Conversational Humor Research Articles

The metapragmatics of “teasing” in Taiwanese Chinese conversational humour

One of the challenges faced by researchers working on conversational humour across languages is that the particular scientific metalanguage we use to talk about the phenomenon in question influences and shapes our understanding of it. The aim of this paper is to explore the import of such issues for research on conversational humour through an examination of the labels used by Taiwanese speakers of Mandarin Chinese when talking about what is broadly termed “teasing” in English. Our aim is to better understand the connotations of these various native terms, how they relate to each other, and how they are deployed by speakers when referring to “teasing” events. The study draws on interviews with native Taiwanese informants and an analysis of large web-based corpus of Mandarin Chinese, the zhTenTen17 Traditional Corpus, to show that “teasing” is conceptualised in complex ways by Taiwanese speakers of Chinese, and because of that the same “teasing” event is open to construal in different ways by those speakers. We conclude that metapragmatic studies of conversational humour in different languages are important if we are to avoid bleaching out important cultural properties and thereby distorting our objects of analysis.

The lexical semantics of blaguer: French ways of bringing people together through persuasion, deception and laughter

This study presents a lexical semantic analysis of the French verb blaguer and related expressions. This verb belongs to a suite of “French humour practices”, and French-English dictionaries translate it as ‘to joke’. However, Anglo-specific terminology such as “joke” does not match the conceptual semantics of blaguer and its related noun blague. Relying on Anglo-specific terms to categorise culture-specific practices perpetuates conceptual and terminological Anglocentrism. This study furthers the call to avoid the dangers of sustaining Anglocentrism in the theoretical vocabulary of humour studies (Goddard & Mullan 2020; Goddard 2018; Wierzbicka 2014a). Working from the assumption that semantic categories reflect particular ways of speaking, thinking, and behaving, this study’s goal is to capture the insider perspective that French speakers have about the meaning of the verb blaguer and the noun blague. Making local understandings more obvious and accessible to cultural and linguistic outsiders will increase cross-cultural understanding and foster appreciation for the different ways that speakers construct and interpret their world with words (Levisen & Waters 2017). The analytical tool for this study is the technique of semantic explication couched in the simple cross-translatable and culture-neutral words of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (Goddard & Wierzbicka 2014). Carefully chosen example sentences are drawn from Google searches (google.fr) of authentic language use of the verb blaguer and the noun blague. Comparative reference is made to the verb ‘to joke’ from Australian English to highlight the differences in the conversational humour cultures of French and English speakers (Goddard & Mullan 2020; Béal & Mullan 2013, 2017).

Elements of Humour in the Classroom A Qualitative Approach to Data

Abstract Neither grades nor formal indicators of teachers’ effectiveness measure the presence or the nature of humorous situations in classroom conversations although these situations are, in fact, the iceberg components of the teacher–student communication and are important indicators of the motivational-behavioural background as well as cohesion of the group, of the power of collective thinking and creativity inside class community. The role of humour has not always been positive throughout time. For example, according to Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2016), Plato was one of the most influential critics of laughter, and he treated it as an emotion that overrode rational self-control, and thus could be considered a certain kind of evil. As for the bad reputation of humour, we can find yet another face of this reality in Kant’s approach, according to which humour can be understood as play, while laughter is a play signal. The present research is looking for answers regarding the role of humour in classroom conversation and interaction, according to students’ opinion, how they interpret certain terms related to humour, and what humorous situations they report of. In this study, we present the data of an empirical research based on the questionnaires completed by 159 students in the 5th to 8th grades from both urban and rural area, data which have been processed with the help of MAXQDA. Due to the highly practical nature of the research, it presents a general picture of the characteristics and role of humorous classroom situations. This unique location offers a specific interpretation of the discourse of humour, based on local and individual life experiences.

Humour in French and Australian English initial interactions

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).

Emojis and the performance of humour in everyday electronically-mediated conversation

AbstractEmojis are little pictographs commonly added to electronic messages on several social media platforms. Besides being considered as a way to express emotions in electronically-mediated communication (EMC), similarly to ASCII emoticons, emojis are strictly involved in the performance of humour in everyday digital conversation. Drawing on a corpus of casual Whats­App dyadic chats, this paper analyses the contribution of emojis to humour in conversation. Results show that these pictographs not only help to signal the opening and closing of the play frame, but also to respond to humour, graphically reproducing laughter. For these purposes, the most common emojis employed by Whats­App users are the popular yellow smiling and laughing faces. Nevertheless, other pictographs are also involved in electronic humour, as less common emojis can be used in playful ways by themselves.

Testing, stretching, and aligning: Using ‘ironic personae’ to make sense of complicated issues

Irony and humor play an important role in both organizing and organizations, because they both help to collide and contrast ideas as well as mitigate and moderate criticism. Our empirical observations of a senior management team suggest participants frequently use verbal irony and aggressive conversational humor through ‘ironic personae’ – a cast of characters, real or imaginary – as a vehicle for pragmatically making sense of complicated topics. We show how ironic personae perform three functions: (i) testing new positions on topics in a non-committal way; (ii) stretching the frame of comparison of a group; and (iii) aligning shared understanding and commitment. Thus, our analysis sheds light on an underexplored and undertheorised pragmatic vehicle for the expression of humorous verbal irony and aggressive conversational humor.

The role of secondary incongruities in cartoon appreciation

Failed humour in conversational exchanges has received increasing attention in humour research (see Bell 2015; Bell & Attardo 2010). However, tensions between what constitutes successful and failed humour have yet to be fully explored outside conversational humour. Drawing on Hay’s (2001) classification of humour stages and using a socio-cognitive approach to pragmatics to examine responses from Spanish L1 and L2 users to differing combinations of structural and content features in cartoons, the present study aims to explore what factors contribute to successful and failed responses to multimodal humour. Previous research has predominantly investigated the role of caricature as one of the prototypical features of cartoons affecting humour communication, suggesting that this feature plays an active role in the recognition of the humoristic genre (Padilla & Gironzetti 2012). Findings from the present study indicate that caricature operates not only in the recognition, but also in the understanding and appreciation stages. In particular, our results point to two other roles of caricature as a secondary incongruity and as a factor that can trigger appreciation through empathy and/or a sense of superiority. Importantly, this investigation indicates that the presence of secondary incongruities can compensate for a partial lack of understanding, highlighting the relevance that this type of incongruity has in humour appreciation.

‘We Want Fork but No Pork’: (Im)Politeness in Humour by Asian Users of English as a Lingua Franca and Australian English Speakers

Abstract This study explores the conversational humour of Asian multilinguals using English as a lingua franca (ELF) – specifically, their use of (im)politeness strategies to humorously maintain, neglect or affront their target’s face. The Asian ELF data come from the Asian Corpus of English (ACE), which comprises naturally occurring data of English being used as a lingua franca by Asian multilinguals. These data are compared with similar instances drawn from existing Australian humour studies. Our qualitative analysis reveals significant insights into how (im)politeness (both actual and pretended) are utilised as humour strategies by Asian ELF speakers compared with Australian English users.

Review of Conversational Humour and (Im)politeness. Valeria Sinkeviciute, John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam/Philadelphia, 2019 (e-book), ISBN: 9789027262110

Review of Conversational Humour and (Im)politeness. Valeria Sinkeviciute, John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam/Philadelphia, 2019 (e-book), ISBN: 9789027262110

Jocular mockery in the context of a localised playful frame: Unpacking humour in a Chinese reality TV show

Mockery is pervasive in conversational humour. However, little research has been conducted to explore the influence of localised sociocultural constraints on the linguistic choices of interlocutors during jocular mockery acts, especially in non-English-speaking contexts. This paper was written with a focus on examining the jocular mockery strategies that speakers of Mandarin Chinese use to amuse others and the extent to which the speakers adapt themselves to a playful frame. Data were collected from the jocular episodes of ‘The Smiling Proud Wanderer’ (‘Xiao'ao Jianghu’), a television show that was broadcast in standard Mandarin Chinese at the national level in 2016. Based on a detailed analysis of the data, we classified jocular mockery strategies into four categories: jocular depreciation, jocular criticism, jocular directive, and jocular praise. The results indicate that the Chinese prefer using face-threatening strategies (rather than face-saving strategies) to construct a playful frame while mitigating the denigrating force of jocular mockery in the RTV show context. In addition, while the Chinese with high institutional status tend to contextualise the playful frame in an other-denigrating manner, those with low status tend to construct the frame in a self-denigrating way.

Review: Shively, Rachel (2018). Learning and using conversational humor in a second language during study abroad. Berlin, Germany: de Gruyter.

This book review focuses on the monographic volume, Learning and using conversational humor in a second language during study abroad, written by Rachel Shively (Illinois State University) and published in 2018 by de Gruyter. The book offers a thorough ethnographic study of L2 Spanish students' use and appropriation of conversational humor and humorous strategies during a semester abroad in Toledo, Spain. Shively also discusses the pedagogical implications of her study and provides practical examples of how humor can be introduced in the L2 classroom.

Gendering conversational humor in advertising: an evolutionary explanation of the effects of spontaneous versus canned humor

In this paper, we rely on evolutionary psychology to examine how the use of spontaneous versus canned humor affects response to advertising among male and female consumers. The results of three experimental studies indicate that response to advertising varies as a function of the type of humor employed and the gender of the message recipient: women’s responses to spontaneous humor are more positive than to canned humor, while men’s responses are unaffected by humor type. The interactive effect is mediated by the perceived humorousness of the ad, and the message recipient’s interest in pursuing romantic activities increases the effect on perceived humorousness. These results contribute to advertising research by providing an evolutionary explanation for gender-specific responses to humorous advertising.

Co-construction of metaphors in Estonian conversation

The study1 examines how metaphors are deliberately used in spoken interaction, taking into account their context and combining the analysis of conversational data with new developments in metaphor studies. In doing this, we present Estonian examples of extended metaphors co-constructed in the course of interaction. Steen's framework of deliberate metaphor theory (DMT) presents a useful paradigm to investigate the understudied area in a new way, especially in a language where deliberate metaphors have not yet been studied.In conversation, metaphorical creativity manifests itself in how metaphors are used and spontaneously adapted in the flow of talk (Cameron, 2007), often evoking humour in the process. Our second aim in the study has thus been to demonstrate how metaphor use overlaps with the use of humour in conversation. We suggest that metaphor-related words - central to the procedure of identifying deliberate metaphors (DMIP; see Steen, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2015), and understood here as contextually embedded words which bring along potential ambiguity – serve either as indicators of cross-domain mapping, as triggers of humorous effects, or sometimes as both at the same time.Since we assume such deliberate use of metaphors, at least to some extent, contributes to the cultural communication style, as defined in the introduction to this issue, we draw attention to the ways Estonian speakers employ them. This is evident through the unique language-specific references, for example metaphors built on proverbs or phraseology.

Conversational humour in a Nigerian radio news programme: A case study of Lati inu aka aka Biodun/Kayode

This paper investigates the Generic Structure Potential (GSP) of Lati inu aka aka Biodun/Kayode (LIABK), a Nigerian secondary gatekeeping radio news programme, with the aim of indicating the stages of the genre where conversational humour typically occurs, and then it analyses humour types in the data through the neo-Gricean concept of untruthfulness and pragmatic act theory. The data for the study constitute a ten hour audio recording of Lati inu aka aka Biodun/Kayode from two radio stations in Ekiti and Ondo States, South-Western Nigeria. The GSP of LIABK is constituted by five obligatory elements: Opening (O), Advertisement (A), Pre-news Presentation (PnP), News Presentation (NP) and Closing (C). The genre-based expectations for O, PnP and C, and then NP are to provide entertainment and information to the listeners respectively. Thus, humour typically occurs in the O, PnP, and C stages of the programme, and rarely occurs in NP. Four humour types are indicated: song-as-humour, absurdity, joint fantasising and speaker-meaning-telic humour respectively. While song-as-humour resists being neatly categorised as autotelic humour, absurdity and joint fantasising are easily characterised as thus. The pragmatic act analysis reveals the incremental, sequential and co-constructed nature of the humour types. Furthermore, the pragmemes of entertainment and offering of opinion by the news presenters constitute the affordances or genre-based expectations that constrain the social activities that constitute LIABK. The study contributes to the scholarship on secondary gatekeeping in Nigeria broadcast media, conversational humour and pragmatics.

‘He's got Jheri curls and Tims on’: Humour and indexicality as resources for authentication in young men's talk about hair and fashion style

This paper examines humour and indexicality as resources for identity construction in a group of young South London men, with a particular focus on the ideological meanings which are ringfenced by the young men's conversational humour about hair and fashion style. The young men's self-recorded, playful talk includes instances of joking as well as of high risk teasing which, as the paper shows, in many ways conforms to rules of ritual insulting. The references to hair and fashion choices throughout the playful competition constitute indices of group membership at various levels, from hip hop culture to aspects of what Silverstein (2004) calls the ‘macrosociological order’, in particular with respect to race. The paper argues that by considering both the style and the substance of conversational humour, we gain a fuller picture of the range of indexical meanings which are invoked on micro and macro social-levels, and therefore of the multi-layered authenticating practices at the core of the young men's identity construction.

Conversational humor in French and Australian English: What makes an utterance (un)funny?

AbstractIn this paper we focus primarily on the second dimension of the model designed for the comparative cross-cultural analysis of conversational humor outlined in (Béal, Christine & Kerry Mullan. 2013. Issues in conversational humour from a cross-cultural perspective: Comparing French and Australian corpora. In Bert Peeters, Kerry Mullan & Christine Béal (eds.),Cross-culturally Speaking, Speaking Cross-culturally. 107–139. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.), namely the linguistic devices and discursive strategies used by speakers to create humor in social interaction. Using a range of illustrative examples we will show that although a number of similar strategies occur in both the French and Australian English data (play on words, personification, implicit references, borrowing words from other languages), there are also marked differences in terms of preferential choices between French and Australian speakers when it comes to the mechanisms that make a particular utterance or exchange a humorous one. In particular, the French speakers in our data displayed a greater tendency to play with the language itself, while the Australians showed a preference for incongruity and absurdity, and collaborative scenarios with escalation.A number of comparative examples of failed humor are also examined. It will be seen that the responsibility for the failure in all cases lies less with the speaker and more with the hearer; i.e. the problem is not actually with the linguistic device employed, but with the hearer’s non-appreciation of the humor or lack of humor support.

“Joking, kidding, teasing”: Slippery categories for cross-cultural comparison but key words for understanding Anglo conversational humor

Abstract Terms like to joke (and joking) and to tease (and teasing) have a curious double life in contrastive and interactional pragmatics and related fields. Occasionally they are studied as metapragmatic terms of ordinary English, along with related expressions such as kidding. More commonly they are used as scientific or technical categories, both for research into English and for cross-linguistic and cross-cultural comparison. Related English adjectives, such as jocular and mock, are also much-used in a growing lexicon of compound terms, such as jocular abuse, mock abuse, jocular mockery, and the like. Against this background, the present paper has three main aims. In the first part, it is argued that the meanings of the verbs to joke and to tease (and related nouns) are much more English-specific than is commonly recognized. They are not precisely cross-translatable even into European languages such as French and German. Adopting such terms as baseline categories for cross-cultural comparison therefore risks introducing an Anglocentric bias into our theoretical vocabulary. Nor can the problem be easily solved, it is argued, by attributing technical meanings to the terms. Detailed analysis of the everyday meanings of words like joking and teasing, on the other hand, can yield insights into the ethnopragmatics of Anglo conversational humor. This task is undertaken in the second part of the paper. The important English verb to kid and the common conversational formulas just kidding and only joking are also examined. The semantic methodology used is the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach, which depends on paraphrase into simple, cross-translatable words. Building on the NSM analyses, the third part of the paper considers whether it is possible to construct a typological framework for conversational humor based on cross-translatable terminology.

Introduction: Conversational humor: Forms, functions and practices across cultures

Introduction: Conversational humor: Forms, functions and practices across cultures

Is smiling during humor so obvious? A cross-cultural comparison of smiling behavior in humorous sequences in American English and French interactions

AbstractThe present article is part of a larger cross-cultural research project on speaker-hearer smiling behavior in humorous and non-humorous conversations in American English and French. The American corpus consists of eight computer-mediated interactions between English native speakers, and the French one consists of four face-to-face interactions between French native speakers. The goal of the study is twofold: first, we analyze the link between smiling and humor, focusing on the degree of synchronicity of smiling and the intensity of smiling during humorous and non-humorous segments; second, we investigate the various targets mobilized in conversational humor. The results obtained comparing the two data-sets show a correlation between the presence of humor, an increased smiling intensity, and an increase in the synchronized smiling behaviors displayed by participants. However, the two corpora also differ in terms of the displayed smiling behaviors: French participants display more non-synchronic smiling when humor is absent and more synchronic smiling when humor is present. Regarding the various targets of humor (Speaker, Recipient, Other person, Situation, Speaker+Recipient), while their distribution is different – it is more evenly distributed in the French data – the way in which these are mobilized in order to become humorous is quite similar.

Dark, but Danish: Ethnopragmatic perspectives on black humor

Abstract This paper explores sort humor ‘black humor’, a key concept in Danish conversational humor. Sort forms part of a larger class of Danish synesthetic humor metaphors that includes other categories such as tør ‘dry’, syg ‘sick’, and fed ‘fat’. Taking an ethnopragmatic perspective on humor discourse, it is argued that such constructs function as a local catalogue for socially recognized laughing practices. The aim of the paper is to provide a semantic explication for sort humor and explore the discursive practices associated with the concept. From a comparative perspective, it is demonstrated that the Danish conceptualization of “blackness” differs from that of l’humour noir, a category of French surrealism, and English black humor with its off-limit topics such as death and handicap. In Danish discourse, sort humor has come to stand for a practice of collaborative jocular non-sense making. It is further argued that the main function of sort humor is to establish or enhance a feeling of “groupy togetherness”.