Interpreting studies: a tessera in the mosaic of humour studies

Abstract

Humour is a methodologically challenging subject of study, as has been demonstrated over time by experts. However, with the passing of time, certain agreed-upon aspects have been identified, such as the intention to make humour a falsifiable area of research. Foundational works by authors such as Raskin and Davies, particularly mentioned in the current paper, offer valuable insights that help us better understand and compartmentalize humour from our respective areas of interest, ranging from superiority, incongruity, and relief theories to the dichotomies between universalist and descriptive approaches. We propose that this is the case because humour can be compared to a mosaic made up of different tesserae, which may be placed more closely or more distantly but ultimately become cohesive thanks to the general lime beneath. Translation studies has been outlining the content of its tesserae for decades, and this remains a key pending matter for interpretative studies.