E-Book Overview
The Linguistics of Laughter examines what speakers try to achieve by producing ‘laughter-talk’ (the talk preceding and eliciting an episode of laughter) and, by using abundant examples from language corpora, what hearers are signalling when they produce laughter. In particular, Alan Partington focuses on the tactical use of laughter-talk to achieve specific rhetorical, and strategic, ends: for example, to construct an identity, to make an argumentative point, to threaten someone else’s face or save one's own. Although laughter and humour are by no means always related, the book also considers the implications these corpus-based observations may have about humour theory in general. As one of the first works to have recourse to such a sizeable databank of examples of laughter in spontaneous running talk, this impressive volume is an essential point of reference and an inspiration for scholars with an interest in corpus linguistics, discourse, humour, wordplay, irony and laughter-talk as a social phenomenon.
E-Book Content
The Linguistics of Laughter This book examines what speakers try to achieve by producing ‘laughter-talk’ (the talk preceding and eliciting an episode of laughter) and, using abundant examples from language corpora, what hearers are signalling when they produce laughter. In particular, the author focuses on the tactical use of laughter-talk to achieve specific rhetorical and strategic ends: for example, to construct an identity, to make an argumentative point, to threaten someone else’s face or save one’s own. Although laughter and humour are by no means always related, the book also considers the implications these corpus-based observations may have about humour theory in general. As one of the first works to have recourse to such a sizeable databank of examples of laughter in spontaneous running talk, this impressive volume will be a point of reference and an inspiration for scholars with an interest in corpus linguistics, discourse, humour, wordplay, irony and laughter-talk as a social phenomenon. Alan Partington is Associate Professor of Linguistics in the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Bologna, Italy. He is the author of Patterns and Meanings: Using Corpora for English Language Research and Teaching and The Linguistics of Political Argument: The Spin-doctor and the Wolf-pack at the White House (also published by Routledge). Routledge Studies in Linguistics 1. Polari – The Lost Language of Gay Men Paul Baker 2. The Linguistic Analysis of Jokes Graeme Ritchie 3. The Irish Language in Ireland From Goídel to globalisation Diarmait Mac Giolla Chríost 4. Conceptualizing Metaphors On Charles Peirce’s marginalia Ivan Mladenov 5. The Linguistics of Laughter A corpus-assisted study of laughter-talk Alan Partington The Linguistics of Laughter A corpus-assisted study of laughter-talk Alan Partington First published 2006 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2006 Alan Partington This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Catal