Computational rules for generating punning riddles

Riddles based on simple puns can be dassified according to the patterns of word, syllable or phrase similarity they depend upon. We have devised a formal model ofthe semantic and syntactic regularities underlying some of the simpler types of punning riddle. We have also implemented thispreliminary theory in a Computer program which can generate riddles from a lexicon containing general data about words andphrases; that is, the lexicon content is not customized to produce jokes. An informal, formative evaluation of the program's results by a set of human judges suggests that the riddles produced by this program are of comparable quality to those in general circulation among school children.