Humour in conversation among bilinguals:
Humour in conversation among bilinguals:

constructing “otherness”

Summary/Abstract: In this study, we analyse conversations recorded during ethnographic research in two bilingualcommunities on the island of Rhodes, Greece. We examine: (a) the bilingual in Greek andTurkish Muslim community of Rhodes (Georgalidou et al. 2010, 2013) and (b) the Greek-American/Canadian community of repatriated emigrant families of Rhodian origin (Kourtis-Kazoullis 2016). In particular, combining interactional and conversation analytic frameworks(Auer 1995; Gafaranga 2007), we examine contemporary approaches to bi-/multilingualismfocusing on the pragmatics of humour in conversations among bilinguals. We scrutinise aspectsof the overall and sequential organisation of talk as well as instances of humour produced byspeakers of different ethnic origin, generation, and social groups. We focus on the constructionof “otherness,” which reflects the dynamic interplay between the micro-level of conversationalpractices and the macro-level of discourse involving contrasting categorisations and identitiespertaining to differently orientated ethnic and social groups. Based on the analysis, we willshow a) how humorous targeting orients in-groups versus out-groups, and b) mediates thedynamic process of constructing the identity of speakers who, being members of minoritylinguistic communities, represent “otherness.”

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