DISCURSIVE TACTIC OF CONCESSION IN ETHNIC STAND-UP COMEDY (DRAWING ON ENGLISH PERFORMANCES OF ASIAN COMEDIANS)

Abstract

Тhe article examines the role of strategic discourse planning in stand-up comedy performances concerning ethnical jokes and delivered by Asian comedians for American audience. This is the fi rst time the performances quoted have been analysed, whilst a discourse of this type has never been studied within the framework of strategic theory of speech acts. The research is done in line with pragmatic theory of discourse for the stand-up performance is viewed by the author as a distinguished type of speech production activity functioning in the context of a specifi c communicative situation. Tag mapping, discourse analysis and intent analysis constitute the backbone of the methodology. The article seeks to prove the strategic nature of concession viewed as a tactic of discourse production in stand-up performances. The author pin downs the speech moves that eff ectuate the tactic of concession in the discourse of this type. The research focuses on male and female Asian comedians who have been born in or migrated to the USA, but preserved their national culture and include their cultural background into their stand-up performances delivered for western audiences. The research material has been selected through multiple sampling. Analysing the discourse of performances, the author underpins the causal settings of the concession, classifi es the speech moves that eff ectuate the tactic of concession on the basis of their pragmatic and intentional components, and studies the examples of concession in the considered stand-up performances. Speech moves eff ectuating concession include a comedian belittling oneself as an Asian person, their cultural background / their culture; a concession following a joke taken negatively / ignored by the audience; a concession to save the audience’s face; a concession to justify comedian’s joke / opinion which he believes the audience might not approve of. The author distinguishes between strategic and subordinate intentions in comedian’s speech moves. The article in question is part of a more extensive research of tactics implemented in the ethnic discourse of stand-up comedians. It showcases the potential of this research area for advancement of linguistic theories of humour and pragmatic studies.