READINGGLORIAGARCIJOKES:THESEMANTICSCRIPT THEORYOFHUMOR/GENERALTHEORYOFVERBALHUMOR ANDFILIPINOPOLITICALHUMOR

MariaRhodoraG.Ancheta,PhD DepartmentofEnglishandComparativeLiterature UniversityofthePhilippinesDiliman

1.0

PoliticalHumorandtheCreationofJokeWork

WhohasnotheardofatleastoneGloriaGarcijoke?Orhasnotlaughedat[ifnot downloadedandmadeamobilephoneringtoneof]theHelloGarciopeningofthe continuingpoliticaldebaclethatisnowtermedGloriagate? Itis,ontheonehand,atestamenttothissituationsgravitythatawholejoke workcycleisdevotedtoit,asculturememorializesthatwhichleavesthedeepestcutto itspsyche.However,itisalsoironicthatsuchapopularculturalartifact,while manifestingnationalconcerns,isdeemedtootrivialforactualstudy,readonlyinthe contextofephemeralentertainment.Thisisadjudgedevenmoresointhelightofthese jokescurrentprovenancetheinternet,andthemobilephone/textingculture. In2005,thePhilippineCenterforInvestigativeJournalismcameoutwiththe bookHello,Garci?:PoliticalHumorintheCellphoneAge,followingthemuch celebratedJokeNiErapin2000,whicharewrittentextsthatnotonlycompilethe existingjokeworkandjokecyclesofthemleofPhilippinepolitics,butindeed, chronicleamorepowerfuldelineationofhowFilipinohumorisdeployednotonlyto pokefunat[illicit]holdersofpower,buttocounterhegemonicstatesinthisnation,by thepowerlessinPhilippinesociety. SheilaCoronel,inherprefacetothebook,aversthatjokesarenotjusta commentaryonourpoliticsandpoliticians[but]areaformofpoliticalparticipation byjoking,Filipinosshowthattheyarewatching,commenting,andtakingpartinwhatis goingon(xi). IcontendthatthisparticipationofwhichCoronelspeakscanbeseenina numberofways.ThedeploymentofpoliticalhumorplacesFilipinosasexternal observersofvolatilepoliticalsituationsinwhichtheyareperipheralized,politicsinthe Philippinesmainlyopentotheeliteormoneyedclasses,undermining,ifnottotally abrogating,theovertconstitutionaldemocraticroleascribedtothecitizenry.The relegationofFilipinosasmembersofamutedgroup(cf.Ardener)intermsofthe diminutionofhispoliticalsignificance,seenintheabsentornegligiblerolehehasin engenderingpoliticalcommunicativeexchange,rendershim/herpowerless,andthis discourseofthejokeallowsthemtoenterthisturbulentspaceofexchangeassubversive bearersofpower.Morethanthis,Ipositthatinreadingthesejokes,weseetheFilipinos attemptnotonlytocommentofthis/theirconditionbywayofthisjokework,their participationbecomescrucialandmoreintrinsicinthatthesejokesareamatrixofthe
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basesoftheirpoliticalandculturalidentity. Forthepurposesofthispaperpresentationstime,IchosesixjokeswhichIthink aremorerepresentativeofthecollectionsthrust.Whilethedifferentkindsofhumor linguisticandvisualinthePCIJcompilationcouldbereadmoreextensively,I particularlychosejokeswhichIthoughtaremorerepresentativeofthosethatcouldbe transmittedbywayoftexting,andaremorelikelytoberepeatedandechoedin workplaces,homes,ascommunaldiscourse,inkeepingwithcollectionstitle,andin referencetotheverbalqualityrequiredbytheSSTH/GTVH.Ihavetonoteherethatthe PCIJcollectionhasasectiononhumorouslyannotatedcomicsdepictingtheGarci fallout,andasectionofcomicalfilmplots,conjecturesonGarci,etc.,whichIdidnot examineastheycouldnotqualifyasactualjokework. CoronelspokeoftheuseofhumorbyFilipinosasthepreferredweaponofthe weakjokesarethegreatleveler,awayoffightingback,apathofresistance(x).She continuestosaythat ifanything,cellphoneshavemadethispatheasiertotake.AnyJoeyor Josiecanthinkupajoke,keyitintoaphone,andpassiton.Youdont havetobeaJoseRizaloraMarcelodelPilar.Youdonthavetodealwith censors or editors either. In the anonymous, instantaneous, and spontaneous world of mobile telephony, everyone is welcome and all jokersareequal(xxi). Ibelievethatthatanonymityandthedifficult[yin]determine[ing]authorship engenderedbythepassingofthesejokesfromonecitizentoanother,makesofthese jokesthetrulydemocraticinputwithinapoliticalexchangesystemdeniedoftheFilipino inthehallsofCongressorinMalacaangitself. 2.0 DefiningTerms

Politicalhumorisconstruedinthispapertorefertocomicstrategies,suchas jokework,which[target]politicalleaders,professionalpoliticians,orelected representativesaswellaspoliticalinstitutions,groups,partiespoliticalideasandthe lifeofentiresocietiesunderapoliticalregimeaimedatinpoliticaljokes(Raskin 222).VictorRaskin,theproponentoftheearlierSemanticScriptTheoryofHumorthatI shalltalkaboutinalittlewhile,commentsonthegenerallysimplestructureofthe politicaljoke,basedontheoppositionbetweenthescriptforwhatleaders,political figures,ideas,groups,orwayoflife,oughttobeandthescriptforwhattheyactually are.Thisgood/properandbad/improperscriptoppositioninformsthejokework, whichweshallalsoseelater(cf.222;myitalics). WhileMichaelMulkayspecificallyreferstothepoliticalcartoonwhenhespoke ofhumorandpoliticalaction,Itakefromhisdiscussionthefunctionofpoliticaljoke worktocommentoncurrentpoliticalissues,andassuchcontribut[ing]directlytothe worldofrealpoliticsdominatedbyseriousissues,seriousactionsandserious discourse(197;myitalics).
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Whileitispossibletodefinethejokelooselyinthesenseofananecdotewitha humoroustwistattheend,orassomethingdesignedtopromotegoodhumor (Roeckelein66),bythetermjoke,werefertotheprototypicalinstanceofverbalor textualhumorwhichisthematterformostlinguistichumortheory(Hempelmann13). ChristianHempelmann,referringtoAttardoandChabannesworkonthejoke,defines thisasatypeofwellformed,selfcontainedtextsharingcommonfeaturesapartfrom theobviousvariationinnarrativestructures,seeingjokesasmicronarrativeswithan idealizedtrifoldstructurereducedinthemosteconomicalform(16).First,theynotean introduction,settingthebackgroundagainstwhichandinreasonofwhichthe punchlineappearsincongruous(AttardoandChabanneqtd.inHempelmann16),an ensuingdialogue,andthentheclosingpunchline.Thepunchlineisseenastheintegral elementthatdefinesthejoke,usuallyinthefinalposition(16),thesubstitutionofwhich wordsbyotherwordstransformsthejokeintoanonjoke(Hockettqtd.inHempelmann16). IamexaminingtheGloriaGarcijokesinthePCIJcollectionaspartofajoke cycle,asetofrelatedjokes,orlargeclustersofmutuallyrelatedtexts,whose relationshipisbasedonthematiclinksbetweenthejokes(AttardoHT69).Wenotehere alsothattheverbalhumorinwhichweframethejokedifferentiatesitfromthereferential thepurelyvisual[suchascartoonsorcaricatures],thetactile[tickling],thesituational, orotherformsofhumor.VerbalhumorinthecontextofSSTHandGTVHreferstoall formsoftextorientedhumor,bothwrittenandspoken,inwhichlanguageisnecessarily involved(Hempelmann16). Whiletherearemanywaystovalidatethefunctionsofpoliticalhumorinherentin thisjokecollection,thispaperintendstoreadthecurrentjokecyclesandandjokework encompassingtheGloriaGarcitapesbywayofVictorRaskinsSemanticScript TheoryofHumor(SSTH)andSalvatoreAttardosGeneralTheoryofVerbalHumor (GTVH). VictorRaskinsSSTH

VictorRaskinsSemanticScriptTheoryofHumoristheprecursoroftheGeneral TheoryofVerbalHumor.WhileHempelmanntellsusthattheearliestmentionofthe SSTHwasin1979,Raskins1985bookSemanticMechanismsofHumor,outlinedhis elaboratestructureandelementsfortheSSTH(Hempelmann19).Inhisbook,Raskin alreadynotesthatalinguistictheoryofhumorissupposedtoaccountforthefactthat sometextsarefunnywhilesomeothersarenotandtodoitincertainlinguisticproperties ofthetext(47).Notingtheliabilitiesofearliermethods,hestatedthat the early applications led, for instance, to frequency tables of high reliability,generalityandvalidity,andtherewasnothingwrongwiththat. The only problem with many such applications was that there was no linguisticproblemtheywereactuallysolving the legitimate applications are therefore, problemoriented they strivetosolvearealproblemofthetargetfieldusingtheavailablefacts
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Itfollowsthenthatiflinguisticsisappliedtohumor;i.e.linguisticsisthe source field and the study of humor the target field then the problems,questions,andneedsshouldcomefromhumor,andthebasic questioncomingoutoftherecanbeexpectedtobe,Whatisfunny?(52 53) Raskinpositedthepurposeofhisproposedsemantictheoryofhumortobethe formulationofasetofconditionswhicharebothnecessaryandsufficientconditionsfor the text to be funny, which could provide answers to the question, What semantic propertiesofthetextmakeitfunny?(5758).Raskinnotesthathisscriptbasedsemantic theoryisnecessarilyformal,functioningasamechanicalsymbolmanipulationdevice, assemantictheoryisaformalobjectwhichprovidessemanticentitieswitdescriptions whicharesupposedtomatchthespeakersintuitivejudgmentsaboutthesameentities (58,59)andisdesignedtomodelthenativespeakersintuitionwithregardtohumor hishumorcompetence(58). Raskinstheoryismadeupoftwocomponents,first,thelexiconandthenthe combinatorialrules.Raskinreferstolexiconintermsoftheconceptofthewordandits inherentmeaning[asbeing]psychologicallyrealtothenativespeaker(78),ashealso referstothisasasetofelementaryunitsofmeaning,eachofwhichistheabilityofthe wordtobeusedinadifferentphraseoflanguage(79).TheSSTH,then,makesuseof therecognitionofwordmeaningsandaccountsforitinthelexicon(79).Hempelmann addsthatthiscorrespondstoRaskinspreliminarystatementthattheinvestigationof meaningmustalwaysconsiderthecontext,whichcontributestothespecificationofthe inherentmeaningofasentence,statingthatamongthekeyeffortsforscriptconstruction istoputinasmuchcontextintothemaspossible,withoutrenderingthemtoovagueasa concept(19;myitalics).Combinatorialrules,thesecondcomponentofthescript basedsemantictheoryfunctionintrinsicallytocombinethemeaningsofthewordswhich comprisethesentenceandwhicharecharacterizedinthelexiconintothesemantic interpretation,orsimply,ofthewholesentence(Raskin79).Lookingatthesentence asgeneratedbythenativespeaker,Raskinstatesthatthemeaningofthesentence calculatedbywayofthesecombinatorialrulesshouldcoincidewiththemeaning assignedtoitbythenativespeaker.Combinatorialrulesthen,shouldcreatetwoormore differentinterpretationsforanambiguoussentence,nointerpretationforanomalous sentences,andidenticalinterpretationsforparaphrases.AccordingtoRaskin,theseare operationscombinatorialrulesshouldbeabletoaccomplish,inordertoproducea descriptionoftheidealspeakerhearersintrinsiccompetence(Chomskyqtd.in Hempelmann20) <<flashRaskinlist1here>> ThenotionofscriptisalsointegraltoRaskinstheory,andRaskinusesthetermscript toreferto alargechunkofsemanticinformationsurroundingthewordorevokedbyit. Thescriptisacognitivestructureinternalizedbythenativespeakerandit representsthenativespeakersknowledgeofasmallpartoftheworld. 4

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Aninternalizedknowledgeofcertainroutines,standardprocedures,basic situations,howtheydoit,inwhatorder[scriptsofcommonsense] Individual scripts determined by background and subjective experience, restricted scripts which the speaker shares with a certain group, family, neighbors,colleagues, etc.but not with the whole speech communityof nativespeakersofthesamelanguage(Raskin81).

WeaddtothistheviewthatscriptasusedbyRaskinisusedinthesenseofatemporal sequenceofframes(81).Raskinnotestoothatformallyortechnically,everyscriptisa graphwithlexicalnodesandsemanticlinksbetweenthenodes(81). <<flashgraphingsamplehere>>

Giventheseterms,Raskinscentralhypothesisinthisscriptbasedsemantictheoryisthat A text can be characterized as a singlejokecarrying text if both [these]conditionsaresatisfied: (1)Thetextiscompatible,fullyorinpart,withtwodifferentscripts (2)Thescriptswithwhichthetextiscompatibleareopposite therefore,thesetoftwoconditionsisproposedasthenecessaryand sufficientconditionsforatexttobefunny(99). Theoverlapbetweentwoscripts,orthecompatibilitywithtwoscripts,andtheopposition ofeachtotheother,aretherequirementsfortextualhumor,correspondingtoan incongruityresolutiontheoryofhumor(Hempelmann30).Inajoke,whatweusually findisapartialscriptoverlap,inwhichsomepartofthetextremainscompletely incompatiblewiththeotheroncetwoscriptsareevoked(30).Scriptoppositenesscan bebasedontheuseofsituational,contextual,orlocalantonymy,andistherefore definableanddetectiblebythecombinatorialrulesinthesemanticlinks(30).This oppositionisnecessarilybinaryinnature,andRaskinindicatedthebasicoppositiontobe Actual/nonactual, Normal/abnormal, Possible/impossible,

andtheseinstantiatethetwofoldhierarchyofthereal/unrealopposition,concretizedby manypairsofoppositionindiversescripts(30). Raskindoesraisetheideathatnotallopposingscriptsarefunny,andAttardo laterprovidesagraphtoillustratethis: <<flashconstellationsofscriptoppositionhere>> Havingsaidthis,then,Raskinnotesthattheremustbeatriggerthatwilldetecttheswitch

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fromonescripttoanother,ascriptscwitchtriggeronethatcorrespondstothepunchline ofthejoke.Heidentifiestwosemanticscriptswitchtriggersinsimplejokes,ambiguity orcontradiction(31). AttardosGeneralTheoryofVerbalHumor TheGeneralTheoryofVerbalHumor,whichSalvatoreAttardoandVictorRaskin collaboratedonin1991,isseenasrevisedversionoftheSSTH(AttardoHT22),a revisionofRaskinsSSTHandAttardosfiveleveljokerepresentationmodel(in Hempelmann33).WheretheSSTHisaimedathumoringeneral,theGTVHfocuseson verbalhumor,andwheretheSSTHwasasemantictheoryofhumor,theGTVHisa linguistictheoryatlarge,thatis,itincludesotherareasoflinguisticsaswell,including, mostnotably,textuallinguistics,thetheoryofnarrativity,andpragmatics(Attardoqtd. inHempelmann34).AttardomeantfortheGTVHtoaccountfornotonlythesemantic aspectofhumor,butforallitsotherlinguistic(andcertainnonlinguisticfeatures),a wideningofitsscopeachievedbywayofAttardosintroductionofwhathecalled KnowledgeResourcesorKRs,andthefocusofthetheoryonjokesimilarity.Wecan lookatKnowledgeResourcesasframesorparametersthatmustbeaccessedwhen generatingajoke,inadditiontotheoriginalKRofscriptopposition(SO)[script oppositenessinRaskin]fromtheearlierSSTH. Attardosearlierfiveleveljokerepresentationorganizestheselevelsfromthemost abstracttothemostconcrete: 5 4 3 2 1 BASIC TEMPLATE ScriptoppositionandLogicalmechanism Juxtaposing selected

TARGET+SITUATION LANGUAGE SURFACE

Words,syntax,sentencelineup Result:text(ofjoke)

(Attardoqtd.inHempelmann42) Wenoteherethatthishierarchy,inwhichthemostabstract,deeplevelsareplacedabove transformationrulesandresources,andinwhichthesurfacejokeislowest,doesnot correspondtothewayajokergeneratesajoke,butwasinsteadseeninrelationtoa Chomskyanviewofgenerativeapproachestolanguage(42). TheGTVHsKnowledgeResourcesareexpansionsorrevisionsofthesefive levels,postulatingnowahierarchicalmodelofjokerepresentationconsistingofsix levels(35),andwhileitisevidentthattheKRparametersdonothavehardandfast boundaries,thefocusoftheGTVHistheverbalmaterialemployedinhumor production(41).Attardohimselfnotesthattheinterdependenceand/orindependence
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amongtheKRshaveallowedthedeterminationofthehierarchicalorganization[of these](AttardoHT27) VidetheGTVH,Attardothusoutlineseachjokeasa6tuple[specificationof the]instantiationoftheseparameters,inwhich Joke:{LA,SI,NS,TA,SO,LM} (27). AttardoorderstheseKRsinthismanner: <<flashthis>>

SO LM SI TA NS LA
(AttardoHT28)

1. TheKRScriptOpposition(SO)istheparameterdealingwiththe opposition/overlappingrequiredbytheSSTH,andistheKRthatismostabstract. AttardostatesthatanyhumoroustextwillindicateanSO(27).Hempelmanncites AttardoindefiningthescriptintheGTVHasaninterpretationofthetextofajoke. WhilethisisindeedastreamliningoftheRaskindefinitionofscripts,thisstilltakesinto accounttheincorporationofencyclopedicknowledgeintothelexicon (Hempelmann3940). 2. TheKRLogicalMechanism(LM)istheparameterthatembodiesalocallogic (videZiv),whichisthedistorted,playfullogic(AttardoHT25),theresolutionofthe

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incongruityinanincongruityresolutionmodel,alogicthatislimitedasitpresupposesa logicthatmaynotholdoutsideofthejokeworld(25). 3. TheKRSituation(SI)isdeemedthepropsofthejokeobjects,participants, instruments,activities,etc.(24).Thisiswhatthejokeisabout,andistheKRthatisnot uniquetohumoroustext,activatedbyallscripts(cf.AttardoHT24). 4. TheKRTarget(TA),isthebuttofthejoke(23),andunlikeSImaybean optionalfeature,inthatnotalljokesnecessarilyneedatarget(Hempelmann38).Certain kindsofjokes,suchasethnicandpoliticaljokes,whichfocusongroups,orindividuals representativeofgroups,stereotypedindividualsorgroups,orevenideologicaltargets [suchasromanticlove,theestablishment]maintainaconnectionwithindividualsand /oridentifiablegroupsthatsignaltendentiousnessoraggression.Andtheseindividualsor groupsarethosethatarenamedbythisKR(AttardoHT2324). 5. TheKRNarrativeStrategy(NS)istheKRthataccountsforthegenreorthe microgenreofthejoke(AttardoandRaskin300).Thisistheparameterresponsiblefor castingthejokeintoanarrativeorganization,suchasasimplenarrative,adialogue,a pseudoriddle,anasideinaconversation(AttardoHT23). 6. TheKRLanguage(LA)isreferredtobyAttardoandRaskinasallchoicesat thephonetic,phonologic,morphophonemic,morphologic,lexic,syntactic,semantic,and pragmaticlevelsoflanguage(298).LAcarriesalltheinformationnecessaryforthe verbalizationofthetext,andisresponsiblefortheplacementofthefunctionalelements thatconstituteit,suchasthepunchline(AttardoHT22;alsoHempelmann37).And becausethepunchlineisthecenterofthejoke,allotherKRsareinterwovenwiththis, characterizingthesurfacestructureofthejoke(Hempelmann37). 3.0 TheGloriaGarciJokes:PreliminaryApplications

Ofthemanyinstancesofhumorinthiscollection,IhadmentionedearlierthatI didnotconsiderthosethatdidnotappearinajokeformat,suchasannotatedcartoons. Andofthejokesthatwereincludedtherein,Itriedtochoosethosethathadveryclear punchlines,andthosethatwillshowoverlapandoppositionmoreclearly,evenwhile, certainly,thereareotherjokesthatqualifyforthis.Ialsochosetwosetsofjokeshere, onesetthatfocuseddirectlyontheGloriaGarcillanophoneconversation,andanotherset thatrepresentedthejokespokingfunatGMA,eitherasaresultofthediminutionofher statureaspresident[owingtotheGloriagateaffair,orperhapsengenderedbyearlier publicdistrust],orasresultoftheGloriaGarcicoverup,inordertoestablishexisting jokecycles.Inoteherethatthesearethetwomaincategoriesunderwhichwecanslotthe jokesinthiscollection.Thereis,indeed,onothercategory,whichfocusesonjokes segueingfromelectionalsoransandotherpoliticalcharacters,butIdidnotconsiderthis atallforthepurposesofthispaper,thoughmanyofthesejokesarebettercrystallized, andareperhaps,funnierandmorefamiliarthantheGloriaGarcijokesthemselves.For mostofthesereadings,IusedtheAttardoGTVHhierarchyofKRsandonlyinthree instances,didIgobacktoRaskinsSSTH.Ishallexplainwhyinalittlewhile.
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A.

J23a

CitizensGloriaandGarcitospeaktothenationtonightat7pm.Theplantodeny thatitwasthemtalking.TheywilldemonstratethisbyusingSIGNLANGUAGE. IbeginherebyreadingthisfirstjokeusingtheGTVHKRs,asthisfirstjokecanalready bereadasasimplenarrative. FollowingtheAttardohierarchy,wecanmapthisthus: SO disclosure/concealment Voice/mutedness Fantasy/reality [real/unreal] planningisanalmostsituation,exaggeration plan;nationalannouncement GMA,Garcillano,media,TVaudience[Filipinos] simplenarrative;news

LM SI TA NS

LA irrelevant Herewefindthatthesituation,theapparentplanforthenationalannouncementofboth GMAsandGarcisculpabilitydoesnotonlyresultinanevenmoreunacceptablefiasco, butthattheoverlapbetweenthescriptsoftruthtellingandexpressionisconcealedthrice over.First,thatthisisasituationthatalmosthappens,butdoesnotiswhatthelogical mechanismdoestoassistthejokespunchline.Secondly,thatthecharactersdeemsign languageasapossibleoutforthem,inthattheywouldremainmuteand incomprehensibletotheFilipinoaudience,presentsthemasignorantandcunning,both, inthatsigncouldindeedbecomprehensibletomanyFilipinos.Thejokecertainly panderstothestereotypeofsignlanguagebeingamishmashofweirdgesturesand handsignals,whichitcertainlyisnot.Also,thepunchlinecertainlycontextualizesthe scriptofcollusionandinsincerity,astheunexpectedendofthejokeunderscoresthe collusionbeforeandduringthisannouncement. AreadingofthejokeusingRaskinssemanticscriptanalysisunderscoresthis opposition: 1. Citizens:inhabitant,dweller,belonging 2. Gloria:name,female,PresidentofthePhilippines,highestgovernmentofficial, dialoguepartner,coplanner 3. and:conj.,addition,
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4. Garci:name,Garcillano,COMELECcommissioner,governmentofficial,dialogue partner,coplanner 5. to:prep.,signalintent,direction speak:action,communication,expression,information 6. to:prep.,direction the:art.,definite 7. nation:place,home,dwelling,placeofbelonging,identity 8. tonight:evening,definitetime 9. at:prep.,place,direction,status 10. 7pm:evening,definitetime 11. They:pron.,3rdpplural, 12. plan:action,aim,definitegoal 13. to:prep.,direction,intent 14. deny:action,refute,deflecttruth, 15. that:pron.,relative,signalsrelation 16. it:pron.,3rdp.sing. 17. was:action/status,be[past],linkingverb them:pron.,3rdp.objective, 18. talking:action,speech,communication,exchange 19. They[see#13] 20. will:action/status,befuture[linkingverb] 21. demonstrate:action,show,exhibit,overtness 22. this:pron.,demonstrative 23. by:prep., 24. using:action,present,utilize 25. SignLanguage:deaf,mutelanguage,communication,expression Ofthesewecanbegintocreatefourgroupsofwords,asamodificationoftheRaskin combinatorialrules: Belonging/identity:citizens,nation,they,them,and Deliberateaction:speak,plan,deny,talking,demonstrate,using Signalsofdefinition:to(2x),the,tonight,7pm,signlanguage,Gloria,Garci Intent:to,at,plan,will Thesignalsofcollaborationareevidenthereinthemanyinstancesoflinkednamesand pronouns,andtheactionsindicatedinthejokeworkareverydefiniteones.Evenwhile thesearereferenttothejokenarrativeofappearingtogetherforaninterview,thesesignal deliberateactionreferenttothecontextofthejokework,collusioninpaddingvotes,and collusioninkeepingmumaboutthetransaction/question.Thesignalsofdefinitionalso aboundinthistext,notonlyindecidingtodemonstrate[questionable]innocenceby usingsignlanguage,soasnottobefoundoutbutmoresignificantlyinemphasizingthe clearcutdeliberationoftheplantodupetheaudience/fellowcitizens.Wenotealsothat scriptsofbelongingandidentity(citizen,nation)asappliedtoCitizensGloriaand Garciprovidetheveryoppositionherealreadybecauseagreatpartofthejoke[the inherentjabline]isthattheycannotbecountedascitizensbecauseofthedeliberate travestytheymade[aremaking,inthecontextofthejoke],ofthecommunication, expectedlyoftruthalone.Thisalsomakesofthescriptsofcommunicationand
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expressionhere,incongruoussitesofclarity,becausethey,infactarenotmeantto conveytruthorinformation.Theexaggerateddesiretoconcealissignaledherebysign language,whichofcourse,obscures,ifnotinvalidates,thetermsoftheimpending interview,andwhilethisisimprobable,theuseofitbythesetwocharactersisnot impossible.Signlanguageisseenherethoughashiddenlanguage,butthereferential ambiguityisthatthisisreferenttootothehiddenlanguageintheGGtapesinthefirst place,whichisevenmoreconcealed,becauseatleastinSign,oneknowsthesignsand whattheystandfor,andthisiswhatislackinginthetapes. B. J23b

Saplane: GMA:Hello,akotapon100piso,100taosaya. Garci:Maam,akotapon1000piso,1000saya. Pilot:Akotaponkayodalawa,milyontaosaya! Inthissecondjoke,weusetheGTVHmappingagain: SOmoney/nomoney Profligacy/lack Literal/figurative[perverse]generosity LMinferringconsequences,proportion,exaggeration TA GMA,Garci,Filipinos SIflight,travel,poverty/problemalleviation NSdialogue LAtelegraphic,abnormalityofsyntaxaddingtohumor Inthisjoke,thesituationsignalspovertyalleviationbytwospeakers/government officialsGMAandGarci.Thethrowingawayofmoneysignalsthegenerosity/ compassionofthesetwocharactersinthenarrative,butthecontextpointsustotwo framesoneistheframeofpoverty,inwhichthetaoreferredtoarecertainlythosein needofthemoney.Thescriptofprofligacyorextremegenerosity,pointstowhat Filipinosdoexpectoftheirpoliticians,thattheywillthrowmoneyawaysothatthey couldbemadehappy[saya].Thisbecomestheimplicitjabline,thatwhilethisisa scriptaboutGloriaGarci,italsodoespokefunatthosebenefitingfromtheGloriaGarci votebuyingevenwhilethisrealityisnotverbalizedinthejokeitself.Inthejoke wefindtheFilipinos[isangmilyongtao]therecipientonlyofthepilotssmartalecky plan,butwefindinthisscript,amorecomplicit,andnotalltogetherflattering,aspectto thispresence.ThescriptofgivingisseeninonesenseinthedialoguebetweenGloriaand Garci,butisambiguatedandmadedisproportionateinthepilotscomicremark.Wealso seeherewhythejokeshouldsituatetheminaplane,andwhywearewillingtogo
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alongwiththissituation.Wedonotaskwhyaretheyflying?andwhyaretheyina planetogether?[Orevenifwedo],werealizethatwhatthisplanescenariodoesisto activatethepilotasatrulygenerousperson,evenmorethanGloriaGarci,someoneout ofgovernmentandpolitics,even!Thejokespunchlineadmitstooofthefactthatwhile 100,1000peoplewillbehappywitgovernmentdoleouts,theparallelismisastrue millionswillbehappiertodoawaynotjustwithGloriaorGarci,butwiththesystemthat spawnedthem.Thepilotisconstruedhere,inferentially,astherealhero,shouldhebe abletodropthemfromtheheights.Thejokecontextualizesinanotherwaythekindof fallthatthepeopledowishofGloriaandGarci.Hereitisliteral,andthisoverlapswith thefigurativepoliticalfallwewishofthem,inreality. C. J34b

GayahinnatincGodmapagpatawad.PatawadnyaAdan&Eveperopinalayasniya claEden,kayapatawarinnatincAteGloperopalayasdincyaMalacaang. SOhigh/lowstature Gentlevirtue[mercy]/bruteforce LMfalseanalogy SIreligiousinformation,exile/eviction,punishment TAGMA,Filipinos NSadjacencypair LAcellphoneabbreviations,vowelcroppings,codeswitching Thehumorofthisjokeisfairlysimplewefindhereanexhortationtovirtueina theologicalsense,which,bywayofafalseanalogy,overlapswiththeapplicationofthe virtueinthepoliticalsense.Wefindinthefirstpartofthispremise,theinformation aboutthemercyofGod,andtheexplanationofhowsuchmercyistemperedbyHis justice[palayasnyaclasaEden],illustratingwhatRaskincallsbonafidecommunication. Raskinlooksatjoketellingasaninstanceofnonbonafidecommunication,the purposeofthemodeisnottoconveyinformationcontainedinthetextheisutteringbut rathertocreateaspecialeffectwiththehelpofthetext,andinjoketelling,thisisto makethehearerlaugh(Raskin101).Bonafidecommunicationthenisearnest,serious, informationconveyingmodeofverbalcommunication(100).Thisinstanceofbonafide communicationinthefirstpartofthe[literal]text[message]isreinterpretedinthe secondhalfbecausetheutteranceturnsonitself.Thefalseanalogyhereismaynotbeso falseinassigninganerrantstatustoAteGlo[parallelingAdamandEve],butin extendingthistomakeofFilipinosgods,inadvocatingthesimilarexpulsionfrom PhilippineEdenMalacaang.Whilethescriptoverlaphereliesinthedemocratic beliefofbeinglikeGodbytakingonhisvoice[voxpopuli,voxDei],thisidealized
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statusoftheFilipinovoter/citizenismademorerealandpalpablehere,removingitfrom thealmostmythicalAdamandEvestorywithwhichthetextbegins.Thescriptoverlaps alsomakeforthescriptoppositionshere.Thenonbonafideeffectofthisjoketellingis toemphasizeandforegroundtheenormityofemulationofvirtue,andultimatelycasts doubtonthepossibilityofmeremortalsbeingabletobalancethemercyandvirtueof whichwewereinformedinthefirstpartofthejoke.Suchinstructionisconstruedas jokeinthelightofGloriagate,butthereverberationsofthejokeisfurtheredasthe exhortationtoexpelAteGlofromMalacanangalsorefers,tongueincheek,tothe penchantoftheFilipinotoforgiveandforget,hencetheearliertemplatetoforgive,and expel/evicttheinhabitantofthenationalresidence. D. J35

SbenLaswerteatmaayosdawangbuhaypagmaydwendesabahayebakitsa malakanyangmaydwendenakatiraperohirapparinangPilipinas? LetuslookatthisbywayoftheGTVHmapping: SOluck/misfortune Providence/poverty Fantasy/reality Real/unreal Good/bad LM faultyreasoning,parallelism,exaggeration

SIhabitation,wishfulfillment TAGMA NSbeliefandrebuttal,adjacencypair,pseudoriddle,suspendedquestion LAcellphonevowelcroppings(firstpartofnarrative) NowletusmapthisbywayofRaskinssemanticscripts: Sbe[sabi]say nLa[nila]they,3rdperson,distance swertelucky,fortunate,blessed,prosperous atprep.And,also,addition maayosorderly,neat,normalcy dawTagalogmodulatorsignifyinguncertainty,indefiniteness angart.,definite buhaylife,[alive] 13

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pagconnector,[kapag],when,instance,definition maythere[is],presence dwendedwarf,fantasticalcreaturegrantinggood/badluck,apersonofsmall stature saprep.In,presence,possession,belonging,enclosure bahayhouse,home,residence,domain,enclosure,belonging []ellipsis;signalsbreakinsentenceinformation e[ay]is bakitwhyinterrogativepron.,question,inquiry,cause,effect sain[seeabove] malakanyang name, official residence of Philippine president, home, dwelling,habitation,power maythere[seeabove] dwendedwarf,smallstature,GMA nakatiradweller,inhabitant peroconnector,but,opposition hirappoor,miserable,difficulty,lack pastill,Tagalogparticle rinconnector,also angart.(seeabove) Pilipinasname,country,definite,nation,home,dwelling,habitation

Thisisajokethatisusuallyconstruedasfunnyonlyinthelightofthefactthatitisa denigrationofapoliticalfigure,amongthemanyjokesofdiminutionofapoliticalfigure, andinGMA,thisdiminutionisaphysical/literalone.Again,liketheAdamandEve joke,thefirstpartofthisjokefunctionsasentryintobonfidecommunicationweare informedofastandingculturalbelief.Thechangefrominformationtoincongruityhereis signaledevidentlybytheellipsis,thetransitionworkingasavisiblepreparationforthe punchlineofthejoke. Iwouldliketonote,though,thattheinitialsituationinthisjokeworkdoesnot primarilylieintheleaderssmallstature,butintheexistenceandthecultivationof luckandprosperityinaFilipinohome.Weseetheculturalcontextofthejokenotonly inthebeliefinsupernaturalcreatures,orinasupernaturalagencyofengenderinga goodlife,butinthesenseofwhatconstitutesthatgoodlifeswerteandayos asconsequentconcepts,luckandprosperitylayingthefoundationfornormalcyand order. Wealsofindinthisjokewhatwecouldconstrueasscriptsofluck,andscriptsof home,thelatterwehavealreadyseenoccurringintheAdamandEve/GMAjoke.The scriptoppositioninthesurfacejokewillcertainlylieintheincongruitybetweenthe beliefinthefantasyofaluckgrantingdwendeinaPhilippinehome,andtherealityof anotherdwende,apersonofsmallstature,whoisthequintessenceofunluckinessand misfortuneinanationalhome,whichisMalacaang.Thisisnotjustthereversalof fantasyandreality,northediscrepancybetweenexpectationandreality.Thisintersection offamilialdwellingplaceandnationalhome,andthenationashome,isascriptthat
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occursinmanyjokesinthecollection[whichwecannotexamineduetothetime constraint],andtheparallelfatesofexpulsionintheearliertext,andmisfortuneinthis textapproachthesamescript,andshouldthereforebeseenasanunderlyingimperative inthenational/culturalcontext. This,therefore,isnotjustadiminutionjoke,butonewhosestructureandagency continuallyunderscoresbreakdowninbelongingandorderinthenation,andthatisthe realmisfortune. 4.0 Conclusion

Attheendofthispaper,weask,doesthefunninessofthesejokeschangewith ourexaminationoftheseashumoroustextsviatheSSTHandtheGTVH?,andindeed, ouransweris,certainlynot! ButwhatthereadingsofthesetextsbywayofRaskinsSemanticScriptTheory ofHumorandAttardosGeneralTheoryofVerbalHumoristoprovidepatterns[scripts] andformalobjectsthatallowustomovebeyondtheovertandpalpablecomiccontextsof thesejokestotracktriggersandpatternsthatunderpinthepresentpoliticalimpasse. WehavenotedinthesefoursamplejokesthatintheGloriaGarcijokesthe embroilmentofthepresidentandtheCOMELECcommissionerinthisscandalismarked byscriptsofdeliberation,definitiveness,anddeliberateconcealment[seeJ23a],and whileintherealnationalschemethisisanunresolvedissue,andisdiscoursemarkedby tentativeness,chaos,andirresolution,thejokecyclesandthelexicalscriptswehaveseen pointtoamoredefinedscenario.Wemayarguethatthesemaybesobecausetheyare contrivednarratives,butwhatweareseeingtooisthatthisdeliberateconcealmentisnot itselfpartofthesurfacestructureofthesejokesbutaremarkersthatappearinthedeep structureofthesejoketexts. Wealsosawthatinthesejokecycles,theresortthatpeoplehaveintheirfutile attemptstogetatthetruthistoadvocateviolent,brutalmeanstoundoGMAherself,and, consequently,thepoliticalinstitutionsherepresentsbywayoftheleaderstatussheholds, andthisiseffectedinthesejokesinwaysbywhichsheisdiminishedpersonally[hence theconstantheightjokes],ortobeavengedagainstherwrongdoingbyhighlightingthe oppositionbetweentheleaderasapersonofgoodmoralcharacterandpersonal integrity,akindandcompassionateperson(Raskin224),andthepresentationofGMA ascorruptanduntrustworthy.Thisismodifiedinthepilotjokeinaway,inthatGMAis initiallyshowntobecompassionateandcharitable,buttheendcertainlyisthesame wherethescriptofwishingaleaderlonglifeisnegatedbywishingherdead(225).Inthe collection,anotherwayofdenigratingthepoliticalfigureistousethesexual/nonsexual opposition,inthattheleaderisnotsupposedtobethoughtofinsexualterms,andany attempttoshowtheleaderasafunctioning,orpotential,sexualpartnerisseenas degradation(224). Inthejokeworkreferenttoineffectualgovernanceduetothisnationalscandal, ourreadingsofthesejokesbywayoftheSSTH/GTVHhaveinscribedGMAincontexts
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ofdisorderandunspeakabletaboos[videJ34].Themajorscriptoppositionwehave found,therefore,inthesejoketextsiswhatRaskinnotedasnormalcy/abnormality; real/unreal,good/bad. Inending,itisimperativethatweberemindedofsuchunbendingoppositionsthat manifestunflinchingdisgustatthechaosoffalsehoodmaking.Thisjokework,andthese jokecyclesarenewvenuesthatallowustoseejusthowdeepthisnationalwoundis,and whereweareinthisnationalchaos.Andwhileatmanypointsintheirdiscussion,even Raskin,Attardo,HempelmannandotherproponentsoftheGTVHhavethemselvessaid thatthislinguistictheoryofhumor,andtheknowledgeresourcesthemselvesbearmore examinationandstudy,thispreliminaryattemptatexaminingtheformalaspectsof currentPhilippinepoliticaljokeworkattemptstoreadjokesaspopulartextsthatslashat theheartofdemocraticpolity(Whitfield197),aslinguistic,culturalartifactsthat interpretsandreinterpretsthenationanditssearchfortruth/s.

WorksCited: 1. Attardo, Salvatore. Humorous Texts: A Semantic and Pragmatic Analysis. Berlin:MoutondeGruyter,2001. 2. Coronel,SheilaS.Hello,Garci?PoliticalHumorintheCellphoneAge.Quezon City,Philippines:PhilippineCenterforInvestigativeJournalism,2005. 3. Garland,Nicholas.PoliticalCartooningLaughingMatters:ASeriousLookat Humor.JohnDurantandJonathanMiller,eds.NY:Longman,1988,7589. 4. Hempelmann, Christian F. Incongruity and Resolution of Humorous Narratives Linguistic Humor Theory and the Medieval Bawdry of Rabelais, Boccaccio,andChaucerUnpublishedM.A.Thesis.Ohio:YoungstownU,2000. 5. Mulkay, Michael. On Humour: Its Natureand Its Placein Modern Society. Cambridge,UK:PolityP,1988. 6. Raskin,Victor.SemanticMechanismsofHumor.Dordrecht,theNetherlands:D. Reidel,1985. 7. Roeckelein, Jon E. The Psychology of Humor: A Reference Guide and AnnotatedBibliography.Westport,CT:GreenwoodP,2002. 8.. Whitfield,StephenJ.PoliticalHumorHumorinAmerica:AResearchGuide toGenresandTopics.LawrenceE.Mintz,ed.NY:GreenwoodP,1988,195212.

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