本論文旨在探討中國學童對謎語的理解與欣賞。受試者包括三十二名學童
，分別就讀於小學二、四、六年級及國中二年級。實驗結果顯示，學童對
謎語的理解能力隨著年齡增 長，且與其閱讀能力呈正相關。學童於七歲
至九歲間，開始發展出對謎語中語言上的模稜 兩可的理解能力，此項能
力並於十一歲左右，趨於成熟。同一年齡層中，閱讀能力佳者的表現普遍
優於閱讀能力差者。學童對於謎語中以問答型式呈現的幽默的欣賞，可分
為三個 階段。第一階段的學童，以二年級為主，侷限於真實性的問答。
第二階段的學童，以四年級為主，認為帶有荒謬成份的答案最為有趣。第
三階段的學童，以六年級及國二為主，已真正發展出欣賞謎語的能力。

Children's riddles are classified in terms of how phonological,
morphological and syntactical features are manipulated to
obtain the humorous effect. Representative Chinese riddles of
seven most common types observed in the classification are used
to survey children's developmental abilities to comprehend and
appreciate riddles. The subjects are 32 children, 8 each in
grades 2, 4, 6, and 8, ranging in age from about 7 to 13. The
development of comprehension is measured by assessing children'
s explanation and detection of ambiguities in riddles. The
performance improves gradually with age and shows a positive
correlation with reading proficiency level. The ability to
detect linguistic ambiguities in riddles emerges between 7 and
9 years of age and develops steadily until the age of 11 with
good readers performing generally better than poor readers.
Three stages of humor appreciation in the question- answer
format of riddles are identified in the multiple-choice task.
Children at Stage 1 appreciate realistic answers most. At
Stage 2, absurd answers are considered as the funniest
alternative. Children become able to appreciate linguistic
riddles when they develop into Stage 3: joking answers are the
predominant among their choices.
Children's riddles are classified in terms of how phonological,