Humor and image politics in parliamentary discourse: a Greek case study

Abstract

The present study investigates the function of humor in parliamentary discourse. The data under examination come from the offcial proceedings of the Greek parliament and involve two main protagonists, the Greek prime minister and the leader of the opposition. The analysis reveals that parliamentary humor is used as a means of constructing and damaging participants' public image and political identity as well as attacking the opponent without violating parliamentary rules of behavior. Moreover, humor is used to introduce an informal tone to parliamentary procedures, thus distracting the attention of the wider audience from the important issues discussed in parliamentary debates. The negotiation of the humorous frame between the two politicians shows that, in settings where the serious mode of communication typically prevails, humor may be used at the expense of the humorist, thus canceling his/her efforts. Apparently, contextual parameters and genre rules and expectations play a significant role in successful humorous behavior.