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Part of
The Pragmatics of Irony and Banter
Edited by Manuel Jobert and Sandrine Sorlin
[Linguistic Approaches to Literature 30] 2018
► pp. 1–24

Chapter 8
The point of banter in the television show Pointless

| Aix Marseille Univ, LERMA, Aix-en-Provence, France

This paper explores within the television quiz show . Building on previous theories of , I suggest that the composite nature of the phenomenon can usefully be analysed within an interactional pragmatic model, such as that proposed by Lecercle (1999). Using this model to analyse various episodes of , I seek to demonstrate that is created within a dynamic interpersonal process. I focus on the sequential interaction between speaker and the various hearers involved in the exchange, as opposed to isolated utterances. I propose that any analysis of needs not only to study the linguistic aspects of a series of utterances, but also the sociocultural context and the that each participant brings to the exchange.

Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Defining
  • 3.Theories on
  • 4. within an interactional pragmatic framework
  • 5. and
  • 6.The actants in the process of
    • 6.1Interaction between speaker(s) and hearer(s)
    • 6.2From dyadic relations to multiple participants
    • 6.3Reacting to
    • 6.4Language and encyclopaedia
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 25 April 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lal.30.08pil
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