Chapter published in:
The Dynamics of Interactional Humor: Creating and negotiating humor in everyday encounters
Edited by Villy Tsakona and Jan Chovanec
[Topics in Humor Research 7] 2018
► pp. 29–56

Chapter 2
Reactions to jab lines in conversational storytelling

| University of Patras
| University of Patras

The aim of this paper is to explore the multiple ways interlocutors negotiate humor in a conversational narrative. In particular, we examine the methodic strategies story recipients employ to respond to jab lines, namely humorous parts of the story that include a script opposition (Attardo, 2001a). Drawing on conversation analytic methods, we argue that story participants “do” humor via (a) immediate jab line responses, i.e. responses which immediately follow the presentation of the humorous events and display mutual understanding such as laughter, wordplay and evaluative comments of support; and (b) postponed jab line responses, where story recipients first elaborate on the unexpected narrated events through understanding checks or demonstrations of ritualized disbelief, and then express their (non)alignment.

Keywords: narrative, jab line, script opposition, laughter, incongruity, immediate jab line response, postponed jab line response
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical background
    • 2.1Humor and response
    • 2.2Storytelling and response
    • 2.3Humor and storytelling
  • 3.Data
  • 4.Data analysis
    • 4.1Reactions to jab lines framed as humorous by the storyteller
      • 4.1.1Immediate jab line responses
        • 4.1.1.1Laughter
        • 4.1.1.2Wordplay
        • 4.1.1.3Evaluative comments of support
      • 4.1.2Postponed jab line responses
        • 4.1.2.1Preferred postponed jab line reactions
        • 4.1.2.2Dispreferred postponed jab line reactions
    • 4.2Jab lines framed as humorous by story recipients
      • 4.2.1Immediate jab line responses
      • 4.2.2Postponed jab line reactions
  • 5.Discussion and conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 05 January 2018
https://doi.org/10.1075/thr.7.02kar
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