The Pragmatics of Humour : Humour as a Pedagogical Tool

Humour is multidimensional. More often than not, humour is considered to be a politeness strategy. More precisely, it can mitigate FTAs and facilitate tension. On the other hand however, humour can also serve as a face threatening act since the aggressive type of humour entails teasing and taking offense. This study examines the four types of humour — self-defeating, affiliative, aggressive and self-enhancing — in the context of university classes. The questionnaire examines students’ perceptions and assessments on these types of humour and collects examples based on their experience and memory. The results demonstrate that, according to participants, humour is frequently used method in classes — irony and teasing being the most common stylistic figures. Furthermore, students tend to laugh at humorous utterances regardless of the type of humour. Hence, potential FTAs are mitigated. My findings support those of Makewa’s (2011) study, -on the basis of which I conducted my research. Affiliative and self-enhancing humour have been found to be the most frequently used types of humour in university classes.