Identifying a particular family humor style: A sociolinguistic discourse analysis

After positing both individual and family humor styles as logical extensions of individual conversational style and customary joking relationships, I apply a sociolinguistic discourse analysis to an hour of naturally occurring family interaction to show how this Kansas family uses ostensibly aggressive humor to the ends of solidarity, intimacy and the ongoing socialization of family members in a mind set of competence and hope. The humor strategies that emerge show the immense productivity of repetition as a resource for humor, including several types of imitation and impersonation, as. well as other aggressive humor forms that can be subsumed under mocking remarks and replies. The analysis shows how the family uses humor to accomplish various. interactional goals, foremost of which is a relational harmony, which is achieved largely through drawing all members into involvement in the interaction through humor.