Archive for the ‘Linguistics in the comics’ Category

Cartoon Pages

November 29, 2015

I have now managed to move all my inventories of postings with cartoons in them from files on my Mac to Pages on this blog — assembled under the “Comics lists” Page. From “A Softer World cartoons” to “Zits cartoons”. Some are under the names of the strips, some are under the names of the cartoonists (“Gary Larson cartoons”. “Mark Stivers cartoons”).

There are two Pages of varied stuff : a “Miscellaneous cartoons” in the main list, for strips and cartoonists that haven’t (yet) been pulled out for their own Pages ; and then, under “New Yorker cartoons”, an “Other New Yorker cartoons”, for cartoonists who haven’t (yet) been pulled out for their own Pages.

And there are two topically named Pages in the main list: “ecards” for ecards and similar cartoons; and “graphic X” for graphic novels, graphic (auto)biographies, graphic expository non-fiction, etc.

[Added the next day: these are inventories of postings (on this blog and Language Log) with cartoons in them, not of the cartoons themselves; items are posted about mostly because there is some point of linguistic interest in them, not just because they’re funny or perceptive. (The world is full of cartoons that I find laugh-out-loud funny or socially or politically trenchant but still don’t post about, because I don’t see any linguistic hook in them.) That said, I also post things about other topics that interest me — penguins, mammoths, art, music, sex and sexuality, food, plants, etc., and especially on the nature of humor and on comics themselves (as a language-like system with conventions, variation, styles and genres, etc.).]

Too early for celebration?

November 29, 2015

Today’s Bizarro, set in the Stone Age:

(If you’re puzzled by the odd symbols in the cartoon — Dan Piraro says there are 5 in this strip — see this Page.)

Even if you’re generous in your understanding of when the Stone Age was, it was certainly over before the time of Jesus, and that is not just a tree decorated for some celebration of the winter, but it’s specifically a Christmas tree; note the star on top. So the tree is up at least 2000 years early (and probably considerably more).

(more…)

Bring this upstairs for me

November 28, 2015

Today’s Zits, with Jeremy and his mother engaged in Grice War:

Jeremy’s mother assumes that Jeremy will use the literal content of what she says as the starting point in a chain of Gricean reasoning about what additional content might reasonably be inferred. The situations are different in different strips, but Jeremy reliably refuses to act like a cooperative conversationalist in these interactions, choosing instead to fix on whatever understanding would require the least action on his part — in this case, bringing his mother her note, rather than the rather large box to which the note is affixed.

The crucial part of the problem here is the interpretation of the demonstrative pronouns this and that, which require the hearer to seek out an appropriate referent in the real-world or linguistic context of utterance. Connie Duncan supposed that her son would work out that there would we no point in asking him to bring her the note, but that it would be reasonable of her to ask him to help her by carrying the box upstairs.

(more…)

Pearls POP

November 28, 2015

Alerted by Andy Sleeper, two recent Pearls Before Swine cartoons:

(#1)

(#2)

The Worrywarthog: a phrasal overlap portmanteau (POP): worrywart + warthog. The first is new on this blog; the second has come up in passing several times, but without an actual look at the animal.

(more…)

Zippiedile tears

November 27, 2015

Today’s Zippy, with our Pinhead dissembling sadness:

(#1)

(With a little compendium of expressions conveying sadness or despair.)

(more…)

Canned cranjellyfish

November 27, 2015

On the op-ed page of the NYT yesterday, an Op-Art feature by graphic designer Mark Pernice, “Parade Balloons That Didn’t Get Off the Ground” (in print) or “Rejected Thanksgiving Balloons” (on-line), with (for example) The Turkey’s Head, A Dead Leaf, Booze & Bukowski, Drunk Texting Exes, Black Friday Doorbuster Ad. And Canned Cranjellyfish:

(#1)

The creature is a hybrid of a can of cranberry jelly (on top) and a jellyfish (with its “arms” at the bottom). The name is also a hybrid, a phrasal overlap portmanteau (POP) of canned cranberry jelly + jellyfish.

Two things here: cranberry sauce / jelly / relish for Thanksgiving; and Mark Pernice and his work.

(more…)

You’re done

November 25, 2015

Today’s Mother Goose and Grimm (Thanksgiving edition):

(#1)

So this turkey comes into a bar…

And sits down next to the Boston terrier Ralph, who cuts off the turkey’s drinks, announcing to him that he’s done (finished drinking). — because. pointing to the pop-up timer in his breast, he’s done (cooked thoroughly).

(more…)

Self-awareness

November 22, 2015

Today’s Mother Goose and Grimm:

Another instance of the sort of meta-comic in which the characters are aware that they are, in fact, characters in a comic strip. Plus a (related) play on a convention of comic strips, — that the characters’ physical characteristics are just lines on the page.

Zipparchitecture

November 21, 2015

Today’s Zippy takes us to Seattle:

(#1)

The pop-culture experience of the EMP Museum.

(more…)

Crunch Berries time

November 20, 2015

Today’s Zits, with Jeremy appreciating his job at Pipkin’s Fruit Market:

(#1)

Well, Crunch Berries, but they’re still not actual berries (instead, balls of high-fructose corn syrup) — technically, food, but faux berries.

(more…)