The laughter that proliferates in casual conversation between friends indicates that humour is a common device in talk that does important social work. However, this humour does not involve recognisable joking structures but rather highly implicit meanings that are interpreted only by those who appear to be “in on the joke”. This thesis considers the functions of this “unfunny” type of humour, called convivial conversational humour, by focusing on the social relations at stake in conversations between friends in the Canadian context. Through a functional discourse analysis (Martin & Rose, 2007) of phases (cf. Gregory & Malcolm, 1995[1981]) of co-constructed humour in conversation, it is found that evaluative meanings bound with ideational experience (evaluative couplings) are the cause of laughter in these phases, and that these construe a social process of affiliation. Building on notions of bonding (e.g. Boxer & Cortès-Conde, 1997; Martin, 2004b; Stenglin, 2004) and coupling (Martin, 2000a), this thesis develops a model of affiliation to account for how we identify ourselves communally as members of a culture and create social bonds through language. Through the analysis of humorous phases, this model is developed with laughter as a way in, since it serves as an explicit and meaningful signal that the particular coupled meanings presented in discourse can create affiliative tension for the participants in the social sphere. Affiliation thus describes the different strategies through which we discursively co-construct who we are, who we are not, and through laughter, who we might otherwise be in other conversations. Conversational humour between friends is shown to be a method for confirming solidarity in friendships while allowing flexibility in the construction of identity. The significance of humour as a linguistic device is emphasized through its use in social interaction as we constantly negotiate our affiliations in casual talk.
Author(s): Naomi K. Knight
Publisher: Department of Linguistics, University of Sydney
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 453
DECLARATION ii
ABSTRACT iii
PREFACE iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi
TRANSCRIPTION CONVENTIONS ix
LIST OF FIGURES xvi
LIST OF TABLES xix
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
SECTION 1.1 DEFINING THE UNIT OF STUDY: CONVERSATION AND HUMOUR 1
1.1.1 Casual Conversation 2
1.1.1.1 Approach and motivation to study humour 3
1.1.2 Convivial Conversational Humour 6
SECTION 1.2 DATA 7
1.2.1 Collection of Data 7
1.2.1.1 Participants 8
1.2.1.2 Insider Analysis 9
SECTION 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND AIMS 10
SECTION 1.4 SCOPE AND ORGANISATION OF THIS THESIS 12
CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND APPROACH 16
SECTION 2.1 HUMOUR, LINGUISTICS AND CONVERSATION 17
2.1.1 Traditions of humour theory and linguistics 18
2.1.1.1 Chafe’s “feeling of non-seriousness” and relief theory 18
2.1.1.2 Script-based semantic theories of humour and incongruity theory 19
2.1.1.3 Social linguistic studies of humour and superiority theory 24
2.1.2 Conversational humour studies 26
2.1.2.1 The solidarity orientation of friendship humour 27
2.1.2.2 Bonding in humour 30
2.1.2.3 Studies that take laughter as point of departure 35
2.1.2.3.1 Partington’s study of “laughter-talk” 38
2.1.2.4 Connections to the current study 42
SECTION 2.2 THEORETICAL APPROACH: SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS 43
2.2.1 Hierarchies 442.2.1.1 Realisation 45
2.2.1.1.1 Language and social context 46
2.2.1.2 Instantiation 49
2.2.1.2.1 Semogenesis 52
2.2.1.3 Individuation 53
2.2.2 Complementarities 58
2.2.2.1 Axis: System and structure 58
2.2.2.2 Metafunctions 62
2.2.2.2.1 APPRAISAL theory 66
2.2.2.2.2 Bonding theory 69
2.2.2.3 Summary of SFL concepts 71
2.2.3 Humour studies in an SFL framework 72
2.2.3.1 The social context of humour 73
2.2.3.2 Humour and APPRAISAL 77
SECTION 2.3 METHODOLOGY 81
2.3.1 Extracting texts for analysis: Conversational exchanges 81
2.3.2 Discourse analysis 89
2.3.2.1 Interpersonal systems 90
2.3.2.2 Ideational systems 94
2.3.2.3 Textual systems 98
SECTION 2.4 SUMMARY OF CHAPTER TWO 100
CHAPTER 3: LAUGHTER IN CONVERSATIONAL HUMOUR 102
SECTION 3.1 LAUGHTER AS A SOCIAL SEMIOTIC 103
3.1.1 Taking a systemic functional perspective on multimodality 105
3.1.1.1 Modelling laughter as a semiotic system 106
3.1.1.2 Interpersonal orientations to laughing 110
3.1.1.2.1 Protolinguistic origins 110
3.1.1.2.2 Laughter and attitude 113
3.1.1.2.3 Laughter and speech function 119
3.1.2 Laughter expressions in convivial conversational humour 122
3.1.2.1 System network for laughter 123
3.1.2.2 Analysis of laughter expressions 129
SECTION 3.2 LAUGHTER IN HUMOROUS PHASES 131
3.2.1 Laughing and the conversational exchange 132
3.2.2 The phasal unit of conversational humour 136
3.2.3 Analysis of humorous phases 138
SECTION 3.3 CONCLUSION OF CHAPTER THREE 144
CHAPTER 4: NEGOTIATING EVALUATIVE COUPLINGS 146
SECTION 4.1 UNFOLDING MEANINGS SURROUNDING LAUGHTER 147
4.1.1 Prosody in the humorous phase 148
4.1.2 Bonding and prosody 150
4.1.3 Laughter reaction 152
SECTION 4.2 COUPLINGS AS LINGUISTIC EVIDENCE 156
4.2.1 Coupling in humorous phases 159
4.2.2 Implicit couplings 163
4.2.2.1 Familiar values in conversation between friends 163
4.2.2.2 Tokens and evaluative couplings 164
4.2.3 Strategies for invoking attitudes in couplings 166
4.2.3.1 Provoking attitudes in couplings: Idioms and allusions 167
4.2.3.1.1 Idioms 168
4.2.3.1.2 Allusions 173
4.2.3.2 Flagging attitudes in couplings: Realisations of all systems of graduation 176
4.2.3.2.1 Intensifying attitudes 177
4.2.3.2.2 Quantifying attitudes 178
4.2.3.2.3 Sharpening and softening attitudes 180
4.2.3.3 Affording attitudes in couplings: ENGAGEMENT, pronouns and naming 182
4.2.3.3.1 Opposing points of view in ENGAGEMENT 183
4.2.3.3.2 Dividing and aligning: Inclusive and exclusive pronouns 189
4.2.3.3.3 Naming persons and communities 193
4.2.3.4 “X-phemisms” indicating attitude 197
4.2.3.5 Summary of strategies for invoking attitudes in couplings 200
SECTION 4.3 CONCLUSION OF CHAPTER FOUR 201
CHAPTER 5: AFFILIATION 203
SECTION 5.1 THE SOCIAL PROCESS OF AFFILIATION 204
5.1.1 Negotiating bonds as social patterns 206
5.1.2 Affiliation and identity 211
5.1.3 Strategies of affiliation 217
5.1.3.1 Communing: straightforward affiliating 218
5.1.3.2 Laughing: Deferring bonds 221
5.1.3.2.1 Making vs. acknowledging wrinkles 224
5.1.3.2.2 Negotiating an identity space 227
5.1.3.3 Condemning: Rejecting bonds 232
5.1.4 Summary of affiliation as a social process 234
SECTION 5.2 LEVELS OF COMMUNITY: AN AFFILIATION PERSPECTIVE ON THE CLINE OF
INDIVIDUATION 235
5.2.1 Theorising affiliation 236
5.2.1.1 Levels of affiliation on the individuation cline 238
5.2.1.2 Visualising the affiliation process through the individuation cline 239
5.2.1.3 Bonds as minimal social unit 248
5.2.1.4 Communities as bond networks 253
5.2.1.4.1 Diagramming bond networks as social networks 260
5.2.1.4.2 Labelling bond networks 263
5.2.1.5 Culture as a system of bonds 266
SECTION 5.3 SUMMARY OF CHAPTER FIVE 270
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS 272
SECTION 6.1 CONTRIBUTIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 272
6.1.1 The dynamic nature of couplings 273
6.1.2 APPRAISAL challenges 276
6.1.3 The contributions of affiliation 281
6.1.4 Linguistic humour research and this study 281
SECTION 6.2 FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS 282
6.2.1 Modelling affiliation 283
6.2.2 Characterisation and the affiliation perspective on humour 286
6.2.3 Focus on ideology: The boundaries of what we can laugh off 291
6.2.4 More on laughter and visual semiotics 292
6.2.5 Other applications of affiliation: Reintegrating, restoring and creating a fan base 294
SECTION 6.3 CONCLUSION TO THIS STUDY 296
APPENDIX A: TABLES OF ANALYSIS 297
APPENDIX B: TRANSCRIBED TEXT FOR OTHER CHAPTER EXAMPLES 396
APPENDIX C: SOUND CLIPS SEE
REFERENCES 402
