Ang Corny Mo!: An Analysis on Tagalog Pickup Lines
Gillie May Salomon Lyn Liza Silva Paola Villaseñor University University of the Philippines, Diliman Mr. Jem Javier Linguistics 120
Linguistics, Courtship, and Humor
ABSTRACT is
paper was written to identify the characteristics of Tagalog pickup lines and to prove that pickup lines are humorous. is was done by discussing the linguistic processes, such as semantics, presence of code-switching, and also looking at the conversational maxims. is was supported by taking di ff erent erent examples from the data compiled from the Internet. e diff erent erent theories of humor were also used to prove Tagalog pickup lines as material for entertainment or humor. ru this research, Tagalog pickup lines were found to be that of an interrogative sentence type and di ff erent erent relations manifest the use of words found in pickup lines. Commonly found relations are metaphors and similes where for both these cases, the prototype of the topic is used since the listener will be able to relate more. Tagalog pickup lines also has structural ambiguities which make it humorous for the audience, supported by the Incongruity theory. Also, sociocultural background is needed for one to be able to understand and appreciate Tagalog pickup lines.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .............................................................................................................................. 2 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................
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2. Methodology .................................................................................................................
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3. Results and Discussions .................................................................................................. 7 3.1 Pickup Lines as a form of Courtship ...................................................................
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3.2 Characteristics of Pickup Lines ...........................................................................
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3.2.1 Sentence Type ........................................................................................
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3.2.2 Code-switching ......................................................................................
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3.2.3 Semantics ...............................................................................................
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3.2.3.1 Synonymy and Antonymy .........................................................
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3.2.3.2 Polysemy ...................................................................................
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3.2.3.3 Prototypes .................................................................................. 10 3.2.3.4 Collocation ................................................................................
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3.2.3.5 Metonymy .................................................................................
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3.2.3.6 Metaphors and Similes ...............................................................
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3.2.4 Pragmatics, Discourse, and Register .......................................................
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3.2.4.1 Conversational Maxims .............................................................
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3.2.5 Other Characteristics .............................................................................
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3.3 Pickup Lines as Source of Humor .......................................................................
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3.3.1 Humor eories .....................................................................................
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3.3.1.1 Incongruity eory ....................................................................
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3.3.1.2 Superiority eory .....................................................................
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3.3.1.3 Relief eory .............................................................................
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3.3.1.4 Play eory ...............................................................................
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3.3.2 Sociocultural Factors ..............................................................................
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3.4 Filipinos Perception on Pickup Lines ..................................................................
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4. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................
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5. Recommendations .........................................................................................................
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6. Bibliography ..................................................................................................................
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7. Appendices ..................................................................................................................... 20 Appendix 1: List of Tagalog Pickup Lines .................................................................
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Appendix 2: Sentence type Classi cation of Pickup Lines .........................................
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Appendix 3: Tally of Sentence Types .........................................................................
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1. INTRODUCTION Up until now, the issue of humor has been of great interest, not only because of the social function it plays but also because the de nition of humor is still a big question since few researchers have really delved into what humor really is (Levine, 1969). Humor may be considered as another product of a human’s use and knowledge of language wherein language is manipulated to produce di ff erent responses from human, one of which is laughter (Koestler, 1974 cited in Chiaro, 1992). Levine (1969) says, “humor is regarded as a triing, destructive, and degrading force to morality, religion, and art. Seen diff erently, it is a liberating, socially constructive, and even ennobling art” (p1). To better understand humor, there are 3 main theories to explain the sources of humor. ese are cognitive-perceptual theory, behavior theory, and psychoanalytic theory (Levine, 1969). When talking of humor, the rst thing that comes to mind are jokes. Linguistically speaking, jokes are the diff erent plays on words that has undergone diff erent processes and these may be performed using body language that emphasizes the joke. ese can be categorized into absurd jokes, anti-female, derogatory, dirty, formulaic, Irish, knock-knock, political, ritualistic, and sick jokes (Chiaro, 1992). Jokes are so prolic that there are already many professions catering to the use of jokes. Some of these professions are clowns, stand-up comedians, and even talk show hosts insert bits of jokes to entertain the audience more. However, not only jokes may be considered humorous and there exists other materials that may elicit laughter from the audience, one of which is the use of pickup lines. Pickup lines are originally used as icebreaker or as a conversation starter. ere are diff erent varieties of pickup lines, and some are still eff ective in getting the attention primarily of the opposite sex that the speaker has used the pickup line on. In the western culture, the use of pickup lines are used mainly with the goal of having a one-night stand with the opposite sex (“Denition of pickup line”, nd). For the Filipino audience, this does not seem to be the case, since Filipinos may be considered more conservative than the westerners (Francisco, 2002). Pickup lines in the Filipino culture may be traced as a form of courtship by considering the di ff erent types of courtship during the ancient times. is is manifested through the harana and kundiman. ere have been a few theories explaining where the word kundiman originated from. One of those theory is that it is a contraction of the words ‘kung hindi man’, “if it were not so” which is a common formula if the early kundiman showing a “plaintive character of the song” (Besa, nd, par.2). Second is that it may have come from ‘Hele hele nang kandungan/Hele hele ng kundiman’ and the third one is that kundiman is what the red cloth word by male dancers is called. Where it really came from, kundiman, according to Besa (nd), dened as an art-song that expresses the love to a person or a thing, is so called the “Philippine’s signature love song”. It underwent a lot of distinct phases before it came to be known as an “art-song”. In the Spanish era, the Spaniards forbade Filipinos to show any practice of nationalism which resulted to outpouring their feelings through songs by “expressing their love for a woman who symbolized the Motherland” (Besa, nd, par.3). e next phase of the kundiman was during 1800 to 1930s, the semistylization, wherein the expression of love through text and preexisting melodies were integrated with Western dance forms, like danza, waltz, and fandago, into the musical style. And then it was during the 20th century, when trained musicians such as Francisco Santiago and Nicanor Abelardo, popularized kundiman into an artsong. More musicians were exposed to the academe, thus improving their knowledge in music (ibid.). Another manifestation of the creativity of the Filipinos when expressing their feelings is through harana, translated as serenade. Harana, having a Spanish inuence, is the practice of men serenading the woman they love. Courtship in the Philippines is unique from the Western societies because it is subdued and indirect (Francisco, 2002). If a man is interested in a woman, he can try courting her in a discreet way so that he will not seem aggressive. One of the things he may do is to harana or serenading the woman. During the night, the man, together with his friends who will serve as his moral support, will come visit the woman and sing songs for her over the window. is is will then be reciprocated by 5 of 27
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the woman’s pakipot response or “playing hard to get” response. is is said to be an appropriate behavior and this means that the girl is telling the man to do his best, that he must work hard to be able to win her love. ese traditions of attracting each other take so long before a couple is formed. Usually it even takes years of courting before the woman accepts the man. It is evident in old Tagalog movies, that men even had to do household chores like cutting wood to gain the trust of the family of the woman. is is because courting in the Filipino culture does not only mean courting the woman but also the family of the woman. Nowadays, things are much more diff erent. A simple text message or a chat may be the start of something similar to what our ancestors took ages to start. Capturing the attention of a woman may be simpler than it ever was. Complementary with the 21st century’s ability to be fast paced, the world of courting is also past paced. Men use anything to catch women’s attention, and trying to get their feeling across has never been easier. Pickup lines have become very famous. From getting feelings across, to showing a woman that a man is interested in her, to jokes, this have been the phases that came upon pickup lines. Pickup lines have become popular over the past few years. ere has also been a study in the University of Chicago, where they tested if Pickup lines really work (“Do Pickup Lines work?”, nd). Based on these facts, this paper has 2 objectives that the researchers wish to address. First, to identify the characteristics of Tagalog pickup lines. is would enable the readers to easily identify a sentence from a pickup line. To be able to do this, the data compiled by the researchers will undergo critical linguistic analysis to identify the diff erent processes that a word, phrase, or sentence has undergone. Second, to strengthen the argument that Tagalog pickup lines may also be considered humorous. To be able to do this, the theories of humor would be taken into consideration. Also, the sociocultural background of Tagalog pickup lines will also be identi ed. ru this research, linguists will be provided a preliminary data on Tagalog pickup lines since after an extensive research, the researchers failed to nd any papers or books that discusses the topic of Tagalog pickup lines. is may also help anthropologists and other related elds in further identifying the sociocultural factors that makes Filipinos unique, in terms of humor. Aside from the di ff erent professions, this study may also help people in providing a list of pickup lines that they can use in everyday conversations.
2. METHODOLOGY Tagalog pickup lines are heard usually from radios and TV programs. A local movie, “My Amnesia Girl”, has also come out and used Tagalog pickup lines to entertain people. A lot of blogs also compile these pickup lines, and one Tagalog song has these as its material (eg “Mahal Kita Kasi”, soundtrack from the movie “My Amnesia Girl”). Tagalog pickup lines may also be heard in everyday conversations between friends. For this reason, the researchers will be looking into these compilations, movies, songs and conversations as sources of data. e main source of data that the researchers has taken into consideration were the blogs of Chico Garcia, a DJ from the radio station RX93.1 (Strange Fruit: www.chicogarcia.wordpress.com); and from another blog, www.mattscradle.com. e pickup lines taken from these blogs will be used as the main data by the researchers. First, the characteristics of Tagalog pickup lines would be identi ed based on its diff erent linguistic components such as sentence type and semantics. Included also are pragmatics, discourse, and the presence of code-switching. e data would serve as examples in analyzing the diff erent linguistic processes that a Tagalog pickup line has undergone. is type of identication will also determine when a simple sentence becomes a pickup line, speci cally, what characterizes a pickup line compared to other sentences. Second, pickup lines will be taken as another subject in the topic of humor. Pickup lines would be proven as humorous by taking into consideration the di ff erent theories of humor. Aside from this, looking into sociocultural factors or background of the Tagalog pickup lines will further emphasize these as a source of humor for the Filipinos. 6 of 27
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Finally, how the Filipinos perceive Tagalog pickup lines will be tested by performing an experiment. Since Facebook is the most famous social site today, this was the chosen media by the researchers. A Tagalog pickup line would be posted and the researchers will tally how many people will “like” it. Comments will also be noted.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS For this paper, the “speaker” refers to the one delivering the pickup line, while “listener” refers to the one receiving the pickup line. Another term is the word “e ff ective” referring to the response of the listener. is will account for both the jokes and pickup lines, and is not limited to laughter but to the overall response that is desired by the speaker. 3.1 PICKUP LINES AS A FORM OF COURTSHIP Already discussed in Section 1, pickup lines may be traced as far back as the 1800s as a form of courtship. From a longer and more elaborate way of courtship, harana has been reduced to that of a one-liner hereon referred to as pickup lines. Similar to harana, most pickup lines are also delivered by the men instead of women. Table 1. 3 Types of Tagalog Pickup Lines Type: Relationship
Examples Sine ka ba? Kasi ang sarap mong panoorin Ipa-bloodtest mo kaya ako? Para malaman mong ikaw ang type ko Kung ikakasal ka, saan mo gusto? Ako kasi sa tabi mo Lumabas ka ba kagabi? Wala ka kasi sa panaginip ko e Toyomansi ka ba? Kasi ang sarap mo sa tilapia ko e Kandila ka ba? Kasi ang sarap mong i-blow e
Pickup lines can be categorized into 2 main types: those that are used for a complete stranger that a speaker is interested in (Type 1), and those that seems more suitably used by people who are already in a relationship and wishes to creatively express their feelings for each other (Type 2). Another type is what the researchers think as pickup lines that may follow the western de nition of a pickup line: to have a one-night stand with the listener (Type 3). e researchers also believe that Type 3 pickup lines would not really work on most listeners and are more closely related to jokes in a way that the expected response from the listener is laughter. 3.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF PICKUP LINES ere are diff erent features that characterizes a pickup line. switching, and semantic relations and processes.
ese
are sentence type, the use of code-
3.2.1 Sentence Type
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Table 2. Pickup Lines Sentence Type Sentence Type
Examples Bagyo ka ba? Kasi the moment you left my area of responsibility, you left my heart in a state of calamity.”
n erroga ve
Manananggal ka ba? Kasi hinahanap ko yung better half ko eh. Susi ka ba? Kasi ikaw ang nag unlock ng puso ko eh. Kung magkakaroon ako ng sariling planeta, gusto ko ikaw ang axis nito, para sa iyo lang iikot ang mundo ko.
Declarative
Aanhin pa ang damo kung sayo palang patay na patay na ako. Maglaro tayo ng kahit ano, wag lang taguan. Kasi a girl like you is hard to nd. Bastos ka rin no?! Di ka man lang nagpapaalam tuloy-tuloy kang pumasok sa puso ko! Ang galing mo rin no? Di mo pa ko binabato, tinamaan na ko sa yo. Ibenta mo na bahay mo, tutal nandito ka na nakatira sa puso ko.
Imperative
Patingin nga ng kamay mo! Hindi naman pala ganun kalaki, ba’t hawak mo buong mundo ko?
Pickup lines can either be declarative, interrogative, or exclamatory sentence. ere are also few cases of pickup lines being imperative sentences. Most pickup lines are characterized as an interrogative type (refer to Appendix 3) in such a way that the speaker asks an initial, and usually rhetorical, question to the listener. However, what is diff erent in pickup lines is that the speaker already has an answer prepared for his/her question and is usually delivered even before the listener answers the initial questions. e initial question may have the intention of confusing the listener. Pickup lines may also take the form of a declarative sentence in which the line used is a statement and the participation of the speaker is not necessary. ere are also some examples found showing an exclamatory type in which lines used attempts to express powerful feelings or emotions. Finally, pickup lines may also be an imperative type where the form is a command or request. 3.2.2 Code-switching Tagalog pickup lines are characterized by the presence of code-switching. Most of these pickup lines uses Tagalog as the medium language but there are also instances where code-switching to English is important for a Tagalog pickup line to be meaningful. Code-switching may be limited to words. For example, (1a) Sana naka-o ff ang ilaw, para tayo nalang mag-on In this example, the terms o ff and on were used instead of its Tagalog equivalent “patay” for o ff ; and “bukas” for on. If the Tagalog translation were used, the sentence would become (1b) Sana naka-patay ang ilaw, para tayo na lang magbukas 8 of 27
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and this sentence would no longer be considered as a pickup line, it is simply stating a fact. Another reason why it’s important to use code-switching in this particular pickup line is that the word on has another meaning in Tagalog, which is ‘to be in a relationship’. A similar example is (2) Sana posporo ka at posporo ako, para match tayo. wherein match also has the meaning ‘to be paired’ or ‘to be together’, besides being a direct translation of “posporo”. Code-switching may also occur in phrase level, for example, (3) Maglaro tayo ng kahit ano, wag lang taguan. Kasi a girl like you is hard to nd (4) Umutot ka ba? Kasi you blew me away (5) Mag empake ka, sama ka sakin, punta tayo home for the aged. Kasi I wanna grow old with you Both of these examples uses code-switching to further emphasize the pickup line. are words that are usually found together.
ese
phrases
3.2.3 Semantics Semantics, the analysis of meaning plays a big role in making and understanding Tagalog pickup lines. ere are diff erent processes and relations that a word or sentence undergoes so that it may be termed as a pickup line. Some of these word relations are synonymy (words or expression with the same meaning), antonymy (words with opposite meanings), polysemy (words that have related meanings), homophony (words that are pronounced the same but has di ff erent meanings), prototypes (a word’s best exemplar), collocation (words frequently occurring together), and metonymy (words with a relationship based on a close connection in everyday experiences) (O’Grady, 2001). Another relationship between words commonly found in pickup lines are metaphors and similes. Below are examples for each relation. 3.2.3.1 Synonymy and Antonymy Pickup lines may contain words that are synonyms or antonyms. Below are examples showing these word relations. 3.2.3.1.1 Synonymy (6a) Tindera ka ba ng yosi ? Kasi you give me HOPE, and MORE (6b) Tindera ka ba ng sigarilyo? Kasi you give me HOPE and MORE For this example, it seems that there are 2 variants of the same pickup line, one using the word “yosi”, and another using “sigarilyo” which refers to only 1 thing, a cigarette. Another similar example is (7a) Musician ka ba? Tumataas nota ko sayo e (7b) Vocal coach ka ba? Kasi pinapataas mo nota ko e Again, the nouns musician and vocal coach are synonyms of a similar profession. 3.2.3.1.2 Antonymy (8) Kakapagod kasing umupo e. Pwede bang tayo na lang?
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example has the words “upo” (sit down) and “tayo” (stand up) which are antonyms. ough tayo has another meaning in this example, and the pronunciation has changed, it will be disregarded as to emphasize the antonymy of the words. (9) Mahirap ka bang exam? Kasi mukhang sayo ako babagsak e Example (9) may also be considered as an occurrence of antonymy, particularly the word “babagsak”. Content-wise, this refers to the literal failing in the exam; however, contextually, this may mean that the speaker falls in love with the listener which may be considered a win romantically speaking. 3.2.3.2 Polysemy ere are diff erent types of polysemy, some of which are: gure-ground reversal, container-contained alternation, place-people alternation, and characteristic-person alternation (Aronoff & Fudeman, 2005). From the data, only container-contained alternation has an example: (10a) Ibenta mo na bahay mo, tutal dito ka na nakatira sa puso ko (10b) Bastos ka rin no? Di ka man lang nagpaalam, tuloy-tuloy kang pumasok sa puso ko (10c) Hindi ka ba nalulungkot? Mag-isa ka lang kasi sa puso ko From all the examples above, the word puso, is treated as a container, instead of a part of the human body. Other examples showing polysemy are (11) Ang buhay ko ay parang seesaw. Pag wala ka, down ako (12) Album ka ba? Kasi single ako In example (11), the word down is used as a description of one (1) feeling sad or lonely. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, down can also mean (2) toward or in a lower position. (1) is related to (2) in a way that both are used as descriptions of one’s state, either by an animate (a person) or inanimate (seesaw) object. Example (12) also refers to the state of the animate (listener) and inanimate (album) object. Single albums refers to an album containing only one song but single may also mean a person’s civil or social status. 3.2.3.3 Prototypes (13) Google ka ba? Lahat kasi ng hinahanap ko, sa iyo ko natagpuan eh (14) Alam mo bang parang 7-Eleven ang puso ko? Kasi 24 oras bukas para sayo (15) Meralco ka ba? Kasi ikaw ang nagdala ng liwanag sa buhay ko ese
examples uses the best exemplar for a speci c characteristic referred to. Example (13) uses Google, since it is the best and most famous search engine used all over the world. ere exists other search engines such as Bing, Yahoo! Search, AltaVista, Cuil, Go.com, Galaxy, Live Search, Lycos, and others (http://www.thesearchenginelist.com/) but since Google is the most famous, this was used to refer to a search engine used in the pickup line. As for examples (14) and (15), this also seems to be the case since for example (14) there are other convenience stores that are open for 24 hours and for example (15), Meralco is the also the most famous provider of electricity in the Philippines. 3.2.3.4 Collocation is refers to the relationship of words that commonly occurs together. Examples are, 10 of 27
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(16) Sana ako na lang si antok , para gabi-gabi , puwede kitang dalawin (17) Sana naging palay ka na lang, para puwede kitang bayuhin (18) Perlas ka ba? Gusto kitang sisirin e All the examples above are noun-verb combinations that usually occurs together, especially in the Filipino culture. Example (16) refers to the saying “dalawin ng antok” which means to feel sleepy. For both (17) and (18), these are noun-verb combinations that are used together frequently. Example (17) refers to the way palay is prepared, which is bayuhin. is word is also a euphemism for sex, and similarly, sisirin is also another euphemism. 3.2.3.5 Metonymy ese are combinations that have been associated due to its everyday occurrences. Examples found are (19) Sana naka-o ff ang ilaw, para tayo na lang mag-on (20) Dalawang beses lang kita gustong makasama: now and forever (21) Ice ka ba? Crush kita e Examples (19) to (21) shows pairs of word that are commonly found together. ese are on&off ; now&forever; and crush&ice. ese words were used in the same sentence because of the usual occurrences of these together, which may also be used to compare the listener and speaker, as in the case of examples (19) and (21). Example (20) directly uses the words now&forever as the second clause of the sentence. 3.2.3.6 Metaphors and Similes Most pickup lines uses diff erent metaphors to relate the listener to. Metaphors are used as direct comparison to the listener and these may be due to the characteristics of the object the metaphor is used. Examples are: (22) Ligaw na bala ka ba? Kasi sa iba ka nakalaan, pero ako ang tinamaan (23) Mahirap ka bang exam? Kasi mukhang sa yo ako babagsak eh (24) Alarm clock ka ba? Kasi ginising mo ang natutulog kong puso (25) Ihi ka ba? Hindi kasi kita matiis eh (26) Bangin ka ba? Kasi sumasabit ang puso ko sayo. In all the examples above, metaphors are used to refer to some characteristic of the listener. e explanation or characteristic is usually found at the second line or second clause of the sentence, following the question. Metaphors may also refer to the speaker instead of the listener. e speaker directly compares him/her self to some object to show a particular characteristic. Examples are: (27) Sana exam mo nalang ako , para sagutin mo din ako. (28) Minamalat na naman ang puso ko . Paano kasi, laging sinisigaw ang pangalan mo. (29) Sana telepono na lang ako para sasagutin mo rin ako. Like the metaphors used for the listener, the second clause identi es the particular characteristic comparable to the listener. Unlike metaphors, simile uses words such as “like” to indirectly compare a word to another object. For Tagalog, words that identies similes are “para” or “parang”.
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(30) Para tayong kuwento ni Juan Tamad. Ako si Juan Tamad, ikaw yung bayabas. Hinihintay lang kitang mahulog sa kin (31) Para kang holdaper. Lahat ibibigay ko sa yo, wag mo lang akong saktan (32) Para kang dictionary . You give meaning to my life All the examples above shows the diffe rent relations between words. e diff erent relations among sentences are paraphrase, entailment, and contradiction (O’Grady, 2001). e only relation found was that of entailment wherein the truth of the rst sentence implies the truth of another, in this case, the truth of the rst clause implies the truth of the other, or vice versa. Below are some examples: (33) Ang buhay ko ay parang seesaw, pag wala ka, down ako (34) Pag wala ka, ang buhay ko ay parang lapis na walang tasa: pointless 3.2.4 Pragmatics, Discourse, and Register Pragmatics refers to the ways in which words get their meanings thru the context of its’ use. Discourse refers to the underlying rules and conventions that people use when talking. In humor, the audience usually has an expectation on what the outcome may be. Register refers to the language the speaker uses. is may be formal or informal, and is usually used depending on the situation. According to Joos, 1961 cited in “ e Language of Humour”, there are 5-point scale of degrees of formality: 1. intimate: use of a ‘private code’; jargons 2. casual: between friends; shorthand and slangs 3. consultative: used with strangers; supply background information 4. formal: no participation from the audience; detachment, cohesion 5. frozen: ritualized forms; in ceremonies and legal languages If these scale were to be followed, a stranger would usually use consultative type of formality. However, it seems that using pickup lines requires intimate or casual style since the words used in pickup lines belong to these types. Pickup lines also coincide with the formal type since pickup lines are usually delivered without or minimal participation from the listener. Already discussed above, words used in pickup lines has di ff erent meanings, but the listener is able to better comprehend this because of the contextual clues. 3.2.4.1 Conversational Maxims Related to the topic of discourse, these are the speci c rules that a person must follow in order to have a signicant conversation with another. ere are 4 maxims or guidelines described below: Table 3: Overview of the 4 Conversational Maxims (O’Grady, 2001, p300-302) Maxim
Description
Eff ect if violated
Relation
Be relevant
Create a particular impression (ie move away from a topic)
Quality
Try to make your contribution one that is true. (Do not say things that are false of for which you lack adequate evidence)
Irony or sarcasm
Quantity
Do not make your contribution more or less informative than required
Mislead a conversational partner
Manner
Avoid ambiguity and obscurity; be brief and orderly
Create ambiguous structure
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As seen on column 3 of Table 2, the following would be the e ff ect on the conversation if these maxims were violated. e maxims of relation and manner seems to be the maxims most violated in the use of pickup lines. Maxim of relation is violated since most of the time, the listener is a stranger to the speaker thus, it is hard to determine the exact relevance of what the speaker says. Maxim of manner is most violated since the construction of pickup lines creates a great deal of lexical and structural ambiguities. Based on the description of the maxim of quality , since the speaker typically does not yet know the listener, he/she lacks evidence on the characteristics he compares the listener to. 3.2.5 Other Characteristics Pickup lines has also other characteristics, one of which is the ability to become a joke when other words or phrases are added. An example is (35a) Boy: Susi ka ba? kasi ikaw ang nagunlock ng puso ko e. (35b) Girl: E sino yung kasama mong babae kahapon? (35c) Boy: Duplicate 3.3
PICKUP LINES AS SOURCE OF HUMOR Similar to jokes, there are certain aspects that makes a pickup line humorous to the audience. Pickup lines may also be used to entertain the audience. Also mentioned above, one characteristic of these is also that it can easily become a joke. By looking at the 4 theories of humor and the di ff erent sociocultural factors, pickup lines may be categorized as another source of humor. 3.3.1 Humor eories Table 4: Overview of 4 Humor eories eory
Description
Incongruity eory
focuses on the element of surprise; ambiguities and double meanings
Superiority eory
laughter as a “sudden glory”; focuses on the misfortune of others
Relief eory
momentary relief of not having to conform to the restraints in society
Play eory
humor as a species of play; structural similarities between play context and humorous context
3.3.1.1 Incongruity eory is theory focuses on the element of surprise which means that this theory accounts for the feature of humor - ambiguity or double meaning which deliberately misleads the audience, followed by a punchline (Ross, 1998). Structural ambiguity can occur at di ff erent levels: phonology, lexis, graphology, and syntax. For phonology, there are diff erent processes and terms that are included in this theory. ese are malapropism (words that sound the same but is inappropriate in usage), spoonerism (words whose initial sounds are mixed up), and allusion (words or phrases that references a saying or quotation) (Ross 1998; Chiaro 1992). Graphology refers to the way a language is represented in written form (Chiaro, 1992). is means that a pickup line or joke focuses on how a word or sentence is spelled and thru this, make the joke or pickup line more eff ective. Lexis is concerned with the vocabulary and the most common example of the use of lexis are puns. Most common are homonyms and polysemy, already discussed above. 13 of 27
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Syntax is concerned with the way the words are structured into phrases, clauses and sentences (Ross, 1998). Structural ambiguity may occur in syntax level when the arrangement of words is altered and diff erent words are used in what the audience may expect. 3.3.1.1.1 Phonology Other examples of structural ambiguity in the phonological level are polysemy, metonymy, and others already discussed in Section 3.2.3 above. Allusion is the only relationship that can be found in Tagalog pickup lines on the phonological level. (18) Aanhin pa ang damo kung sayo pa lang patay na patay na ako? is
pickup line refers to the Tagalog saying, “Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo.” e last part of the saying, “...kung patay na ang kabayo” was changed with “kung sayo pa lang patay na patay na ako.”. If one is not familiar with this saying, they may be at lost to what the pickup line means. Another meaning for this pickup line may also come from the word damo, a slang (a term used to refer to an informal usage of a word) used in Tagalog referring to marijuana or weed. One e ff ect of weed is the feeling of euphoria, and from this, the pickup line may also mean that the speaker no longer needs to ingest weed to induce euphoria because the listener is already enough. 3.3.1.1.2 Graphology Other than the pickup line becoming more e ff ective, written instead of spoken pickup line may also make more sense. (36) Apoy ka ba? Kasi alab yu (37) Inii-SMALL ka ba nila? Di bale, inii-BIG naman kita (38) Top view, side view, bottom view, kahit anong view, I love view (39) Taga-FEU ka ba? Kasi tama-raw na ibigin kita For all of these examples, the meaning or sense of the pickup line is realized more in written instead of spoken form. is may be due to the emphasis by using capitalization as in example (37); or due to the spelling or hyphenation, (38) and (39) respectively. 3.3.1.1.3 Lexis and Syntax is refers to the particular words chosen by the speaker to add more meaning to the pickup line, also already discussed in Section 3.2.3 above. As this paper did not focus on the syntactical components of Tagalog pickup lines, only one aspect of the syntax is noticed, which is that the direct object of the sentence in a pickup line does not restrictedly follow the supposed or expected direct object in a conventional sentence. 3.3.1.2 Superiority eory omas Hobbes says “that the passion of laughter is nothing else but sudden glory arising from some sudden conception of some eminency in ourselves, by comparison with the inrmity of others, or with our own formerly” (omas Hobbes, 1840: cited in Smuts, 2006, p.7). Simply put, people laugh because a greater misfortune had come to someone supposedly better than them (Ross, 1998). Any superiority theory of humor says, “e laughter always looks down at what he laughs at and so judges it inferior by some standards,” (Monro, 1988, p.3) is theory appeals more to the sociolinguists for the eff ect is observed with the interaction of the speaker, and the listener, their cultural backgrounds and other sociological factors between them, that may make the words become humorous or not. Language, therefore, becomes an ambiguous tool that tends to function in between re ection of people’s attitudes and changing people’s attitude. (Ross, 14 of 27
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1988) Language processes involved in the e fficiency of this theory isn’t clearly dened for this theory is more sociological than linguistic. Below are some pickup lines that may be considered as examples of the superiority theory: (40) Kung ibibigay ko ba sa ‘yo ang manibela ng puso ko, ibabangga mo ba sa pader ng kabiguan? In this example, it is implied that the speaker is acting as the inferior person, compared to the listener. e speaker is trusting and relying on the listener to take care of his/her heart. (41) Hindi lahat ng buhay ay buhay. Tingnan mo ‘ko – buhay nga pero patay na patay naman sa ‘yo! For this example, the speaker is, again, letting himself/herself be the inferior person. 3.3.1.3 Relief eory In this theory, laughter is seen as a way to release the tension in the body and focuses more on the psychological processes that produces laughter (Smuts, 2006). Sigmund Freud is the most in uential proponent of this theory. In his work Jokes and eir Relation to the Unconscious (1905), Freud relates that there are three sources of laughter: (1) joking in which energy used in repressing sexual and hostile feelings can be expelled during laughter; (2) comic wherein the cognitive energy for intellectual problems are saved and released, and; (3) humorous which involves saving up emotional energy to be released during laughter. In a more linguistic basis, the release theory, as Attardo (1994) termed relief in his work Linguistic eories of Humor , calls for “liberation” or the disregard for linguistic rules, which is usually seen in puns and other wordplays. is event was termed “defunctionalization.” Pickup lines that may be considered as examples of relief theory are written below: (42) Para kang tae, hindi kita kayang paglaruan (43) Siguro freezer ka tapos tubig naman ako. Pag pinasok kita, tumitigas ako! ese
two examples fall under Freud’s denition of joking. As stated above, joking uses energy used in repressing sexual and hostile feelings that can be released during laughter. Topics like religion, sex, and human wastes are commonly used in joking. Example (42) used defecation as its topic, while (43) used “pag pinasok kita, tumitigas ako” which is a euphemism for sex. Problems may occur when one perceived these lines in a diff erent manner. As for the second example, feminists might deem this particular line very dirty and derogatory (Ross, 1998). 3.3.1.4 Play eory Play theory may be considered as a combination of incongruity theory and relief theory. It is similar to the relief theory where it tries to dene the function of humor by taking into consideration the di ff erent structural ambiguities in a joke, and similarly, in a pickup line (Smuts, 2006). 3.3.2 Sociocultural Factors Pickup lines become more understandable and humorous when the audience has an underlying cultural background or knowledge on the pickup lines. To illustrate, below are some examples that show cultural references specially understandable by Filipinos. (44) Noodles ka ba? Kasi lucky me . (45) Centrum ka ba? Kasi, you make my life complete 15 of 27
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Example (44) is a pickup line that uses a famous brand name of noodles, “Lucky Me” sold in the Philippines. If one is not aware of the noodle product, then this may seem senseless. As for (45), “Centrum” is also a well-known brand of vitamins with its corresponding tagline: “Complete from A to Zinc”. (46) Para tayong kuwento ni Juan Tamad . Ako si Juan Tamad, ikaw yung bayabas. Hinihintay lang kitang mahulog sa kin. is
particular pickup line shows a Filipino reference. One should have the knowledge of the story of Juan Tamad to be able to understand the implications. In the story of Juan Tamad, he is an extremely lazy person that only waits for things to happen instead of making them happen. In one story, instead of getting a fruit (bayabas), he instead decided to lie down under the tree and wait for it to fall. is pickup line refers to this story, where the listener is compared to the bayabas . Again, the verb “mahulog” may mean 2 things: the act of the bayabas falling to the ground, referring to the Juan Tamad story, and the colloquial meaning of one falling in love. (47) Manananggal ka ba? Kasi hinahanap ko yung better half ko e Example (47) also refers to a term indigenous to the Filipino culture. A manananggal is a mythical creature who is able to y with only its upper torso intact, thus only half of its body is present when described by Filipinos. (48) Taga-FEU ka ba? Kasi tamaraw na ibigin kita Finally, this example also shows a reference that is knowledgeable especially to Filipinos or those interested in the college basketball tournaments in the Philippines. FEU is the name of the university whose mascot is the tamaraw. 3.4 FILIPINOS PERCEPTION ON PICKUP LINES e researchers conducted an experiment on a famous social networking site, “Facebook”, to know which of the Tagalog pickup lines are popular and favored by the Filipino society. From the data, the researchers have chosen a few pick-up lines and made it as status in Facebook. e top pick-up lines according to this experiment were: Table 5: Tagalog pickup lines posted in Facebook Pickup lines posted
Number of Likes
Para tayong kwento ni Juan Tamad. Ako si Juan Tamad, ikaw yung bayabas. Hinihintay lang kitang mahulog sakin
13
Ligaw na bala ka ba? Kasi sa iba ka nakalaan, pero ako ang tinamaan
7
Gym ka ba? Kasi feeling ko magwo-workout tayo e
6
Hindi ko alam ang katapusan ng universe, pero alam ko ang simula, U N I
5
Kakapagod kasing umupo e, Pwede bang tayo na lang?
4
Manananggal ka ba? Kasi hinahanap ko yung better half ko e
2
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Pickup lines posted
Number of Likes
Ikaw ang pintura ko kasi kinulayan mo ang buhay ko Apoy ka ba? Kasi alab yu
2 2
Grabe nakakatawa yung mga pick-up lines noh?? hahaha! May alam ka pa bang iba?? Wala na akong maisip e. Coz’ all I ever think of is you
2
Kutsarita ka ba? Kasi hindi kumpleto ang kape at umaga ko pag wala ka e
1
Para kang cactus, handa akong masaktan, mayakap ka lang
1
After seeing the pickup lines, some reacted by “liking” - pressing the “like” button in Facebook - while others posted their own pick-up lines. Below are pickup lines given: Table 6: Comments from the respondents Responses Kung ako sayo....Eh di sayo na lang ako! Di naman ako aangal eh (2 Likes) Malapit na mag-November!:) May dadalawin ka na ba? Ako na lang dalawin mo tutal, patay na patay naman ako sayo ♥ Caff eine ka ba? Pinupukaw mo kasi ang inaantok na puso ko Baril ka ba? Di ka pa nga pumuputok, patay na patay na ako sayo Other comments included (1) emoticons such as ‘=))’ which characterizes a laughing person, and ‘:D’ which is a big smiling face (2) personal comments such as “ ‘pick-up’ girl! AHAHAHA! :D” (3) pickup line comments such as “nyahaha! bumabanat pa khit luma na XD” (which was a response to the pickup line Hindi ko alam ang katapusan ng universe, pero alam ko ang simula, U N I ; and “hahaha eto fave ko sa lahat ng post mo.. hahaha” for Gym ka ba? Kasi Feeling ko magwo-workout tayo eh. Based from these data, Filipinos liked the pickup line that had a signi cant amount of cultural background needed to understand the pickup line. is shows that Filipinos enjoy a pickup line more if they can easily relate to it. Other pickup lines that had the most number of Likes were ones with structural ambiguities. Aside from these Likes, this experiment also showed the Filipino’s cooperative principle of conversation in a way that some commented back pickup lines that they know of in answer to the pickup lines posted by the researchers.
4.CONCLUSION Pickup lines are identied by the interrogative type where the speaker asks a rhetorical question to the listener. e speaker uses this initial question to catch the attention of the listener, and this question is followed by a sort of explanation or answer to the question. Code-switching is also an important identi er of a Tagalog pickup line. is may occur at word level, where a particular English word is used; or phrase level, where a whole phrase is in English. 17 of 27
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use of metaphors and similes also characterizes a pickup line. Besides this relation in words, for pickup lines that uses a wide variety of a theme, the prototype is used since it is highly likely that the listener would be able to relate to the speaker. For the sentence level, the only relation noted is that of entailment. As for the levels of formality, intimate, casual, and formal type coincides in using pickup lines. Furthermore, the violation of the 4 maxims, particularly relation, manner, and equality, is also present in the pickup lines. e
theories of humor and sociocultural factors prove that pickup lines can be another source of humor aside from jokes. Most pickup lines gathered supports the incongruity theory of humor due to the diff erent structural ambiguities. Allusion is only relationship on phonological level found in Tagalog pickup lines. is occurs by changing a part of a well-known saying by another word or phrase intended to woo their partner. While the superiority theory works in jokes as the speaker feeling the superior to the listener, in pickup lines, the superiority theory focused on the listener feeling superior to the speaker and in return the speaker giving him/her self a sense of inferiority and thus raises the superiority of the listener. e third theory, the relief theory is a mainly psychological theory. Repressed topics of the society like sex, religion and human wastes, are used to induce humor in this theory. Euphemisms are used to sugarcoat these topics in pickup lines. e
sociocultural background also plays a big role in the e ff ectiveness of inducing humor of pickup lines. e setting and the underlying cultural background give a sense of naturalness and ease to understand the pick up lines.
5.RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended for future studies that a wider range of data should be used. e data considered in the study were only those that were found in blogs when searched in the Internet. A syntactical and morphological approach may also yield more characteristics that identies a Tagalog pickup line, and it is also recommended that this approach is used in the future. As for the experiment conducted by the researchers, the population taken into consideration were limited to the Facebook friends of the researchers, and thus are not enough representatives of the Filipino community. A survey with greater population and distinction among its members may also give more results to how the Filipinos perceive Tagalog pickup lines. Also, by choosing carefully what pickup line to post, the humor theory that best explains why Tagalog pickup lines are eff ective to Filipino audience may also be determined. An additional experiment can be conducted by actually using the pickup lines to strangers and note their reaction.
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6. BIBLIOGRAPHY Aronoff , M. and K. Fudeman. (2005). What is morphology? MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Attardo, Salvatore (Ed.). (1994). Linguistic (formerly Mouton, e Hague)
eories
of Humor. New York: Mouton de Gruyter
Besa, Della (nd). Our Signature Love Song. Kasaysayan, e Story of the Filipino People (Vol 10). A timeline of Philippine History. Retrieved October 19, 2011 from http://www.koleksyon.com/ lipinoheritage/history/signature_lovesong.asp Chiaro, Delia. (1992). e Language of Jokes: Analysing verbal play. New York: Routledge. Francisco, Carlos. (2002, February 14) . Harana. Ligawan: A Courtship in Philippines Culture. Pinoy na Pinoy column, Businessworld. Retrieved October 19, 2011 from http://www.seasite.niu.edu/ Tagalog/love.htm Levine, Jacob. (Ed.). (1969). Motivation in Humor. New York: Atherton Press. Monro, D. H. (1988). eories of Humor. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum ( 3rd ed.). Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company. p349-55. O’Grady, W . et al. (2001). Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction. Boston/New York: Bedford / St. Martin’s Ross, Alison. (1998).
e Language of
Humour. London: Routledge.
Smuts, Aaron. (2006). Humor. Internet Encyclopedia of Humor . Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/humor/
Sept em be r 18 , 20 11 ,
(2010, May 21). Comprehensive List of Search Engines. List posted at http://www.thesearchengine list.com/ Cultural Center of the Philippines Encyclopedia of Philippines Art. (1994). Manila: Cultural Center of the Philippines and Distributed Processing Systems Inc. “Denition of a Pickup Line”, (nd). Retrieved 19 September, 2011 from http://www.dating-pickuplines.com/denitionofapickup.html “Do Pickup Lines Work?”, (nd). Retrieved 19 October, 2011 from http://www.forbeginners.info/ dating/pickup-lines.htm
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7. APPENDICES Appendix 1 - List of Tagalog Pickup Lines ese pickup lines are taken from www.chicogarcia.wordpress.com (Retrieved 22 September, 2011) http://mattscradle.com (Retrieved 22 September, 2011) “My Amnesia Girl” movie
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