HUMOR GENERATION IN THE UTTERANCES OF
HUMOROUS TALK SHOW
A Thesis
Submitted to English Applied Linguistics Study Program in
Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Magister Humaniora
By:
LUHETRI MUHDALIFA MANALU
Registration Number: 8106112012
ENGLISH APPLIED LINGUISTICS STUDY PROGRAM
POST GRADUATE SCHOOL
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, the writer would like to express her sincere gratitude to the Heavenly Father, Son of God Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit for His amazing grace in the completion of this thesis to obtain a Master Degree in Applied Linguistics. This thesis process is filled with people who challenge, support, love, listen and frankly tolerate the writer. The process is a rewarding learning experience and the writer has learned enough about it. This thesis would not have been possible without the support and input of numerous people to whom the writer expresses her deeply gratitude.
The writer would like to express the greatest thanks to Prof. Dr. Lince Sihombing, M.Pd and Prof. Dr. Berlin Sibarani, M.Pd, as her advisers for their great ideas, guidance and patience that lead the writer to the end of completion of this thesis.
The writer also would like to extend her sincere gratitude to the Head of English Applied Linguistics Study Program, Dr. Rahmad Husein, M.Ed, the secretary of English Applied Linguistics Program, Prof. Dr. Sri Minda Murni, M.S and Farid Ma’ruf as an administrator for their assistance regarding the administrative procedures and support during the writer’s thesis completion process patiently.
The writer’s great thanks also go to her reviewers or examiners, Prof. Dr. Busmin
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Then, the writer’s great respect and heartfelt thanks go to all her lovely friends in the executive class B LTBI XVIII as well and especially for her best friends Julia Ratih, Hestika Ginting, Resty Wahyuni, K’ Eka Dessy, Mam Delfina, K’ Anastasia, Fitri Ayunisa and the group members of line, “ladies on top” for their love, encouragement, supports, and unforgettable experiences in this thesis accomplishment. Her colleagues have become a part of her life and their friendship has been an invaluable gift that extends well beyond any academic pursuits, even it makes these academic pursuits so much more meaningful. “Great friends make for a great life.”
Last and most importantly, the writer wishes to express her sincere thanks to her beloved parents, Mr. Tohap Manalu and Ms. Almaria br Nainggolan for their continued and unfailing love, patience, guidance, prayer and support over years and their endless faith in the writer’s ability to accomplish this thesis. Her huge thanks are also dedicated to her great sisters, Eva Juwita Manalu, S.E & Elsaria Manalu and brothers, Andri William Manalu, S.S and Toni Abser Manalu, S.Pd for their love, assistance, and support. “Family has been an integral part of this process”.
Finally, the writer’s special love goes to her loving husband, Amudi Siregar, S.E who made an arduous task a more enjoyable and fulfilling experience. Her husband’s love,
support, patience and encouragement have seen her through uncertain times. For that, the writer can only say ‘thanks my soul mate’.
Medan, February 2016
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ABSTRACT
Manalu, Luhetri Muhdalifa. Registration Number: 8106112012. Humor Generation in the Utterances of Humorous Talk Show Thesis. English Applied Linguistics Study Program, Post Graduate School, State University of Medan (UNIMED) 2016.
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ABSTRAK
Manalu, Luhetri Muhdalifa, Nomer Registrasi: 8106112012. Pembentukan Humor dalam Ujaran pada Acara Talk Show Humor. Program Studi Linguistik Terapan Bahasa Inggris, Pasca Sarjana Universitas Negeri Medan (UNIMED) 2016.
Penelitan ini berkaitan tentang pembentukan humor pada ujaran dalam acara talk show humor. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menemukan cara pembentukan humor dan alasan mengapa ujaran terbentuk dalam talk show humor dengan cara seperti itu. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan dengan menggunakan desain deskriptif kualitatif. Data diambil dari video yang diunduh dan kemudian ditranskripsikan. Data tersebut merupakan talk show humor yang diambil dari acara Indonesia Lawak Klub (ILK) di Trans 7 dan Sentilan Sentilun di Metro TV. Talk show humor ini dikenal sebagai program televisi yang ditujukan untuk menarik perhatian penonton sehingga acaranya biasanya dipadukan dengan humor untuk menghibur para penonton dan mengedepankan nuansa yang lucu, asyik dan relax. Ide dibalik talk show humor ini adalah membuat penonton merasa nyaman dan terlepas dari kesibukannya setiap hari. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ada dua cara pembentukan humor pada talk show humor yaitu cara incongruity dan superiority sementara cara relief tidak ditemukan. Cara superiority adalah cara yang paling dominan dalam pembentukan humor dan di posisi kedua adalah cara incongruity. Terkait dengan cara incongruity, hasil dari analisis data menunjukkan bahwa dua dari lima level incongruity pada tingkatan bahasa ditemukan yaitu (1) fonologi, (2) graphologi sementara level incongruity pada morfologi, lexis dan sintaks tidak ditemukan. Sebagai tambahan temuan, cara pembentukan humor lain yang tidak tercakup dalam teori yang dipakai telah ditemukan dalam analisis penelitian ini adalah incongruity referensi. Cara pembentukan humor di talk show Indonesia Lawak Klub (ILK) dan Sentilan Sentilun (SS) sedikit berbeda. Humor di ILK terbentuk dari 2 cara yaitu cara incongruity dan superiority sementara humor di SS terbentuk hanya dari cara superiority.Alasan yang mendasari cara pembentukan humor pada talk show humor berkaitan dengan fungsi dari humor itu sendiri. Fungsi humor terdiri dari lima fungsi, tetapi dalam talk show humor ini, hanya ditemukan 2 fungsi yaitu fungsi
aggressive dan fungsi social. Selanjutnya topik diskusi dari setiap talk show juga berperan
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1.5Significance of the Study... 6
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1 The Nature of Humor... 8
2.2 Humor Classification... 10
2.3 Linguistic Theories of Humor... 11
2.4 Ways of Humor Generation...…... 13
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2.7 Conceptual Framework... 31
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Design... 34
3.2 Data and Data Source ... 34
3.3 Instrument of Data Collection... 34
3.4 Technique of Data Collection... 35
3.5 Technique of Data Analysis... 35
3.6 Trustworthiness... 37
CHAPTER IV DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS, DISCUSSION 4.1 Ways of Humor Generation... 39
4.1.1 Incongruity Way... 40
4.1.1.1 Incongruity of Phonology... 40
4.1.1.2 Incongruity of Graphology... 41
4.1.1.3 Incongruity of Reference... 42
4.1.2 Superiority Way... 43
CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 5.1 Conclusions... 53
5.2 Suggestions... 53
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LIST OF TABLES
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LIST OF FIGURES
xi
LIST OF DIAGRAMS
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1The Background of the Study
People absolutely communicate along his life. Communication is aimed to express
desires, beliefs, attitudes, behavior in social interaction. Talk show is one of the social
interactions held in an event organized deliberately between the host and the guest to share
information for the audience. Talk show is a form of communication or conversation,
highly popular form of information and entertainment through the institutions, practices
and technologies of television. The aim of talk shows is to deliver useful information to
the viewers and entertain them at the same time (Munson, 1993).
Talk shows can be divided into several types based on the characteristics of
information shared and time scheduled. Ilie (2001:216) distinguishes three major
subcategories of talk shows on television. They are categorized according to the time they
are on the air such as early morning talk shows, daytime talk shows, and late night talk
shows. The topics discussed in daytime talk shows are very challenging, problematic and
controversial. They deal mostly with concerns about current issues in the public and
private sphere, such as social and professional conflicts, marginalization, feminism etc.
Late night talk shows are, on the other hand, entertaining and have a relaxed
atmosphere. The idea behind the show is to make the audience feel comfortable and
unwind them after the long day. Therefore, the style and the contents of daytime talk show
and late night talk show are different. The late night talk show definitely falls into the latter
category. It is specifically a kind of comedy-oriented talk and variety show that airs late at
night. A talk show which blends humor as the main point or central element of the program
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audience’s attention as what Mc. Ghee (1979) argued that any good instructional television
program must have an element of humor in order to maintain a high level of motivation in
large numbers of people to watch the program. Humor can be broadly identified as a form
of communication in which a created stimulus may act to provide pleasure for an audience.
The benefits of humor in communication can be encountered not only in talk show
but also in social life. In fact, numerous organizations believe humor to be so beneficial in
the work place. Teachers use humor to bridge the gap of reluctance in communication with
their students. Integrating humor into teaching difficult subjects has proven to be beneficial
to students. Another study found that students’ retention and comprehension is improved
when humor is woven into class lectures.
Doctors use humor in their communication with patients which would otherwise be
a strictly serious role. This practice helps build relationships with their patients and also
aids in the patients’ recovery. Doctors have been using humor in their practice for quite
some time now but this is not a new. Humor is often used to heal; not only emotional
stress, but physical stress as well as the movement from laughter can aid in healing muscle
tension, fight infections, and interrupt spasm-cycles. Even scientists have been known to
use humor to relieve stressful situations.
According to Nuolijärvi and Tiittula (2000:17) communication or conversations in
talk shows broadcasted on television differ from everyday life communication. Firstly, on
television there is always a certain time reserved for the program. Therefore, it limits the
duration of interaction. Secondly, talk shows are aimed at a “third party”, i.e. the audience.
The viewer is the third participant even though if he or she may be not an active participant
of television interaction. Humor used in talk show has been already accorded to the talk
show characteristic itself. The talk show contains indirect communication since the
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conversation is meant to be presented to the viewers and that makes the interaction of talk
show special. Thus, it can be inferred that the communication in talk show is a
unique-designed for entertaining purpose and far from its natural use in the real life. Otherwise, in
the real life, the communication model shows that the speaker and hearer will use the
direct-communication.
The elaboration of communication occurred in talk show and real life conversation
can be simply illustrated as follows:
a. Communication in Real Life (Natural Conversation)
b. Communication in Talk Show
Notes:
Figure 1.1 Communication Scheme
Since humor in the real life and humor in talk show has different model of
communication, the researcher was going to analyze how and why the utterances generate
humor in humorous talk show. In analyzing the data, the researcher used three ways of
humor generation.
Speaker Hearer
Host Guest
Audience (Viewers)
Direct Communication
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There were three ways categorized to know how the utterances generate the humor
in humorous talk show and the reason why the utterances generate in the way they do. The
first was known as incongruity way, it defined that humor could be generated when
people's logical expectations didn't match up with the end of the situation or the joke. The
second was superiority way, it defined that humor was generated when laughter risen at
someone else's mistakes because feeling superior to them. The third was called relief way,
it defined that humor as a method of releasing people from inner battles and torments, and
thus humor was often generated when giving the sense of release from some threat that is
being overcome, the use of bad language (taboo) was found in this way of humor
generation.
The data were taken from humorous talk shows namely ILK of Trans7 and Sentilan
Sentilun of Metro TV. Both of humorous talk shows were categorized as late night show
because the program was blended by humor as the main points to provoke laughter and
entertain the audience. Indonesia Lawak Klub (ILK) and Sentilan Sentilun (SS) had
already been familiar for the audience and still existed until now. They were the popular
talk shows which used humor to attract the audience’s attention. These backgrounds of
humorous talk shows convinced and triggered the researcher to take them as the subjects of
the research.
Indonesia Lawak Klub (ILK) is a parody talk show which imitates Indonesia
Lawyers Club (ILC) on TVone but the way in sharing the information is different. The
topic discussed in this talk show is widely varied issue. The schedule of ILK had ever been
added for every day schedule broadcasting because of the audience’s request.
Sentilan sentilun is a popular humorous talk show broadcasted to give information
of politics dominantly and criticize the government’s policy. The topic discussed is
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Najwa, Kick Andi, Just Alvin and Mario Golden Ways. Both of the humorous talk shows
were the successful program to attract the audience’s interest to watch and still existed up
to now. These humorous talk shows program provided the fresh entertainment for the
audience.(http://www.kompasiana.com/jadwaltvindo/acara-tv-talkshow-2015).
The researcher would analyze the way of humor generation based on the three ways
such as incongruity, superiority and relief. Then by using incongruity way, the researcher
used the level of language such as phonology, graphology, morphology, lexis and syntax
proposed by Ross (1998) to analyze the words, phrase and sentences which generate the
humor.
The example of the humor generated by using incongruity way can be seen in
conversation of humorists in ILK program on Trans7 TV (episode: Asli atau palsu, 23
Agustus 2015).
E.g 1:
R : Dari tadi saya perhatikan anteng-anteng aja padahal dia pakai barang palsu, artis loh.
From the example above, it can be seen that J’s expectation does not match to what
actually occurs in the conversation that evoke laughter from the audience. J assumed that D
would support him otherwise D is trying to provoke the laughter by saying unpredictable
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1.2 Problems of the Study
The problems of the study must be clearly stated so that the objectives of the study
can be well determined. In line with the background above, the problems of the study were
formulated as follows.
1) How do the utterances in humorous talk shows generate the humor?
2) Why do the utterances in humorous talk shows generate in the way they do?
1.3 Objectives of the Study
Based on the problems of study above, the objectives of the study were.
1) to describe and to elaborate how the utterances generate the humor in humorous
talk shows.
2) to elaborate the reasons why the utterances generate in the way they do.
1.4 Scope of the Study
The study was concerned on investigating of the humor generation in utterances of
humorous talk show entitled Indonesia Lawak Klub of Trans7 and Sentilan Sentilun of
Metro TV. The study limited the analysis on the verbal humor which dealt to exploit some
verbal elements such as words, phrases and sentences. In this case, it was important to
describe and elaborate the way of humor generation and the realization of linguistic level
in that context so the factors generating the humor could be analyzed.
1.5 Significance of the Study
There were two general significances which would be found theoretically and
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Theoretically, the results of this study were useful:
1) to enrich and develop readers’ knowledge of linguistic levels which was used in
humor generation.
2) as the source of information and idea for other researchers who wanted to carry out
further study on Language and Humor (LaH) in the other fields.
Practically, the results of this study were useful:
1) as the guiding information for readers to increase their sensitivity of finding
socially appropriate humor in language use for the situation that they encountered
in communication.
2) as the guidance for the readers that humor was necessary to enhance the quality
relationship with others in different context and situation as it was a form of
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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
5.1 Conclusions
Based on the analysis, the conclusions were stated as the following.
1) Based on the data analysis, it was found that the utterances in humorous talk show in generating the humor consisted of two ways of the three ways namely (1) incongruity way and (2) superiority way while relief way was not found. By using incongruity way, there were two of five levels of incongruity found such as incongruity of (1) phonology and (2) graphology while morphology, lexis and syntax were not found.
2) The underlying reason for the ways of humor generation is the function of humor in the humorous talk show such as (a) aggressive function and (b) social function. The different topics of discussion in each humorous talk show and the characterictics of the talk show itself also affect the ways of humor generation.
5.2 Suggestions
In relation to the conclusions, suggestions were offered as the following.
1) Television watchers, to pay attention to the incongruity way so they will have better understanding in enjoying the humor.
2) Humorists, to give them more highlight on the incongruity way so that they can create humor in such a way.
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