What The Difference Between Jokes:
A joke is a form of humor in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laugh. The joker uses exaggeration, juxtaposition, and double entendre to evoke laughter. In some cases, jokes may rely on innuendo, a phrase or expression with a secondary meaning intended to be interpreted differently from the primary purpose. A comedian tells a trick to make an audience laugh.
An anecdote is usually a short story illustrating an event or point made through another person’s experience, usually with some humorous intent. It is meant to be illustrative more than just entertaining. While anecdotes are often amusing, they can also be quite insightful without any intended humor at all.
Anecdotes are familiar in conversational speech, literature, and journalism. Commonly told accounts are about famous or notorious people for their outstanding achievements or infamous or humorous failures. They may be natural or fictional. They are typically short enough to relate in a single sitting.
A joke is based on wordplay involving connotations rather than denotations. For example, in the phrase “Don’t have a cow,” ‘have’ can be interpreted as slang for ‘possess.’ However, the person who says the sentence does not want not to possess cows; they wish not to have any problems – but by suggesting that another person should also not have problems, creates a double meaning, and relies on the listener to understand that while the phrase ‘have a cow’ is used in this example as slang for possessing something (in other words having a problem), it could also mean to physically “have” (own) a cow (although generally associated with rural lives).
Jokes work by evoking an emotional response more complex than simple laughter. For this reason, jokes that successfully elicit such reactions are often regarded as epigrams, examples of wit, or irony.
However, like other categories such as anecdotes and fables, jokes may not require ironic intent to be funny; indeed, they may be told to amuse rather than for any particular deeper purpose. Thus we can see how one person’s joke can easily be another person’s mundane anecdote.
Difference between jokes and riddles:
A riddle is a question or statement leading to the solution of a puzzle, usually expressed as a single phrase, which may require an unusual knowledge of facts to solve. Riddles are poems or sentences that pose a question that needs answering.
A riddle can be used in both fiction and non-fiction. It can entertain (for example, by challenging one’s ingenuity) while at the same time educating its readers indirectly by presenting them with vocabulary, historical references, facts about nature, etc. Riddles are also used in indirect speech acts to perform certain pragmatic functions, such as getting people’s attention or creating suspense.
Riddles do not necessarily have to be verbal; there are many riddles without words (solutions provided below).
On the other hand, a joke is a story or dialogue with a punchline. The punchline is the climax of the mark that provokes laughter. It is often unexpected and may rely on a double entendre or another form of wordplay.
Unlike riddles, jokes do not typically require any special knowledge to understand; they are intended to be funny for as many people as possible. Some tricks are appropriate for children and adults alike.
Riddles can be found in various forms, such as proverbs, limericks, and tongue twisters. A well-known example is “I speak two languages: English and body,” which is a pun on the word “bilingual.” Jokes, however, are typically found in the form of short stories or one-liners.
Anecdotes, jokes, and riddles are all examples of vernacular literature. Vernacular literature is writing produced by ordinary people in their everyday language. It does not necessarily have to be literary quality, nor does it have to be about high-brow topics. Vernacular literature often focuses on ordinary, everyday experiences and events. This makes it relatable and accessible to a broader audience.
One of the advantages of vernacular literature is that it provides a window into the everyday lives of ordinary people. It gives us a sense of what they find funny, interesting, or important. It can also be used to challenge established norms and conventions.