Joke structures and politeness strategies in Malaysian stand-up comedy
According to Wilson (2008), stand-up comedy is a form of social criticism on ethnicities and politics other than a means for entertainment, and it can be effective with the correct use of politeness strategies. It also has a specific form of narrative, known as a joke, told by the comedian, as su...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/83405/1/FBMK%202018%2092%20-ir.pdf |
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| Summary: | According to Wilson (2008), stand-up comedy is a form of social criticism on
ethnicities and politics other than a means for entertainment, and it can be effective
with the correct use of politeness strategies. It also has a specific form of narrative,
known as a joke, told by the comedian, as suggested by Attardo and Chabanne (1992).
It is also subjected to rhetorical strategies taken by comedians to present their jokes
without negative backlash. Therefore, in examining the differences of joke structure
between ethnic and political jokes in Malaysia, their usage of politeness strategies and
how these strategies were manifested through specific rhetorical devices, Hockett’s
(1960) Internal Structure of Jokes, Brown and Levinson’s (1987) Politeness Strategies
and Schwarz’s (2010) Rhetorical Devices in Joke-Telling were utilized as frameworks
for the study. The findings revealed that the joke structure in political jokes lack buildups
to specify the topic. Ethnic jokes, on the other hand, often targeted specific aspects
of an ethnicity with build-ups. In the use of politeness strategies, off-record strategy
was dominantly used in both ethnic (32.3%) and political jokes (56.66%) to veil their
face threats. The least used strategy in ethnic jokes is positive politeness (18.5%) and in
political jokes, negative politeness (10%). In rhetorical devices, ethnic jokes relied on
implication in their use of off-record strategy, whereas profanity remains unused. In
political jokes, however, the dependence on implication, private ridicule was another
rhetorical device that was dominantly used, while hyperbole and ridicule were unused.
In conclusion, political jokes tend to omit build-up to make the topic of discussion
more ambiguous whereas ethnic jokes use build-up to specify a stereotype to avoid
making fun of an ethnicity in its entirety. In addition, off-record strategy is most
effective in both types of jokes because it allows engagement from audiences in
deciphering the joke, making face threats less direct. This strategy was often
accompanied with the use of implication and private ridicule. With these findings, it is
hoped that the results will create awareness among aspiring comedians on the use of
politeness strategies in their joke delivery. Furthermore, the results may provide useful
resources for aspiring comedians and public speakers to introduce humour without
creating negative backlash. |
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