TY - JOUR

T1 - Beyond academic discourse

T2 - practs of humour in departmental chatrooms of selected Federal University students in Southwest Nigeria

AU - Osisanwo, Ayo

AU - Agunbiade, Modupe

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

PY - 2024/4/15

Y1 - 2024/4/15

N2 - Studies on humour have been extensively explored from the perspectives of stand-up comedy, hip-hop songs and others; however, existing works have not adequately researched the possibility of Nigerian university students evoking humour in their departmental chatroom through deployment of multiple codes. This paper therefore investigates how students spiced up their conversation in the departmental chatroom (DC) with purposefully composed humour through language manipulation in academic communities. Guided by an integrated framework of Jacob Mey Pragmatic acts theory, Attardo & Raskin General Theory of Verbal Humour and Peter Auer’s Typologies of Code Switching, the study examines humorous expressions in selected DC of Federal University students in southwest, Nigeria. Twelve excerpts were analysed and findings revealed code switching as a central humour strategy. Seven humour techniques and thirteen pragmatic acts were identified. The thematic issues that preoccupy the jokes were promiscuity, obligation of vigorous prayers, high consumption rate, and socio-cultural identity. The dissolution of the incongruous expressions to produce humour relies heavily on shared cultural knowledge (SCK), shared situational knowledge (SSK) and shared linguistic knowledge (SLK). The study validates existing knowledge that all humans naturally participate in humorous speech and behaviour as students engage in humorous interactions amidst their cumbersome academic programs.

AB - Studies on humour have been extensively explored from the perspectives of stand-up comedy, hip-hop songs and others; however, existing works have not adequately researched the possibility of Nigerian university students evoking humour in their departmental chatroom through deployment of multiple codes. This paper therefore investigates how students spiced up their conversation in the departmental chatroom (DC) with purposefully composed humour through language manipulation in academic communities. Guided by an integrated framework of Jacob Mey Pragmatic acts theory, Attardo & Raskin General Theory of Verbal Humour and Peter Auer’s Typologies of Code Switching, the study examines humorous expressions in selected DC of Federal University students in southwest, Nigeria. Twelve excerpts were analysed and findings revealed code switching as a central humour strategy. Seven humour techniques and thirteen pragmatic acts were identified. The thematic issues that preoccupy the jokes were promiscuity, obligation of vigorous prayers, high consumption rate, and socio-cultural identity. The dissolution of the incongruous expressions to produce humour relies heavily on shared cultural knowledge (SCK), shared situational knowledge (SSK) and shared linguistic knowledge (SLK). The study validates existing knowledge that all humans naturally participate in humorous speech and behaviour as students engage in humorous interactions amidst their cumbersome academic programs.

KW - Departmental chatroom

KW - humour strategy

KW - humour techniques

KW - pragmatic acts

KW - Southwest Nigeria

KW - university students

KW - Literature studies

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85191027110&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/77dece2e-32f1-3f35-b0a0-6f413bcdd6be/

U2 - 10.1080/14725843.2024.2339842

DO - 10.1080/14725843.2024.2339842

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85191027110

JO - African Identities

JF - African Identities

SN - 1472-5843

ER -