THE LINGUISTIC NATURE OF HUMOUR AND NATIONAL-CULTURAL STEREOTYPES
Keywords:
humour, national-cultural stereotype, ethnic humour, script, semantic incongruity, presupposition, linguoculture, ethnonym, evaluation, pragmatic meaning.Abstract
This article examines the linguistic nature of humour and national-cultural stereotypes from semantic, cognitive, pragmatic, and linguocultural perspectives. It explores the role of script opposition, semantic incongruity, implicit presupposition, and unexpected reinterpretation in the formation of humorous meaning. National-cultural stereotypes are characterised not merely as a set of simplified perceptions of a particular people, but as cognitive-discursive structures formed through linguistic units, recurrent speech patterns, and collective memory. The article demonstrates how stereotypes are expressed in humorous texts through ethnonyms, evaluative vocabulary, phraseological units, speech imitation, code-switching, hyperbole, and irony. It also identifies the functions of stereotype-based humour in strengthening group solidarity, expressing identity, constructing the image of the “Other,” and evaluating social relations.
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