Intentions in Comedy Discourse : A Linguistic-Pragmatics Approach to Stand-up Comedy

Intentions in Comedy Discourse presents a systematic pragmatic analysis of stand-up comedy. Drawing on previous literature on humour, socio-cognitive pragmatics, interactional sociolinguistics, storytelling, and media discourse analysis, the author proposes a theoretical perspective on comedy discourse that interrogates the way stand-up performers entextualise culture and society to instantiate situated actions with interactional, textual or social functions. The book addresses how we can objectively move from stand-up jokes to how humorous discourse does things in the real world, either in interacting with audiences or in creating heightened socio-political consciousness in them.

"This book examines intention in a unique setting: stand-up comedy. With its strong analytical standpoint and a number of intriguing and well-justified claims, the volume is definitely a novel contribution to the field."
Istvan Kecskes, Distinguished Professor, State University of New York, Albany, USA

"What distinguishes this book is the proportionate blend of its theoretical richness, analytical dexterity and genre-based social appeal. Its exposition of the socio-pragmatics of humour in general and stand-up comedies in Nigeria in particular is as impressive as its completely accessible, yet technically appropriate language which gets you immersed both in the entertainment of the humour and the rigour of its academic engagement."
Akin Odebunmi, Professor, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

"This volume is an in-depth analysis of Nigerian stand-up comedy which is bound to become the go-to reference for scholars. Filani’s analyses are extremely detailed and insightful, ranging from the stage names of comedians to their choice of Nigerian Pidgin as the language of stand-up comedy in Nigeria. The main value of the book lies in a wealth of specific sociocultural information which is key to understanding both the humor and its significance."
Salvatore Attardo, Professor of Linguistics, East Texas A&M University