Saving one’s face from unintended humour: Impression management
in follow-up sports interviews

J 2021

Saving one’s face from unintended humour: Impression management in follow-up sports interviews

CHOVANEC, Jan

Basic information

Original name

Saving one’s face from unintended humour: Impression management in follow-up sports interviews

Name in Czech

Nezamýšlený humor jako hrozba osobní tváře ve sportovních pozápasových rozhovorech

Authors

CHOVANEC, Jan (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution)

Edition

Journal of Pragmatics, Amsterdam, Elsevier, 2021, 0378-2166

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Článek v odborném periodiku

Field of Study

60203 Linguistics

Country of publisher

Netherlands

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

URL

Impact factor

Impact factor: 1.860

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14210/21:00120626

Organization unit

Faculty of Arts

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2021.01.021

UT WoS

000652511400016

Keywords (in Czech)

humor; média; sportovní diskurz; mluvený jazyk; pragmatika; konverzační analýza; analýza diskurzu; nezamýšlený humor; interview

Keywords in English

unintended humour; broadcast talk; post-match interview; face threat; mitigation; follow-up; metapragmatics

Abstract

V originále

This paper explores imperfect communication in public broadcast media arising from a mismatch between a speaker’s communicative intention and the undesirable humorous effect of his/her utterances. Based on a case study of a sports media interview, it focuses on how the interviewee may violate the communicative norms governing the expected responses, and how such a violation, motivated by the desire to avoid personal accountability, generates unintended humour in the media reception framework. Adopting a socio-pragmatic approach, the paper explains how the viral success of a media interview and its humorous reception beyond the original participation framework can come to constitute a face threat for the speaker, whose professional integrity may be at stake due to public laughter and ridicule. The article identifies a specific type of a follow-up media interview that is meant as an attempt at post-factum impression management, its aim being to mitigate the face threat (and damage) caused by undesired forms of reception and unintended humorous consequences. The findings indicate that speakers not only demonstrate meta-pragmatic awareness but also engage in ‘defensive self-reflexivity’, which is an important element in one’s public self-presentation when seeking to rectify the failed seriousness of one’s prior media talk. The study contributes to our understanding of how unintended humour is discursively managed in follow-up verbal interactions in public broadcast media contexts.

Links

MUNI/A/1376/2020, interní kód MU

Name: Paradigms, strategies and developments - English lingustics and translation

Investor: Masaryk University

Citovat

CHOVANEC, Jan. Saving one’s face from unintended humour: Impression management in follow-up sports interviews. Journal of Pragmatics. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2021, vol. 176, April, p. 198-212. ISSN 0378-2166. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2021.01.021.

@article{1659336,
   author = {Chovanec, Jan},
   article_location = {Amsterdam},
   article_number = {April},
   doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2021.01.021},
   keywords = {unintended humour; broadcast talk; post-match interview; face threat; mitigation; follow-up; metapragmatics},
   language = {eng},
   issn = {0378-2166},
   journal = {Journal of Pragmatics},
   title = {Saving one’s face from unintended humour: Impression management in follow-up sports interviews},
   url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378216621000369},
   volume = {176},
   year = {2021}
}

TY  - JOUR
ID  - 1659336
AU  - Chovanec, Jan
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TI  - Saving one’s face from unintended humour: Impression management in follow-up sports interviews
JF  - Journal of Pragmatics
VL  - 176
IS  - April
SP  - 198-212
EP  - 198-212
PB  - Elsevier
SN  - 03782166
KW  - unintended humour
KW  - broadcast talk
KW  - post-match interview
KW  - face threat
KW  - mitigation
KW  - follow-up
KW  - metapragmatics
UR  - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378216621000369
N2  - This paper explores imperfect communication in public broadcast media arising from a mismatch between a speaker’s communicative intention and the undesirable humorous effect of his/her utterances. Based on a case study of a sports media interview, it focuses on how the interviewee may violate the communicative norms governing the expected responses, and how such a violation, motivated by the desire to avoid personal accountability, generates unintended humour in the media reception framework. Adopting a socio-pragmatic approach, the paper explains how the viral success of a media interview and its humorous reception beyond the original participation framework can come to constitute a face threat for the speaker, whose professional integrity may be at stake due to public laughter and ridicule. The article identifies a specific type of a follow-up media interview that is meant as an attempt at post-factum impression management, its aim being to mitigate the face threat (and damage) caused by undesired forms of reception and unintended humorous consequences. The findings indicate that speakers not only demonstrate meta-pragmatic awareness but also engage in ‘defensive self-reflexivity’, which is an important element in one’s public self-presentation when seeking to rectify the failed seriousness of one’s prior media talk. The study contributes to our understanding of how unintended humour is discursively managed in follow-up verbal interactions in public broadcast media contexts.
ER  -

CHOVANEC, Jan. Saving one’s face from unintended humour: Impression management in follow-up sports interviews. \textit{Journal of Pragmatics}. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2021, vol.~176, April, p.~198-212. ISSN~0378-2166. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2021.01.021.

Detailed Information on Publication Record