Pragmatics and its Interfaces

In this chapter, I examine the interface between pragmatics and humor studies, first by outlining the contributions pragmatics has made to our understanding of what humor is and how it functions in everyday interaction. I review research that draws on a range of empirical methods, to illustrate the diverse ways in which the interface has been approached and what these approaches have demonstrated about non-serious talk. I then examine how humor scholarship can inform our understanding of languag