ABSTRACT
The status of verbal humour is an empirical question of interest to the student of British society. This chapter considers some of the broader sociosemiotic aspects which surround the kinds of verbal humour phenomena which are normally considered by linguists. The discussion of verbal humour and its status in British society is situated or articulated in a broad Hallidayan or systemic framework. A significant element in the humorous potential of English speakers is their sensitivity to what topics they can make jokes about. Jokes in which women are the victims have long been the staple of comedians’ routines and by extension are told by sections of the populace at large. Given the wide range of humour in Britain, one is inevitably led to ask about its relationship to society, in the wider sense. Concerning the etiology of ethnicity in humour it can be argued that the increase in rationality and bureaucracy means a decline in traditional moral values.
