Publication details
Setting the ground for humour literacy: Comparative analysis of humour producers’ attitudes to humour (in print)
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2026 |
| Type | Peer-reviewed scientific article |
| Magazine / Source | The European Journal of Humour Research |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Keywords | humour literacy, critical literacy, metapragmatics of humour, ethnography of humour, cross-cultural communication |
| Description | This article constitutes a position paper that calls for the need for a systematic study of humour literacy from a cross-cultural comparative perspective. The paper sets itself three goals: First, it defines the concept of humour literacy, which has so far received minimal attention in humour studies, in order to provide common ground for international comparative research into various aspects of humour on its multiple levels (production, content, reception). Humour literacy is defined as a complex ability to decipher the semiotic resources, references and messages that humorous discourse evokes as well as the awareness of the benefits and risks of such humorous forms. The paper then goes on to formulate the central parameters of humour literacy, elaborating on them against the backdrop of humour pre-literacy and lack of literacy. Second, the paper outlines the framework for an international research initiative into humour literacy, which forms the underlying basis for the EU-funded HumLit project (Developing Humour Literacy: Analysing production, content and reception of humour to bring positive change in the public sphere). Seeking to fill the gap in this area, the aim of that research undertaking is to understand humour literacy from a cross-cultural perspective, consider how it operates in the processing of humour, and identify ways of enhancing the humour literacy among humour producers and recipients. Finally, the paper outlines the methodology adopted in this project, describing the processes of data collection, data preparation, data coding and data processing in what is a unique international dataset of transcribed, translated and tagged interviews with humour producers across European countries. |