Hello. This is 6 Minute English
from BBC Learning English.
I'm Sam.
And I'm Neil.
Have you heard this joke, Neil?
Question: what's a rat's
favourite game?
I don't know, Sam, what is a
rat's favourite game?
Hide and squeak!
Ha-ha-ha! Very funny!
Well, I'm glad you're laughing
because, as we'll be finding out
in this programme, laughter is
good for you! In fact, laughter
is often called
'the best medicine'.
And it seems that's really true,
medically speaking. Laughing
releases anti-stress endorphins
into the body and there's
evidence that people who laugh
recover more quickly from
illness, including Covid.
Laughing is an essential part
of what makes us human.
Babies cry straight from
birth but the next sound
they make, often as young
as two or three months,
is laughter.
And who can hear a baby
laugh without laughing
themselves? Laughter
is catching.
But before we start tickling
our funny bones, I have
a quiz question for you,
Neil, and it's no laughing
matter. Laughter can be a
serious business. In fact,
there's a scientific field
of study into laughter and
its effects on the
human body. But what is this
study called? Is it:
a) gigglology? b) gelotology?
or c) guffology?
Did you make those words up,
Sam? They sound a bit funny
to me! I'll say the study
of laughter is
called b) gelotology.
OK, Neil, but you'll be
laughing on the other side
of your face if you're wrong!
Anyway, we'll find out the
correct answer later
in the programme.
Someone who's an expert
in the study of laughing -
whatever it's called - is
cognitive neuroscientist,
Professor Sophie Scott.
Here she explains to
David Edmonds, presenter
of BBC World Service
programme, The Big Idea,
exactly how a laugh
is produced.
Laughing is a variation
of breathing. Like
breathing, it involves
the rib cage.
When you laugh you get
these very, very large,
very fast contractions of
the rib cage. And it's a
very primitive way of
making a sound, so
you're really just
squeezing air out in
big bouts. Each of
those individual
squeezes gives you
a 'ha!' sound.
The 'ha-ha' sound
you make when you
laugh comes from
your rib cage - a
structure made of bones,
called ribs, inside your
chest which protects
the heart and lungs.
The rib cage works like
a drum to amplify a laugh.
It's the reason why
jokes are sometimes
called 'rib-ticklers'.
Professor Scott calls
this a very primitive
way of making sounds
because it's simple,
natural and
essentially human.
The word primitive can
be used to describe
anything relating to
the basic way humans
lived in their early
stages of development,
before money, machines
or writing were invented.
Primitive human noises,
like crying and laughing,
link to a universal human
experience, and this can
be seen in the large
number of words we use
to talk about them.
In English, 'chuckle',
'giggle', 'chortle',
'cackle' and 'guffaw'
all describe different
types of laughter.
Right, so how would
you describe a
'giggle', Sam?
I'd say a giggle is
laughing in a quiet but
uncontrolled way, like a
child who finds something
very funny or
feels embarrassed.
Unlike a guffaw which
is when you blast out
a very loud laugh, often
at something stupid or
rude someone has said.
But humans aren't
the only animals to
laugh. We belong to
the same family as
other primates like
chimpanzees, gorillas
and orangutans, all
of whom laugh.
Even rats tickle each
other and make squeaky
noises like laughter when
they play. Here's
Professor Scott again
to take up the story for
BBC World Service programme,
The Big Idea.
Play is a very important
behaviour for mammals - all
mammals play when they're
juveniles and some mammals
play their whole lives,
and laughter is a sort
of an invitation to play,
it s a sign that
you re playing.
Professor Scott says
that laughter is an
important social tool
for all mammals - animals,
including humans, dogs
and whales, which give
birth to live young,
rather than laying
eggs, and who feed
their young with milk.
By laughing, young
mammals - sometimes
called juveniles - signal
that they want to play,
and young rats who don't
laugh back are more
likely to get a bite
than a giggle. And a
rat bite is nothing
to laugh about.
What a lot of facts
we've learned about
laughter, Neil!
Yes, we could almost
be experts on
laughter... 'Guffologists',
isn't that what you
called them, Sam?
Ah yes, in my quiz
question I asked you
to name the scientific
study of laughter and
its effects on the body.
I'm almost certain it's
not 'gigglology' or
'guffology'! So, the
answer must be...
Gelotology! The
correct answer!
Well done, Neil, I knew
you were good for a laugh!
OK. Let's recap the
vocabulary from the
programme before you
think up any more terrible
jokes! First, we had
rib cage - the structure in
your chest which is made
of ribs, and produces the
sound of a laugh.
The adjective primitive
relates to the simple,
natural way humans lived
in their early
stages of development.
There are different types
of laughter, including
giggles - childlike laughter
in a quiet but uncontrolled way.
And guffaw is when you
laugh out loud, often at
something someone has said.
Mammals are animals,
including humans, which
give birth to live young
and feed them with milk.
And finally, a young animal
which is not fully grown
can be called a juvenile.
Well, it's been a laugh
a minute, Sam, but
unfortunately our six
minutes are up.
Join us again soon for
more trending topics,
useful vocabulary, and,
who knows, maybe some
terrible jokes, here at
6 Minute English.
Bye for now!
Goodbye!