Salvatore Attardo

Script theory revis(it)ed: joke similarity and joke representation model

The article proposes a general theory of verbal humor, focusing on verbal jokes äs its most representative subset. The theory is an extension and revision ofRaskins script-based semantic theory of humor and of Attardos five-level joke representation model. After distinguishing the parameters of the various degrees of similarity among the joke examples, six knowledge resources informing thejoke, namely script oppositions, logicalmechanisms, situationst targets, narrative strategies, and language, are put forward. A hierarchical organization for the six knowledge resources is then discovered on the basis of the asymmetrical binary relations, of the proposed and modified content l tooldichotomy, and, especially, ofthe hypothesized perceptions ofthe relative degrees of similarity. It is also argued that the emerging joke representation model is neutral to the process ofjoke production. The proposed hierarchy enables the concepts of joke variants and invariants, introduced previously by Attardo, to be firmed up, generalized, and äug· mented into a full-fledged taxonomy indexed with regard to the shared knowledge resource values (for example, two jokes may be variants on, that ist sharing, the same script oppositions and logical mechanisms). The resulting general theory of verbal humor is discussed in the light of its relations with various academic disciplines and areas ofresearch äs well äs with the script-based semantic theory of humor, special theories of humor, and incongruity-based theories.

Violation of conversational maxims and cooperation: The case of jokes

Abstract The article deals with the paradox of the communicative nature of jokes, which are defined as a type of text that violates the principle of cooperation. The consequences of violating the cooperative principle (breakdown of communication) are examined. The paper argues against the application of the mention theory to the violation of conversational maxims in jokes, in an attempt to explain away the paradox. While the non-bona-fide mode of communication accounts for the survival of the communicative exchange, the article will then show that non-cooperative texts such as jokes convey information through their presuppositional basis, rather than their illocutionary value, through metamessages and suppressions of the violation. Finally it will show how speakers exploit the non-cooperative nature of humor for other communicative purposes.

Toward an empirical verification of the General Theory of Verbal Humor

The present study derives hypotheses from the General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH) and tests them on a sample of 534 subjects. Subjects are presented with three sets of jokes, each consisting of an anchor joke and comparison jokes in which variations in one and only one of the six Knowledge Resources (KR), script Opposition (SO), logical mechanism (LM), Situation (SI) target (TA), narrative strategy (NS), andlanguage (LA) occurred. Subjects rated the degree of similarity between the anchor joke and the six comparison jokes. The results support the hypothesis that the extent to which the similarity judgment is affected depends on the type of the KR manipulated. Also, there generally is a decreasing trend in similarity between the KRs LA and SO. Whereas there was a significant difference between all consecutive KRs, as predicted by the hierarchy postulated by the GTVH, SI and LM were not in the right order. Possible explanations for thisfact are discussed. This article presents and discusses a study which empirically Supports some of the Claims of the General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH). After introducing the theory, the article will present the hypotheses derived from the theory that were tested and finally the results of the investigation.

The linear organization of jokes: analysis of two thousand texts

The results ofa study basedon a corpus of 2000 printed jokes are presented. Four hypotheses, based on the Isotopy-Disjunction Model, were tested, and the results were found to conform with them. The hypotheses were: that referential jokes outnumber verbal jokes (puns); within the set of verbal jokes, those that are based on lexical ambiguityfor the disjunctive function outnumber all the other categories of verbal jokes (that is, syntactic and alliterative disjunctive jokes); that the position of the disjunctor in the sentence is final and it is the rheme ofthe sentence; within the set of verbal jokes, the jokes in which the disjunctor follows the connector outnumber the jokes in which disjunctor and connector coincide. This paper presents the results of our analysis of a corpus of 2000 jokes, based on a text-model. We will discuss the model, the hypotheses which we tested, the methodology of our analysis, and finally the results of the analysis, including some comments on issues which were brought up in the course of the analysis.

Translation and Humour

Abstract An application of the General Theory of Verbal Humour (GTVH) to the theory of humour translation is presented. The GTVH is presented as a theory that allows us to relate perceived differences between jokes to six hierarchically ordered Knowledge Resources (parameters), namely knowledge concerning Language; Narrative Strategies; Target(s); Situation; Logical Mechanism(s); Script Opposition(s). The GTVH’s contribution to theory on humour translation is the metric of joke similarity, which allows the translator to evaluate how much a translated joke differs from the source joke. Some strategies for applying the metric heuristics to translation are provided. Finally, the issue of the translation of puns is taken up and it is argued that humorous translation cannot be absolutely guaranteed in all cases.

Locutionary and perlocutionary cooperation: The perlocutionary cooperative principle

Abstract This paper presents an argument for distinguishing between locutionary and perlocutionary cooperation, applying to linguistic and extra-linguistic goals, respectively. A principle governing perlocutionary cooperation is proposed and arguments for its usefulness are presented. A brief review of studies in Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Science and Pragmatics shows some similarities between this proposal and goal-oriented approaches.

Resolutions and their incongruities: Further thoughts on Logical Mechanisms

Abstract This paper is a contribution to the study of the resolution of incongruities in humor. We reject some criticisms of logical mechanisms and analyze three different types of incongruities in humorous texts: completely backgrounded, backgrounded, and foregrounded. Only the latter are addressed by logical mechanisms. We identify a mechanism of “incongruity shifting” which may be a candidate for “deep” logical mechanism (along the lines of “parallelism” in Attardo et al. HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research 15: 1–44, 2002). We finally discuss the similarities between Orings (Engaging humor, University of Illinois Press, 2003) “appropriate incongruity” theory and our approach, which lead us to the conclusion that all resolution of incongruity in jokes is partial.

An unintentional inference and ontological property defaults

A recent Facebook update informed a users friends that, on a night out at a bar, “a white dude was hitting on me all night”. It occurred to a couple of us independently that the user was not white or at least very likely not to be white, which was actually confirmed by those in the know. This paper is an attempt to explore and explain, the nature of this and similar inferences and to sketch out a way to compute them. A thorough search by a noted pragmaticist, in our ranks, has failed to produce any similar study, and it is borne out by the map and trends in the field. We have also realized that the inference can serve as a new and more rigorous explanation for a large class of jokes that none of us, humor researchers all (among other things), has ever seen analyzed that way. The largely formalism-free façade of the paper should not distract a reader from the technical nature of the argument.

The analysis of humorous narratives

This paper presents a methodfor the analysis of humorous texts larger than jokes. The method consists of the General Theory of Verbal Humor augmented by a component to handle the narrative aspects ofthe texts. Specifically, the following tools are introduced: jab and punch lines, macroand micro-narratives, levels of narrative (metanarratives), Strands of lines, Stacks of Strands, and intertextual jokes. An extended example from a sitcom is analyzed and some speculations on further research are offered. A postscriptum discusses some theoretical issues left in the background for simplicitys sake. The goal of this paper is to present a method for the analysis of the humorous element of narratives in texts of some complexity. In particular, I seek to analyze texts which are longer than the average joke. The majority of the effort from the linguistic camp has gone to short texts, essentially jokes, for several reasons, reviewed in Attardo and Chabanne (1992). Some authors have tried to account to more complex texts, but without much success (see Attardo 1994: 191-193, 221; 1996a, for reviews). The method that will be outlined below is part of several Strands of work of the author (Attardo 1996a/b) and other scholars, most notably W. Chiopicki (see Chlopicki 1997, for a discussion of a recent seminar summing up the research up to that date, äs well äs this authors comments, Attardo 1997a). Acknowledgments to that effect are hereby given. I would like to stress, however, that most of what follows will draw heavily on and assume familiarity with the Semantic Script Theory of Humor 11-3 (1998), 231-260 0933-1719/98/0011-0231

Prosodic Markers of Saliency in Humorous Narratives

Much of what we think we know about the performance of humor relies on our intuitions about prosody (e.g., “its all about timing”); however, this has never been empirically tested. Thus, the central question addressed in this article is whether speakers mark punch lines in jokes prosodically and, if so, how. To answer this question, this article unites both the recently emerged research agenda grounding spoken discourse analysis in the precision and verifiability of acoustic analysis and a research agenda within the field of discourse and humor focused on the “performance” of humorous narratives. This article presents an analysis of a relatively simple form: the joke or short humorous narrative. The starting point of this analysis is the folk theory of joke-telling. Through instrumental measurement of pitch, volume, and speech rate, this study shows that, contrary to the folk theory of joke-delivery, punch lines are not delivered significantly louder than the preceding text, but rather at a significantly lower pitch and slower speech rate than the text preceding the punch line. In addition, punch lines are often, but not necessarily, signaled by a laughing voice or a smiling voice and are not preceded by significant pauses. This article concludes that the folk theory of joke-delivery is largely refuted. This study further investigates whether the saliency of punch lines, which would predict higher volume and pitch, is less significant than their final position in the narrative, which, being associated with final position in a paratone, or spoken paragraph, predicts that they will demonstrate lower volume and pitch values. The conclusion is that final positioning trumps the saliency of the punch lines and accounts for the significantly lower pitch and lack of significantly higher volume in punch lines.