Ever wondered why some words can make you snort milk through your nose or why little kids love to run around yelling certain others?

A pair of University of Alberta researchers say theyB次元官网网址檝e analyzed what it is that make some words intrinsically funny.

B次元官网网址淣obody has really done a good job at predicting humour in advance,B次元官网网址� said University of Alberta psychologist Chris Westbury. B次元官网网址淥ne of the reasons is they havenB次元官网网址檛 been willing to go low enough.B次元官网网址�

Westbury is co-author of a recently published paper entitled B次元官网网址淲riggly, Squiffy, Lummox, and Boobs: What Makes Some Words FunnyB次元官网网址� in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. His research may be the first to break down what makes us break down.

Like all great science, it builds on previous research.

Under the previous federal government, Westbury said a drought in science funding left him free to do something wacky.

B次元官网网址淚 thought people would think I was wasting their money if I did this on their dime.B次元官网网址�

HeB次元官网网址檇 noticed that people often laugh at silly-sounding non-words, so he went looking for patterns. Garble like B次元官网网址渟nunkoople,B次元官网网址� for example, was more apt to draw a smile than something like B次元官网网址渪-attack.B次元官网网址�

On the strength of that research, he was sent a British paper to review that used statistical analysis to rank the funniness of nearly 5,000 words. Cutting-edge stuff, thought Westbury, but why were those words funny?

WesterburyB次元官网网址檚 27-page paper presents a 2,500-year literature review of philosophical attempts to get the joke. It may be the only academic paper that cites both Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, author of the book B次元官网网址淔ear and Trembling,B次元官网网址� and Broadway playwright Neil Simon, who gave us B次元官网网址淭he Odd Couple.B次元官网网址�

But nobody has really succeeded, Westbury holds. B次元官网网址淣one of those theories are really theories. TheyB次元官网网址檙e explanations.B次元官网网址�

He wanted to be able to predict what people would find funny. To do that, he and colleague Geoff Hollis decided to focus on the most basic kind of humour.

B次元官网网址淪ingle words? ItB次元官网网址檚 not really that funny, but even though itB次元官网网址檚 not that funny, itB次元官网网址檚 really complex.B次元官网网址�

What makes a word funny, he found, is a combination of two factors B次元官网网址� sound and meaning.

Using sophisticated statistical analysis of three billion words worth of prose on Google, they found words likely to get a laugh tend to be associated with sex, bodily functions, good times, animals and insults.

But thatB次元官网网址檚 not enough. They have to sound funny, too.

The 10 funniest words in English from a sample of nearly 45,000?

Upchuck, bubby, boff, wriggly, yaps, giggle, cooch, guffaw, puffball and jiggly.

The Canadian Press

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