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Humor
Humor is relevant in language development for several reasons. Humor is communicative in nature as humor is almost always shared. Humor can serve as an introduction to pragmatics as humor has both a literal and intended meaning. Children's sense of humor reflects their level of language development as one can only understand jokes in relation to mastered concepts. It is thus not surprising that children with communication and language disorders often show humor deficits. Finally, humor may be useful in encouraging language development.
Incongruity Theories
Several cognitive models of humor espouse that humor is the product of noticing and appreciating incongruities, that is, things that are unexpected, unusual, or out of the ordinary. These theories suggest children's humor develops alongside their cognitive abilities. From a language point ...
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