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The Korean Association for the Study of English Language and Linguistics
[ Article ]
Korea Journal of English Language and Linguistics - Vol. 25, No. 0, pp.598-619
ISSN: 1598-1398 (Print) 2586-7474 (Online)
Print publication date 31 Jan 2025
Received 04 Dec 2024 Revised 29 Mar 2025 Accepted 21 Apr 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15738/kjell.25..202505.598

실패한 유머에 관한 내러티브 리뷰

김솔
효행초등학교
A narrative review of failed humor
Sol Kim
Teacher, Hyohaeng Elementary School, Tel: (031) 224-2690 solkim@hyohaeng.es.kr


© 2025 KASELL All rights reserved
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This study investigates the concept of failed humor in various conversational contexts. Applying a narrative review, the study addresses a gap in humor research where unsuccessful humor remains relatively unexplored. Drawing on theoretical frameworks such as superiority theory, relief theory, incongruity theory, and extended relevance theory, the study defines failed humor and discusses its characteristics. It examines the factors contributing to its disruptiveness and presents a typology of failed humor within a revised framework consisting of three analytical layers: triggers, speaker, and hearer. Moreover, this study explores how social relationships, such as group solidarity, status hierarchies, and gender, affect the failure of humor among interlocutors. It further analyzes the responses to failed humor from both the listener and speaker perspectives. By providing a multi-layered theoretical framework, this research enhances the understanding of the discourse dynamics of humor and its implications in everyday interactions, offering valuable insights into the field of failed humor research.

Keywords:

failed humor, discourse, social relationships, response, narrative review

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