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Part of
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. 283–304

Chapter 12
Positive non-humorous effects of humor on the internet

| University of Alicante

In this chapter, the term (non-)intended non-propositional effect is proposed and applied to the kind of feeling, emotion, impression, etc. that internet humorous texts generate in the user beyond the proposition-centered humor, and which may not be tightly connected to the act of communication. These effects may be intended as part of the effects of the discourse being interpreted, but the main interest of this Chapter lies in those non-propositional effects which are non-intended, and hence not part of humorous communication proper, but nevertheless leak from humorous communication. These non-propositional, non-humorous and non-intended effects may provide reward to the users at different levels and add to the eventual relevance (or even constitute the main relevance) of internet-based humorous texts.

Keywords: cyberpragmatics, relevance theory, contextual constraint, non-propositional effect, internet humor
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction: Cognitive pragmatics and relevance theory
  • 2.Humor, internet and relevance
  • 3.Extended relevance-theoretic research
    • 3.1Extended humor research
    • 3.2Extended cyberpragmatic research
  • 4.Non-humorous effects as positive (non-)intended non-propositional effects on the internet
    • 4.1Positive non-propositional effects at personal level
    • 4.2Positive non-propositional effects at interactive level
      • 4.2.1Value of an environment for interactions
      • 4.2.2Exploitation of shared discursive conventions
      • 4.2.3Encouragement of participation and interaction
    • 4.3Positive non-propositional effects at medium-sized group level
      • 4.3.1Marker of group boundaries and membership
      • 4.3.2Awareness of shared knowledge within group
      • 4.3.3Group bonding and solidarity
      • 4.3.4Feelings of being valuable/valued to/by one’s community
    • 4.4Positive non-propositional effects at large-sized group level
      • 4.4.1Cultural specificity of processing information
      • 4.4.2Mutual awareness of broad values
  • 5.Concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 5 January 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/thr.7.12yus
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