John Benjamins Publishing Company
Does prosody play a specific role in conversational humor?
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Abstract
In this paper we use Conversation Analysis (CA) to investigate conversational humor in talk-in-interaction. We attempt to better understand how the latter is produced and co-constructed by participants accounting for the devices used by participants in their sequential environment. The framework of CA enables us to take into account the various means available to speakers to communicate, orient to others, etc. From our data, reported speech, confirmation request/answer, and repetitions appear as the main discursive devices to create humor (presented as the result of the appearance of incongruity). We focused on prosodic cues that are strongly involved in these devices and then contribute to the humorous tonality of the talk. Finally, the co-construction of conversational humor is mainly described through the notion of orientation and prosodic orientation.
Abstract
In this paper we use Conversation Analysis (CA) to investigate conversational humor in talk-in-interaction. We attempt to better understand how the latter is produced and co-constructed by participants accounting for the devices used by participants in their sequential environment. The framework of CA enables us to take into account the various means available to speakers to communicate, orient to others, etc. From our data, reported speech, confirmation request/answer, and repetitions appear as the main discursive devices to create humor (presented as the result of the appearance of incongruity). We focused on prosodic cues that are strongly involved in these devices and then contribute to the humorous tonality of the talk. Finally, the co-construction of conversational humor is mainly described through the notion of orientation and prosodic orientation.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction: Prosody and humor 1
- Recognizing sarcasm without language 15
- Prosodic and multimodal markers of humor in conversation 37
- Prosody in spontaneous humor 61
- Formulaic jokes in interaction 81
- Verbal irony in the wild 103
- Rich pitch 121
- Does prosody play a specific role in conversational humor? 143
- Prosody of humor in Sex and the City 167
- Index 189
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction: Prosody and humor 1
- Recognizing sarcasm without language 15
- Prosodic and multimodal markers of humor in conversation 37
- Prosody in spontaneous humor 61
- Formulaic jokes in interaction 81
- Verbal irony in the wild 103
- Rich pitch 121
- Does prosody play a specific role in conversational humor? 143
- Prosody of humor in Sex and the City 167
- Index 189
