Interpreting ‘Filler Pause’ in Interpersonal Communication: A Study of Situational Comedy The Big Bang Theory:
20 Jun 2017-Journal of Creative Communications (SAGE PublicationsSage India: New Delhi, India)-Vol. 12, Iss: 2, pp 122-133
TL;DR: In this article, the reception of humour is often ascribed to personal taste, while the exten..., the authors argue that humour as represented vis-a-vis situational comedy in general forms an important aspect of interpersonal communication.
Abstract: Humour as represented vis-a-vis situational comedy in general forms an important aspect of interpersonal communication. Though the reception of humour is often ascribed to personal taste, the exten...
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TL;DR: It is concluded that, whereas listeners are highly sensitive to hesitation disfluencies in speech, there is little evidence to suggest that they are intentionally produced, or should be considered to be words in the conventional sense.
Abstract: Human speech is peppered with ums and uhs, among other signs of hesitation in the planning process. But are these so-called fillers (or filled pauses) intentionally uttered by speakers, or are they side-effects of difficulties in the planning process? And how do listeners respond to them? In the present paper, we review evidence concerning the production and comprehension of fillers such as um and uh, in an attempt to determine whether they can be said to be ‘words’ with ‘meanings’ that are understood by listeners. We conclude that, whereas listeners are highly sensitive to hesitation disfluencies in speech, there is little evidence to suggest that they are intentionally produced, or should be considered to be words in the conventional sense.
184 citations
"Interpreting ‘Filler Pause’ in Inte..." refers background in this paper
...(quoted in Corley & Stewart, 2008, p. 5) The present study attempts to explore filler pause and engage in finding the role it plays in humour interpretation during any instance of interpersonal communication as depicted in popular media....
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TL;DR: In this article, humor can be viewed as interpersonal emotion management, whose purpose is to manage the emotions of others as well as of the self; humor is a social phenomenon and serves an important purpose in interaction.
Abstract: Recent work in emotions and emotion management suggests that humor is a social phenomenon and serves an important purpose in interaction. That is, humor can be viewed as interpersonal emotion management, whose purpose is to manage the emotions of others as well as of the self. This article offers the following definition as an analytical tool: humor as emotion management is an expert cultural performance; which strengthens or restores the feeling norms of the situation and creates amusement in the self and others; generating positive sentiments among members of an interacting group by bonding them and/or reducing an external threat; often at the expense of some excluded person(s), event(s), or object(s).
155 citations
"Interpreting ‘Filler Pause’ in Inte..." refers background in this paper
...(quoted in Francis, 1994, pp. 148–149) Hu (2012) in his paper ‘An Analysis of Humor in The Big Bang Theory from Pragmatic Perspectives’ analyzes the sitcom with the help of two theories, that is, Grice’s Cooperative Principle and Sperber and Wilson’s Relevance Theory....
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Book•
23 Jun 2000
TL;DR: In this article, stand-up is defined as an art form best defined by its fascination with the abject, Julia Kristeva's term for those aspects of oneself that are obnoxious to one's sense of identity but that are nevertheless impossible to jettison once and for all.
Abstract: Stand-Up Comedy in Theory, or, Abjection in America is the first study of stand-up comedy as a form of art. John Limon appreciates and analyzes the specific practice of stand-up itself, moving beyond theories of the joke, of the comic, and of comedy in general to read stand-up through the lens of literary and cultural theory. Limon argues that stand-up is an artform best defined by its fascination with the abject, Julia Kristeva’s term for those aspects of oneself that are obnoxious to one’s sense of identity but that are nevertheless—like blood, feces, or urine—impossible to jettison once and for all. All of a comedian’s life, Limon asserts, is abject in this sense.
Limon begins with stand-up comics in the 1950s and 1960s—Lenny Bruce, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Mike Nichols, Elaine May—when the norm of the profession was the Jewish, male, heterosexual comedian. He then moves toward the present with analyses of David Letterman, Richard Pryor, Ellen DeGeneres, and Paula Poundstone. Limon incorporates feminist, race, and queer theories to argue that the “comedification” of America—stand-up comedy’s escape from its narrow origins—involves the repossession by black, female, queer, and Protestant comedians of what was black, female, queer, yet suburbanizing in Jewish, male, heterosexual comedy. Limon’s formal definition of stand-up as abject art thus hinges on his claim that the great American comedians of the 1950s and 1960s located their comedy at the place (which would have been conceived in 1960 as a location between New York City or Chicago and their suburbs) where body is thrown off for the mind and materiality is thrown off for abstraction—at the place, that is, where American abjection has always found its home.
As the first study of its kind, Stand-Up Comedy in Theory, or, Abjection in America will appeal to a wide audience including those interested in cultural studies, Jewish studies, gender and queer theory.
116 citations
"Interpreting ‘Filler Pause’ in Inte..." refers methods in this paper
...In reviewing the interpretation of humour in popular media context, it was seen that the practices employed by the scriptwriter of a given series tend to be based on an established pattern (Limon, 2000)....
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TL;DR: The television situation comedy Will and Grace as discussed by the authors is notable as the first successful network prime-time series to feature gay characters in a gay milieu, and the show's considerable popularity begs the question of how the gay sensibility and humor, particularly the gay trickster character, Jack, is received by a heterosexual audience.
Abstract: The television situation comedy Will and Grace is notable as the first successful network prime-time series to feature gay characters in a gay milieu. The show's considerable popularity begs the question of how the show's gay sensibility and humor, particularly the gay trickster character, Jack, is received by a heterosexual audience. This article dis- cusses the notion of gay humor, considers the show's history, analyzes several episodes, and scrutinizes the responses of 136 college students who watched the show. Viewers do not identify with Jack and regard him as the most frequent butt of humor on the show, but they also consider him the funniest character and, by a very slight margin, their favorite. Contrary to my original hypotheses, respondent characterizations of Jack tend to reflect appreciation for all aspects of his trickster personality, though his ostenta- tious sexuality tends to be ignored.
43 citations
"Interpreting ‘Filler Pause’ in Inte..." refers background in this paper
...(Cooper, 2003, p. 514) The purpose of this study is not to describe the type of humour in situational comedy but to analyze the contextual elements that allow an audience to identify certain utterances as humorous....
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Book•
06 Dec 2018TL;DR: In this article, two of the world's leading pioneers in humor studies, Alleen and Don Nilsen, explore how humor can be explained across the numerous sub-disciplines of linguistics.
Abstract: Much of today's communication is carried out through various kinds of humor, and we therefore need to be able to understand its many aspects. Here, two of the world's leading pioneers in humor studies, Alleen and Don Nilsen, explore how humor can be explained across the numerous sub-disciplines of linguistics. Drawing on examples from language play and jokes in a range of real-life contexts, such as art, business, marketing, comedy, creative writing, science, journalism and politics, the authors use their own theory of 'Features, functions and subjects of Humor' to analyze humor across all disciplines. Each highly accessible chapter uses a rich array of examples to stimulate discussion and interaction even in large classes. Supplemental PowerPoints to accompany each of the 25 chapters are available online, taking many of the insights from the chapters for further interactional discussions with students.
33 citations
"Interpreting ‘Filler Pause’ in Inte..." refers background in this paper
...Ross (1998), on the other hand, characterizes it with element of surprise, which creates a conflict between what is expected and what is actually said (p. 7)....
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