Victor Raskin's paper explores the semantic mechanisms underlying humor, arguing that recent developments in semantics and pragmatics provide a framework for analyzing humor. He proposes a script-oriented semantic theory, where scripts represent common-sense cognitive structures stored in the mind of native speakers. These scripts are motivated by grammaticality, meaningfulness, and appropriateness, and are used to describe standard routines and processes. The semantic interpretation of a sentence is defined as a partial realization of compatible script combinations. The paper argues that humor arises from the partial overlap of two or more scripts that are compatible with the text. Examples of jokes are analyzed to illustrate this concept, showing how overlapping scripts can create unexpected or humorous effects. The paper also discusses the role of presupposition, implicature, and possible worlds in humor analysis. It notes that while some jokes rely on lexical ambiguity or semantic features, others depend on the overlap of multiple scripts. The paper concludes that the study of humor is a significant area for semantic and pragmatic research, and that script-oriented semantics provides a useful framework for understanding the linguistic and extra-linguistic context of humor. The paper also highlights the importance of cultural and contextual factors in the interpretation of jokes.Victor Raskin's paper explores the semantic mechanisms underlying humor, arguing that recent developments in semantics and pragmatics provide a framework for analyzing humor. He proposes a script-oriented semantic theory, where scripts represent common-sense cognitive structures stored in the mind of native speakers. These scripts are motivated by grammaticality, meaningfulness, and appropriateness, and are used to describe standard routines and processes. The semantic interpretation of a sentence is defined as a partial realization of compatible script combinations. The paper argues that humor arises from the partial overlap of two or more scripts that are compatible with the text. Examples of jokes are analyzed to illustrate this concept, showing how overlapping scripts can create unexpected or humorous effects. The paper also discusses the role of presupposition, implicature, and possible worlds in humor analysis. It notes that while some jokes rely on lexical ambiguity or semantic features, others depend on the overlap of multiple scripts. The paper concludes that the study of humor is a significant area for semantic and pragmatic research, and that script-oriented semantics provides a useful framework for understanding the linguistic and extra-linguistic context of humor. The paper also highlights the importance of cultural and contextual factors in the interpretation of jokes.