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Choosing One's Words: Conversational Indirectness and Humor Style in Two Distinct Cultural Groups.
Tanisha Y Berrios1, Dun-Ya Hu1, Jyotsna Vaid1
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4235, USA.
Cultural differences impact humor styles and conversational indirectness. English speakers use more affiliative humor and show varied indirectness, unlike Korean speakers, revealing distinct communication patterns.
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Area of Science:
- Cross-cultural psychology
- Linguistic pragmatics
- Communication studies
Background:
- Conversational indirectness and humor styles are key aspects of pragmatic competence.
- Cultural norms significantly influence communication strategies, including humor and indirectness.
- Understanding these differences is crucial for effective intercultural communication.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate cultural variations in the interplay between conversational indirectness and humor styles.
- To compare English first language (L1) users with Korean L1 users in the US on these communication dimensions.
- To identify specific correlations between indirectness in production/interpretation and various humor styles across cultures.
Main Methods:
- Comparative study design involving two distinct linguistic groups: English L1 (n=56) and Korean L1 (n=32) students in the US.
- Utilized the Conversational Indirectness Scale and the Humor Styles Questionnaire for data collection.
- Statistical analysis to compare group differences and identify correlations between variables.
Main Results:
- No significant overall group differences in conversational indirectness were found.
- English L1 speakers exhibited higher indirectness in interpretation than production, with a positive correlation between the two; Korean L1 speakers did not show this association.
- English L1 speakers scored higher on affiliative and self-enhancing humor, with positive correlations between these and self-defeating humor. Both groups reported low use of self-defeating and aggressive humor, though Korean speakers showed a correlation between these two.
- A positive correlation between indirectness in production and aggressive humor was observed in both groups. English L1 speakers also showed a positive correlation between self-defeating humor and indirectness in both production and interpretation.
Conclusions:
- Cultural background significantly shapes the relationship between conversational indirectness and humor styles.
- While both groups avoid aggressive humor, its use correlates with indirect production in both English and Korean L1 speakers.
- The findings highlight distinct cultural patterns in pragmatic communication, particularly the nuanced connection between indirect language use and specific humor orientations.

