General Theory of
Verbal Humour (GTVH)

The General Theory of Verbal Humour consists of six levels of independent Knowledge Resources (KRs).

These Knowledge Resources are intended to be used to model individual verbal jokes and in turn analyse the degree to which they are similar or different.

The Knowledge Resources proposed by Raskin and Attardo in the General Theory of Verbal Humour are summarised below.

1. Script Opposition (SO)
   This refers to the script opposition contained within Raskin’s Script-Based Semantic Theory of Humour and includes themes such as real (unreal), actual (non-actual), normal (abnormal), possible (impossible), etc. Click here for a more comprehensive list of semantic oppositions.
2. Logical Mechanism(LM)
   This refers to the mechanism that connects the different scripts within a joke. These can range from a simple verbal technique, such as a pun, to a more complex Logical Mechanism, such as faulty logic or false analogies.
3. Situation (SI)
   This could include activities, objects, instruments or props needed to tell the story.
4. Target (TA)
   This identifies the person/people who become the ‘butt’ of the joke. The term ‘target’ serves to develop and solidify stereotypes of ethnic groups, genders, professions, etc.
5. Narrative Strategy (NS)
   This considers the narrative format of the joke, as either a simple narrative, a dialogue, or a riddle. Narrative Strategy aims to classify the different genres (and subgenres) of verbal humour. Attardo later expanded this Knowledge Resource to include oral and printed humorous narratives of any length, not just jokes.
6. Language (LA)
   This consists of all the information this is necessary for the verbalization of a text. It is responsible for the exact wording and placement of the functional elements of the text.

In an attempt to illustrate their theory, Raskin and Attardo used seven examples of the light bulb joke (how many [insert subject] does it take to change a light bulb), with each variant shifting by a single Knowledge Resource.

Each one of the Knowledge Resources, ordered hierarchically above, has the ability to determine the parameters of the Knowledge Resources below, and be determined by the Knowledge Resources above.