Conversation Analysis

“Conversation analysis is the field of linguistics best suited for investigating humor in its spontaneous setting–conversation–and for studying its functions in the process of communication.”

-ideal for investigating the contextual aspects of humor
-”The use of humor in conversation is found to enhance its ‘memorability’ and in general to ’stand out.’”
-”In normal conversation, people spend 10% of their time joking.”

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Situational jokes

“A situational joke hinges on a very situation-specific element that will be nearly impossible to use outside of that situation. The only strategy available to the speaker is to try and reconstruct the situation verbally.”
-”You had to be there.”

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Conversational v. Canned

Conversational
-often non-narrative
-often build on previous jokes and seem to acquire an extra degree of “funniness” by doing so
-primary function: effects the speaker may want to achieve directly by using humorous segments or texts in his/her discourse
-secondary function: effects that are achieved either indirectly or without the knowledge or intent of the user

Canned
-exists because story-telling requires a specific conversational situation, such that the crowd can relinquish the floor to one speaker, the narrator
-acceptance of joke telling must be secured
-must orient audience for correct mode of interpretation
-laughter, in this case, is “regularly associated with termination of talk.” Laughter can be used to “signal or attempt closure of an interchange”
-”Fear of social sanctions may lead the hearers to wait before they laugh in order to match their reaction with other listeners.”
-”Upon completion of a joke, he/she must relinquish the floor to the audience.”
-”In some cultures certain ritualized situations call for the utterances of jokes, either canned or not. Specific ethnographic research is necessary to deal with the manifestations of a culture’s choices of what contexts are appropriate for humor.”

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Effects of humor on the communicative process

1. Social management
-facilitate interaction
-social control
-convey social norms
-ingratiation
-discourse management
-establish common ground
-cleverness
-social play
-repair

2. Decommitment
-denying an harmful intention for an action
-”Humorous discourse carries less ‘responsibility’ for the speaker, in the event that its eventual serious content can always be denied.”

3. Mediation

4. Defunctionalization
-”Humor, especially nonsense humor or puns, can in some cases be seen as a ‘defunctionalization’ of language. Defunctionalized language is language that is not used for transmission of information, but for playful purposes.”