Arguably, using humor in everyday conversation offers several positive effects on relationships and the general atmosphere. For example, it helps in self-representation and in communicating messages that would sound harsh when spoken out directly. However, as useful a tool conversational humor might be, a usual occurrence is its failure. When trying to be funny while talking to others, there is always the possibility to offend, be misunderstood, or for the humor not to be perceived at all.
Many of these failures in conversational humor seem to arise from wrong estimations of shared context on the speaker's side. An example: Someone makes a joke about politics, proceeding on the assumption that the listener is well versed in the topic, while, in fact, she is not; consequently, she probably will not find the joke funny because she lacks the background information the joke teller erroneously ascribed to her. People not understanding conversational jokes (or even noticing that an utterance was intended to be funny) is something that happens to people on a daily basis and still, we cannot always tell where they went wrong. The challenge and main objective of this thesis is to find out which steps in the whole process of generating and perceiving conversational humor are crucial for the failure.
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Humor
- 2.1 Defining humor
- 2.1.1 Superiority Theory
- 2.1.2 Release Theory
- 2.1.3 Incongruity-Resolution Theory
- 2.2 Relevance Theory and conversational humor
- 2.2.1 Grice's Cooperative Principle and humor
- 2.2.2 Yus' Relevance-Theoretic claims regarding humor
- 3. Humor in conversation
- 3.1 Purposes of conversational humor
- 3.2 Narrative jokes, conversational jokes, and play frame
- 3.2.1 Narrative jokes
- 3.2.2 Conversational jokes
- 3.2.3 Play frame and its markers
- 3.3 Importance of context and common ground
- 4. Failed Conversational Humor
- 4.1 Defining failure
- 4.1.1 Humor versus laughter
- 4.1.2 The speaker's judgment
- 4.2 Recognition, understanding, and appreciation
- 4.3 How to fail
- 4.3.1 Humorous framing and joke incongruity
- 4.3.2 Failure reasons derived from RT
- 5. Analysis
- 5.1 Two cases of failed conversational humor
- 5.1.1 "I'm still working on it."
- 5.1.2 "Chances are you're peeing."
- 5.2 Review
Objectives and Key Themes
This thesis investigates the reasons behind failed conversational humor. It aims to identify crucial steps in the process of generating and perceiving humor that lead to failure, offering insights into how to anticipate and avoid such failures. The work analyzes the role of shared context and the listener's inferential processes in determining whether a joke is successful.
- Defining and differentiating successful and failed conversational humor.
- Exploring the role of shared context and common ground in humor comprehension.
- Analyzing the inferential processes involved in understanding jokes.
- Identifying patterns and recurring aspects in failed conversational humor.
- Providing practical advice on how to avoid creating unsuccessful jokes.
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the topic of failed conversational humor, highlighting its frequency and the lack of research dedicated to it. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the factors contributing to humor failure to improve communication and avoid awkward social situations. The chapter sets the stage by presenting a relatable example of a joke failing due to a misjudgment of shared context and introduces the thesis's main objective: to identify critical steps in humor production and perception that lead to failure. It also contextualizes the work within existing linguistic research, noting the tendency to study successful communication before tackling its failures and highlighting the foundational works used for this thesis.
2. Humor: This chapter lays the theoretical groundwork by examining different theories of humor, including Superiority, Release, and Incongruity-Resolution theories. It then focuses on Relevance Theory, specifically Yus' approach, and its application to conversational humor. This section delves into Grice's Cooperative Principle, explaining its relevance to understanding how successful humorous communication operates and how deviations from it can lead to failure. The chapter provides a crucial foundation for understanding the mechanisms of humor and the inferential processes involved in its perception.
3. Humor in conversation: This chapter explores the unique characteristics of humor within conversational settings. It differentiates between narrative and conversational jokes, emphasizing the significant role of context and common ground in determining the success of a joke. The chapter examines the purpose of conversational humor, its use in various social functions and communication goals and analyzes the importance of the interplay between speaker and listener in creating a shared understanding that facilitates humor. The concept of the 'play frame' and its markers are introduced as crucial elements in establishing the context for humorous communication.
4. Failed Conversational Humor: This chapter provides a definition of failed conversational humor, distinguishing between humor and laughter, and exploring the speaker's role in judging success or failure. It identifies key factors contributing to failure, including misjudgments of shared context, insufficient common ground, and inappropriate humorous framing. The chapter draws upon Bell's (2015) and Hay's (2001) work to identify various levels and types of failure. The concept of an internal ranking of interpretations, suggested by Yus, is introduced as a crucial element in the analysis.
Keywords
Conversational humor, failed humor, Relevance Theory, Grice's Cooperative Principle, common ground, shared context, joke comprehension, humor production, pragmatic inference, miscommunication, social interaction.
Frequently Asked Questions about "Failed Conversational Humor"
What is the main topic of this thesis?
This thesis investigates the reasons behind failed conversational humor. It aims to identify the crucial steps in generating and perceiving humor that lead to failure, offering insights into how to anticipate and avoid such failures. The research analyzes the role of shared context and the listener's inferential processes in determining joke success.
What theories of humor are discussed?
The thesis explores several theories of humor, including Superiority Theory, Release Theory, and Incongruity-Resolution Theory. The primary theoretical framework used is Relevance Theory, specifically Yus' approach, which is applied to conversational humor. Grice's Cooperative Principle is also discussed in relation to successful and unsuccessful humorous communication.
What types of humor are examined?
The thesis focuses on conversational humor, differentiating between narrative jokes and conversational jokes. It emphasizes the importance of the "play frame" in establishing the context for humorous communication.
How is "failed conversational humor" defined?
Failed conversational humor is defined by considering the speaker's judgment of success or failure, distinguishing between humor and laughter. Key factors contributing to failure include misjudgments of shared context, insufficient common ground, and inappropriate humorous framing. The thesis explores different levels and types of failure based on existing research.
What role does context play in humor?
Shared context and common ground are crucial for successful humor. Misjudgments of these elements are identified as significant reasons for humor failure. The thesis analyzes how the listener's inferential processes, based on shared understanding, determine whether a joke is successful or not.
What are the key steps in humor production and perception that lead to failure?
The thesis aims to pinpoint specific steps in the process of creating and interpreting humor that contribute to failure. This includes analyzing the role of humorous framing, the speaker's assessment of shared knowledge, and the listener's ability to make the necessary inferences.
What practical advice is offered to avoid unsuccessful jokes?
By understanding the factors contributing to failed conversational humor, the thesis offers practical advice on how to create more successful jokes. This includes carefully considering shared context, common ground, and the potential for misinterpretations based on the listener's inferential processes.
What are the main chapters and their content?
The thesis includes chapters on: Introduction (setting the stage and outlining the objective); Humor (exploring theories of humor and their application to conversation); Humor in Conversation (analyzing conversational dynamics and the role of context); Failed Conversational Humor (defining and analyzing the causes of failure); and Analysis (presenting case studies of failed jokes and a review of findings).
What are the keywords associated with this thesis?
Keywords include: Conversational humor, failed humor, Relevance Theory, Grice's Cooperative Principle, common ground, shared context, joke comprehension, humor production, pragmatic inference, miscommunication, and social interaction.
- Quote paper
- Nina Godenrath (Author), 2019, Why no one's laughing at your jokes. Wrong predictions in conversational humor, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/510098
