Solo or shared laughter in coparticipant criticism in Japanese conversation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/eap.35801Keywords:
conversation analysis, criticism, laughter, shared laughter, japaneseAbstract
This study employs conversation analysis to examine solo production and sharing of laughter in the delivery and reception of coparticipant criticism in Japanese conversation. I argue that whilst laughter is routinely used by either the deliverer or recipient of criticism, it may be dispreferred for laughter to be shared by both parties with reference to a given criticism. Moreover, whereas solo laughter by either the deliverer or recipient of criticism tends to lead to a relatively speedy resolution of a criticism sequence, shared laughter between deliverer and recipient may signal interactional trouble and take considerable work to resolve. Such patterns suggest that even though criticising is itself a dispreferred action, shared laughter by both parties is potentially markedly dispreferred. Preliminary results of this investigation point to the possibility that interactional work performed by laughter may be more widely shared across different cultural and linguistic environments than previously assumed
References
Arminen, I., & Halonen, M. (2007). Laughing with and at patients: The roles of laughter in confrontations in addiction group therapy. Qualitative Report, 12(3), 484–513.
Clift, R. (2012). Identifying action: Laughter in non-humorous reported speech. Journal of Pragmatics, 44(10), 1303–1312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2012.06.005
Clift, R. (2016). Don’t make me laugh: Responsive laughter in (dis)affiliation. Journal of Pragmatics, 100: 73–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2016.01.012
Drew, P. (1987). Po-faced receipts of teases. Linguistics, 25(1), 219–253. https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.1987.25.1.219
Drew, P., Heritage, J., Lerner, G., & Pomerantz, A. (Eds.). (2015). Talking about troubles in conversation (papers by Gail Jefferson). New York: Oxford University Press.
Glenn, P., & Holt, E. (Eds.). (2013). Studies of laughter in interaction. London: Bloomsbury.
Haakana, M. (2001). Laughter as a patient’s resource: Dealing with delicate aspects of medical interaction. Text & Talk, 21(1/2), 187–219. https://doi.org/10.1515/text.1.21.1-2.187
Haakana, M. (2010). Laughter and smiling: Notes on co-occurrences. Journal of Pragmatics, 42(6), 1499–1512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2010.01.010
Haugh, M. (2014). Jocular mockery as interactional practice in everyday Anglo-Australian conversation. Australian Journal of Linguistics, 32(1), 76–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/07268602.2014.875456
Hayano, K. (2011). Claiming epistemic primacy: Yo-marked assessments in Japanese. In T. Stivers, L. Mondada, & J. Steensig (Eds.), The morality of knowledge in conversation (pp. 58–81). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511921674.004
Hayashi, M. (2009). Marking a ‘noticing of departure’ in talk: Eh-prefaced turns in Japanese conversation. Journal of Pragmatics, 41(10), 2100–2129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2008.12.008
Hearn, L. (1923, originally published in 1894). Glimpses of unfamiliar Japan (Vol. 2). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Heritage, J. (1984). A change-of-state token and aspects of its sequential placement. In J. M. Atkinson & J. Heritage (Eds.), Structures of social action (pp. 299–345). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Heritage, J. (2012). Epistemics in action: Action formation and territories of knowledge. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 45(1), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/08351813.2012.646684
Holt, L. (2012). Using laugh responses to defuse complaints. Research on Language & Social Interaction, 45(4), 430–448. https://doi.org/10.1080/08351813.2012.726886
Holt, E. (2013a). Conversation analysis and laughter. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics (pp. 1033–1038). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Holt, E. (2013b). ‘There’s many a true word said in jest’: Seriousness and non-seriousness in interaction. In P. Glenn & E. Holt (Eds.), Studies of laughter in interaction (pp. 69–90). London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Holt, E. (2016). Laughter at last: Playfulness and laughter in interaction. Journal of Pragmatics, 100, 89–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2016.04.012
Jefferson, G. (1979). A technique for inviting laughter and its subsequent acceptance/declination. In G. Psathas (Ed.), Everyday language: Studies in ethnomethodology (pp.79–96). New York: Irvington Publishers.
Jefferson, G. (1983). On exposed and embedded correction in conversation. Studium Linguistik, 14, 58–68.
Jefferson, G. (1984). On the organization of laughter in talk about troubles. In J. M. Atkinson & J. Heritage (Eds.), Structures of social action: Studies in conversation analysis (pp. 346–369). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Maynard, S. K. (1993). Discourse modality: Subjectivity, emotion, and voice in the Japanese language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.24
Morita, E. (2012). ‘This talk needs to be registered’: The metapragmatic meaning of the Japanese interactional particle yo. Journal of Pragmatics, 44(13), 1721–1742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2012.07.011
Potter, J., & Hepburn, A. (2010). Putting aspiration into words: ‘Laugh particles’, managing descriptive trouble and modulating action. Journal of Pragmatics, 42(6), 1543–1555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2009.10.003
Raclaw, J., & Ford, C. E. (2017). Laughter and the management of divergent positions in peer review interactions. Journal of Pragmatics, 113, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2017.03.005
Schegloff, E., Jefferson, G., & Sacks, H. (1977). The preference for self-correction in the organization of repair in conversation. Language, 53(2), 361–382. https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.1977.0041
Shaw, C., Hepburn, A., & Potter, J. (2013). Having the last laugh: On post completion laughter particles. In P. Glenn & E. Holt (Eds.), Studies of laughter in interaction (pp. 91–106). London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Tanaka, H. (2001). The implementation of possible cognitive shifts in Japanese conversation: Complementisers as pivotal devices. In M. Selting & E. Couper-Kuhlen (Eds.), Studies in interactional linguistics (pp. 81–109). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/sidag.10.06tan
Tanaka, H. (2005). Grammar and the ‘timing’ of social action: Word order and preference organization in Japanese. Language in Society, 34(3), 389–430. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404505050141
Vöge, M. (2010). Local identity processes in business meetings displayed through laughter in complaint sequences. Journal of Pragmatics, 42(6), 1556–1576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2010.01.016
Clift, R. (2012). Identifying action: Laughter in non-humorous reported speech. Journal of Pragmatics, 44(10), 1303–1312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2012.06.005
Clift, R. (2016). Don’t make me laugh: Responsive laughter in (dis)affiliation. Journal of Pragmatics, 100: 73–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2016.01.012
Drew, P. (1987). Po-faced receipts of teases. Linguistics, 25(1), 219–253. https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.1987.25.1.219
Drew, P., Heritage, J., Lerner, G., & Pomerantz, A. (Eds.). (2015). Talking about troubles in conversation (papers by Gail Jefferson). New York: Oxford University Press.
Glenn, P., & Holt, E. (Eds.). (2013). Studies of laughter in interaction. London: Bloomsbury.
Haakana, M. (2001). Laughter as a patient’s resource: Dealing with delicate aspects of medical interaction. Text & Talk, 21(1/2), 187–219. https://doi.org/10.1515/text.1.21.1-2.187
Haakana, M. (2010). Laughter and smiling: Notes on co-occurrences. Journal of Pragmatics, 42(6), 1499–1512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2010.01.010
Haugh, M. (2014). Jocular mockery as interactional practice in everyday Anglo-Australian conversation. Australian Journal of Linguistics, 32(1), 76–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/07268602.2014.875456
Hayano, K. (2011). Claiming epistemic primacy: Yo-marked assessments in Japanese. In T. Stivers, L. Mondada, & J. Steensig (Eds.), The morality of knowledge in conversation (pp. 58–81). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511921674.004
Hayashi, M. (2009). Marking a ‘noticing of departure’ in talk: Eh-prefaced turns in Japanese conversation. Journal of Pragmatics, 41(10), 2100–2129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2008.12.008
Hearn, L. (1923, originally published in 1894). Glimpses of unfamiliar Japan (Vol. 2). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Heritage, J. (1984). A change-of-state token and aspects of its sequential placement. In J. M. Atkinson & J. Heritage (Eds.), Structures of social action (pp. 299–345). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Heritage, J. (2012). Epistemics in action: Action formation and territories of knowledge. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 45(1), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/08351813.2012.646684
Holt, L. (2012). Using laugh responses to defuse complaints. Research on Language & Social Interaction, 45(4), 430–448. https://doi.org/10.1080/08351813.2012.726886
Holt, E. (2013a). Conversation analysis and laughter. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics (pp. 1033–1038). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Holt, E. (2013b). ‘There’s many a true word said in jest’: Seriousness and non-seriousness in interaction. In P. Glenn & E. Holt (Eds.), Studies of laughter in interaction (pp. 69–90). London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Holt, E. (2016). Laughter at last: Playfulness and laughter in interaction. Journal of Pragmatics, 100, 89–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2016.04.012
Jefferson, G. (1979). A technique for inviting laughter and its subsequent acceptance/declination. In G. Psathas (Ed.), Everyday language: Studies in ethnomethodology (pp.79–96). New York: Irvington Publishers.
Jefferson, G. (1983). On exposed and embedded correction in conversation. Studium Linguistik, 14, 58–68.
Jefferson, G. (1984). On the organization of laughter in talk about troubles. In J. M. Atkinson & J. Heritage (Eds.), Structures of social action: Studies in conversation analysis (pp. 346–369). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Maynard, S. K. (1993). Discourse modality: Subjectivity, emotion, and voice in the Japanese language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.24
Morita, E. (2012). ‘This talk needs to be registered’: The metapragmatic meaning of the Japanese interactional particle yo. Journal of Pragmatics, 44(13), 1721–1742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2012.07.011
Potter, J., & Hepburn, A. (2010). Putting aspiration into words: ‘Laugh particles’, managing descriptive trouble and modulating action. Journal of Pragmatics, 42(6), 1543–1555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2009.10.003
Raclaw, J., & Ford, C. E. (2017). Laughter and the management of divergent positions in peer review interactions. Journal of Pragmatics, 113, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2017.03.005
Schegloff, E., Jefferson, G., & Sacks, H. (1977). The preference for self-correction in the organization of repair in conversation. Language, 53(2), 361–382. https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.1977.0041
Shaw, C., Hepburn, A., & Potter, J. (2013). Having the last laugh: On post completion laughter particles. In P. Glenn & E. Holt (Eds.), Studies of laughter in interaction (pp. 91–106). London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Tanaka, H. (2001). The implementation of possible cognitive shifts in Japanese conversation: Complementisers as pivotal devices. In M. Selting & E. Couper-Kuhlen (Eds.), Studies in interactional linguistics (pp. 81–109). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/sidag.10.06tan
Tanaka, H. (2005). Grammar and the ‘timing’ of social action: Word order and preference organization in Japanese. Language in Society, 34(3), 389–430. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404505050141
Vöge, M. (2010). Local identity processes in business meetings displayed through laughter in complaint sequences. Journal of Pragmatics, 42(6), 1556–1576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2010.01.016
Published
2018-04-17
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Tanaka, H. (2018). Solo or shared laughter in coparticipant criticism in Japanese conversation. East Asian Pragmatics, 3(1), 125-149. https://doi.org/10.1558/eap.35801
