully, try to laugh and smile in the process.
48I'm John Russell.
1Jokes can not only challenge your ideas and make you laugh. They can also teach you about grammar. 2Today on Everyday Grammar, we will show you how humor can help you with speaking, word stress, content words and function words. 3Dick Gregory had a long career as a comedian. Gaining fame in the 1960s, he was involved in comedy and civil rights issues in the United States. 4Gregory continued performing late into his life. In the late 2000s, he recorded a special performance that dealt with politics, race and even the questions of journalists, such as reporters from The Associated Press and CNN. Let us listen to part of it. 5"I came back in from Europe last month..." 6CNN: "Mister Gregory, do you think we'll ever catch Bin Laden?" 7"I say' 'We?' 8I ain't looking for him. 9I'm still trying to find out who my daddy is." 10Now, let's think about each of these lines. 11I came back in from Europe last month. 12Note that Gregory stresses, or says more forcefully, the words Europe and last month. The reason he does this is because Americans usually stress content words - words that carry the most meaning. Content words are usually nouns, verbs, adjectives or adverbs. In addition, Americans often stress content words toward the end of the sentence. 13Let's listen to the next line from the recording: 14CNN: Mr. Gregory, do you think we'll ever catch Bin Laden? 15In this question, Gregory tells what the journalist asked him. Note how he stressed the content words. He seemed to call attention to the nouns Bin Laden, Mr. Gregory, and CNN. He also stressed the verbs think and catch and the adverb ever. 16Note that he did not stress the pronouns you or we. He also didn't stress the auxiliary verbs. That is because these words are function words. Pronouns and prepositions are two examples of function words. So are auxiliary verbs such as BE or DO. Americans generally do not stress function words when speaking -- unless there is a good reason... which leads us to our next line: 17I say 'We?' 18In this question, Dick Gregory stresses the pronoun we. Although function words are usually not stressed, Gregory stresses it because he is noting its importance. 19He wants to make clear that he is not part of the "we" that the journalist is talking about. He then says the following: 20I ain't looking for him. 21Note that he does not stress the pronoun him. 22But he does stress the word ain't. This is a casual kind of negation. It is short for the words am not. Although Americans generally do not stress auxiliary verbs, in cases of negation, Americans sometimes stress them - especially if they want to show that they have a different opinion. 23In the next line, Gregory makes the surprising claim that he still does not know who his father is. Ask yourself: Which words does he stress? 24I'm still trying to find out who my daddy is. 25Closing thoughts 26In our report today, we examined two kinds of words in English: content words and function words. The idea is that function words show relationships between content words. Content words - nouns, verbs, adjectives - generally get stress because they are the most important words in the sentence. Function words - prepositions, auxiliary verbs, pronouns - often do not get stress because they are less important. But, as you have learned, in some cases, Americans stress function words. And when they do, it is likely for a good reason. 27The next time you are watching the news or a comedy special on the Internet, listen to how the speaker stresses certain words. Over time, you will begin to note regular, repeated ways that English speakers stress words. And if they do something different from what you expect, then ask yourself why. And, hopefully, try to laugh and smile in the process. 28I'm John Russell. 29John Russell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 30________________________________________________________________ 31Words in This Story 32challenge - v. to test; to compete against 33grammar - n. the whole system and structure of a language 34stress - n. the act of noting the importance of something 35comedy - n. a play, movie, television program, or performance that is meant to make people laugh 36journalist - n. a person who collects, writes, and edits news stories for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio 37casual - adj. unofficial, informal or unceremonious 38negation - n. grammar to make (a word or phrase) negative 39certain - adj. fixed or established; known for sure 40We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.