5 . 'Got a date or something?': A corpus analysis of the role of humour and laughter in the workplace meetings of English language teachers
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Elaine Vaughan
Abstract
This chapter brings instances of humour and laughter into relief using a corpus of authentic institutional interaction of English language teachers in school staff meetings. Humour is used within the meetings as a means of showing mutual support and creating solidarity. The corpus also contains a large proportion of subversive humour, or humour which is directed against the institution, individuals in the group, the group itself and the students. Identifying humour in the data is not a simple case of finding instances of laughter or assuming that it signifies either the intention of the speaker to elicit laughter, or to be humorous.However, wherever humour is manifested, laughter frequently occurs. The methodological issue of identifying and transcribing humour is discussed.
Abstract
This chapter brings instances of humour and laughter into relief using a corpus of authentic institutional interaction of English language teachers in school staff meetings. Humour is used within the meetings as a means of showing mutual support and creating solidarity. The corpus also contains a large proportion of subversive humour, or humour which is directed against the institution, individuals in the group, the group itself and the students. Identifying humour in the data is not a simple case of finding instances of laughter or assuming that it signifies either the intention of the speaker to elicit laughter, or to be humorous.However, wherever humour is manifested, laughter frequently occurs. The methodological issue of identifying and transcribing humour is discussed.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- 1. The challenges of different settings: An overview 1
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Section I. Exploring discourse in academic settings
- 2. '…post-colonialism, multi-culturalism, structuralism, feminism, post-modernism and so on and so forth' : A comparative analysis of vague category markers in academic discourse 9
- 3. Emphatics in academic discourse: Integrating corpus and discourse tools in the study of cross-disciplinary variation 31
- 4. Interaction, identity and culture in academic writing: The case of German, British and American academics in the humanities 57
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Section II. Exploring discourse in workplace settings
- 5 . 'Got a date or something?': A corpus analysis of the role of humour and laughter in the workplace meetings of English language teachers 95
- 6. Determining discourse-based moves in professional reports 117
- 7. // --> ONE country two SYStems //: The discourse intonation patterns of word associations 135
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Section III. Exploring discourse in news and entertainment
- 8. Who's speaking?: Evidentiality in US newspapers during the 2004 presidential campaign 157
- 9. Television dialogue and natural conversation: Linguistic similarities and functional differences 189
- 10. A corpus approach to discursive construction of hip-hop identity 211
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Section IV. Exploring discourse through specific linguistic features
- 11. The use of the it-cleft construction in 19th-century English 243
- 12. Place and time adverbials in native and non-native English student writing 267
- Author index 289
- Corpus and tools index 291
- Subject index 293
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- 1. The challenges of different settings: An overview 1
-
Section I. Exploring discourse in academic settings
- 2. '…post-colonialism, multi-culturalism, structuralism, feminism, post-modernism and so on and so forth' : A comparative analysis of vague category markers in academic discourse 9
- 3. Emphatics in academic discourse: Integrating corpus and discourse tools in the study of cross-disciplinary variation 31
- 4. Interaction, identity and culture in academic writing: The case of German, British and American academics in the humanities 57
-
Section II. Exploring discourse in workplace settings
- 5 . 'Got a date or something?': A corpus analysis of the role of humour and laughter in the workplace meetings of English language teachers 95
- 6. Determining discourse-based moves in professional reports 117
- 7. // --> ONE country two SYStems //: The discourse intonation patterns of word associations 135
-
Section III. Exploring discourse in news and entertainment
- 8. Who's speaking?: Evidentiality in US newspapers during the 2004 presidential campaign 157
- 9. Television dialogue and natural conversation: Linguistic similarities and functional differences 189
- 10. A corpus approach to discursive construction of hip-hop identity 211
-
Section IV. Exploring discourse through specific linguistic features
- 11. The use of the it-cleft construction in 19th-century English 243
- 12. Place and time adverbials in native and non-native English student writing 267
- Author index 289
- Corpus and tools index 291
- Subject index 293
