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寫學術論文的人常聽說不要用幽默來表達觀點。雖然這個告誡用心良苦，但完全不用幽默又太過頭了。幽默是有效的溝通方法，而寫作學術論文本就該懂得運用各種溝通方法。本系列文章說明如何用適當的方式，在學術論文中有效運用幽默。文章將刊登在 TPS 粉絲頁，最後集結於電子報。
Writers of academic papers are cautioned against employing humor to communicate their points. The caution is well-intentioned, but outright prohibition of lightly humorous material goes too far. Humor is a valid method of communication and authors of academic papers should have every method at their disposal. This series of columns will describe how humor can be effective and acceptable in scholarly writing. Each part in the series will be presented on the TPS Fan page before being compiled.

1st Humor Guideline – Use it Carefully
幽默守則第一條－幽默要小心運用

One of the rules laid out for writers of serious papers is… don’t try to be funny. There is wisdom in such counsel. It indeed is wise not to try to be funny. Every comedian who has died on stage when his humor falls flat can attest that nothing is more painful than failing to connect with an audience. Academic writers often present their material to an audience of one, who grades the material even more mercilessly than a nightclub crowd. So, yes, if humor is not your forte, don’t try to force it on your professor. But if you do have talent for turning an amusing phrase, use it.
寫作嚴肅文章有一條清楚的規定－不要假裝風趣。這條忠告是有道理的，假裝風趣確實不聰明。喜劇演員如果曾經因為幽默失靈在台上尷尬不已，都可以告訴你，最討厭的莫過於和觀眾失去交流。學術論文的觀眾只有一位，而且評論起來比喜劇觀眾更不留情。所以，如果幽默不是你的強項，不要硬塞給教授，但如果你真的擅長寫作幽默風趣的文字，就儘管寫吧。

Nearly every person—of course, some don’t have a clue—knows whether he is amusing in his expression. Yet even those who have such talent don’t always employ it effectively. They joke too much, and too much of any good thing usually is bad. They try to amuse people at inappropriate times, when solemnity clearly is preferred. They perhaps get too raw in their jesting or become slapstick in their delivery. Scholarly writers certainly will not impress anyone with any of the above. So, as much thought should be given to the context of humor as to the humor itself.
幾乎每個人都知道自己的表達是否風趣（當然就是有些人會搞不清楚），但有幽默感的人也不是每次都能運用自如，他們可能開太多玩笑，而任何好事情一旦過頭往往就成了壞事。他們想逗人笑的時機不對，有時顯然嚴肅正經比較好。有時他們也可能把玩笑開得太粗俗或變成一場鬧劇。寫作學術文章如果犯了上述毛病，就絕對寫不出優秀作品。所以除了幽默本身必須仔細構思，運用幽默的場合也要好好思考。

Knowing when to inject an amusing comment is even more delicate in academic writing than in show biz. That’s because the goal is not to amuse per se but to communicate a larger point. If a humorous expression distracts a reader from a thread of thought, it is detracting from the paper rather than contributing to its success. Therefore, in a paper as in every other venue, timing is important. A light comment should slip into the flow of thought as naturally as any other element of the writing and for the same reason: to move the reader toward a desired conclusion.
比起喜劇表演，寫作學術文章時更難拿捏下筆詼諧的適當時機，因為學術文章的宗旨不是討好讀者，而是溝通重要的觀點。如果幽默會分散讀者對文章脈絡的注意力，那就對論文有害無益。因此，寫論文時如果要運用幽默，一如在其他場合運用幽默一樣，時機最重要。詼諧妙語就像其他的寫作技巧，必須沿著文章理路自然融入，因為它們的目的都是要說服讀者接受文章的結論。