Talk in a play frame: More on laughter and intimacy

Conversation is one of the key locuses of humour and it is now widely agreed that shared laughter nurtures group solidarity. This paper will explore the links between laughter and intimacy in everyday conversation. The paper will attempt to clarify the term ‘conversational humour’, focussing on informal conversation among friends and on the conversational practices involved in humorous talk. I argue, following Bateson, that conversational humour involves the establishment of a ‘play frame’. When a play frame is established, speakers collaborate in the construction of talk in a way that resembles group musical activity, particularly jazz. This way of talking is characterised by, among other things, overlapping speech, the co-construction of utterances, repetition, and a heightened use of metaphorical language. I will argue that play and creativity are linked in significant ways, and that playful talk is essentially collaborative.