Humour in French and Australian English initial interactions

Abstract

This article will examine the use of humour by French and Australian English native speakers in initial interactions. Using the four-dimensional model developed for the comparison of humour cross-culturally in (Béal and Mullan, 2013), I will examine the similarities and differences in the targets and pragmatic functions, and the language and interactional dimensions employed in the humour found in these initial interactions between unacquainted French and Australian English speakers. A number of examples will be presented by way of illustration of the main tendencies, and the findings will be compared with what has previously been shown for conversational humour in social visits among French and Australian friends (Béal and Mullan 2013, 2017).