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Interactive computer generation of jokes for language skill development

R.Manurung, A.Low, L.Trujillo-Dennis, D.O'Mara, H.Pain, G.Ritchie, A.Waller

Abstract

In order to develop their communication skills, children need to be
able to experiment with language. One way to achieve this is through
the use of humour, particularly wordplay such as puns. However,
children with language difficulties have limited opportunities for
such language play.  One of the primary objectives of our project
STANDUP (System To Augment Non-speakers Dialogue Using Puns) is to
compensate for this by providing software tools which allow
language-impaired children to experiment with language through
joke-generation.
 
The starting point for our system is JAPE (Binsted 1996), a program
which automatically generates punning riddles: humorous texts in a
question and answer form, where the humour arises from some form of
linguistic similarity within the text; for example: "What do you call
a murderer with fibre? A cereal killer." JAPE demonstrated the
feasibility of automatic generation of simple jokes. It worked by
applying its (often time-consuming) mechanisms to churn out
jokes. There was very little, if any, scope for a user to modify the
behaviour of the system so as to create a particular type of pun. The
JAPE project did not address issues such as usability, efficiency, and
interaction, aspects which are central to our research. We are
interested in customizability and interactivity.  Customizability is a
property of a system which enables its user to modify the jokes being
generated, whereas interactivity is the property of a system which
enables the user to easily do so during the joke generation process.
 
We have made two small-scale initial studies. Low(2003) concentrates
on enhancing the interactivity of JAPE and building a graphical user
interface (GUI) which allows the user easier access. Amongst the
possible interactions his system allows are: creating jokes (with
various ways of involving the user), riddle-solving (where the user is
presented with the question part of a joke and is asked to provide the
answer), a joke library (where users can store their favourite
generated jokes for future recall), and a topic database (modifiable
by the user). The user is also provided with several support features,
such as finding out the meanings of words in the lexicon, and
searching for synonyms, homophones, rhyming words and spoonerisms for
user-specified words.

 
Trujillo-Dennis (2003) concentrates on developing a user interface
that caters specifically for the type of users targetted by the
STANDUP project: children with speech impairments, and possibly severe
motor disabilities, but no cognitive disabilities. Her system was
developed as a front-end user interface for Low's interactive joke
generation back-end.  She explored several aspects of the user
interface, such as a simple and cognitively undemanding visual layout,
adaptable colour schemes, simple language, speech output, and a single
switch scanning interface suitable for users with severe motor
impairments.
 
The evaluations of these two systems are contributing to the initial
design for the main STANDUP system, which will be a full-scale
interactive joke generation system with facilities for customization
and a user interface especially suited to language-impaired children.
 
References:
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Binsted, K. (1996). Machine Humour: An Implemented Model of Puns. PhD
thesis, Department of Artificial Intelligence, University of
Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
 
Low, A. (2003). Software Support for Joke Creation. 4th year project
report, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
 
Trujillo-Dennis, L. (2003). An Accessible Interface for a Joke
Creation Tool, 4th year project report, School of Informatics,
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.