Chapter 8
The point of banter in the television show Pointless
This paper explores banter within the television quiz show
Pointless
. Building on previous theories of banter, I suggest that the composite nature of the phenomenon can usefully be analysed within an interactional pragmatic model, such as that proposed by Lecercle (1999). Using this model to analyse various episodes of
Pointless
, I seek to demonstrate that banter is created within a dynamic interpersonal process. I focus on the sequential interaction between speaker and the various hearers involved in the exchange, as opposed to isolated utterances. I propose that any analysis of banter needs not only to study the linguistic aspects of a series of utterances, but also the sociocultural context and the encyclopaedic knowledge that each participant brings to the exchange.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Defining banter
- 3.Theories on banter
- 4.
Banter within an interactional pragmatic framework
- 5.
Banter and
Pointless
- 6.The actants in the process of banter
- 6.1Interaction between speaker(s) and hearer(s)
- 6.2From dyadic relations to multiple participants
- 6.3Reacting to banter
- 6.4Language and encyclopaedia
- 7.Conclusion
-
Notes
-
References
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Cited by (2)
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2021.
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Sport in Society 24:6
► pp. 867 ff.

Statham, Simon & Rocío Montoro
2019.
The year’s work in stylistics 2018.
Language and Literature: International Journal of Stylistics 28:4
► pp. 354 ff.

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