Language Science Lunch Talk - Elisa Gironzetti

Language Science Lunch Talk - Elisa Gironzetti
Lunch served by 12:15 PM; please arrive early so you can get your plate before the talk starts at 12:30!
Multilingual and Multimodal Perspectives on Interactional Humor
Conversation—and human interaction more broadly—is a dynamic, collaborative, and inherently multimodal activity (Sacks, Schegloff, & Jefferson, 1974; Couper-Kuhlen & Selting, 2018). Humor, as a form of interaction, is likewise jointly produced and multimodally constructed (Gironzetti, 2018, 2021; Priego-Valverde, 2023; Tsakona & Chovanec, 2018). Yet, much of the existing research has approached humor from a primarily linguocentric perspective, emphasizing verbal language while overlooking the crucial role of nonverbal elements. In this talk, I will examine humor as a product of an integrated multimodal system in which verbal and nonverbal resources—such as gaze, smiling, and gesture—operate together (Cohn & Schilperoord, 2024; Hagoort & Özyürek, 2024; Willems, Özyürek, & Hagoort, 2007). Using data from annotated datasets encompassing conversations in English, Spanish, and French, we will explore how different semiotic resources function individually and in concert during humorous moments and contribute to the co-construction of conversational humor. Findings shed light on the complex organization of humor as a multimodal phenomenon and contribute to broader discussions about the nature of conversational humor and the potential universality of its mechanisms across languages and cultures.
Elisa Gironzetti is an Associate Professor of Spanish Applied Linguistics in the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at UMD.