A joking matter: sociolinguistics at work within Southwest Airlines
Citation
Plested, Valerie A. (1998). A joking matter: sociolinguistics at work within Southwest Airlines. -- Lambda Alpha Journal, v.28, p.10-15.
Abstract
The purpose of this project is to detennine how
the clients of Southwest Airlines react to its use of language, how it functions to create an
atmosphere ofcommunity or friendliness with the airline, and explore the implications of the
ritual state engendered.
For the purposes ofthis paper, a joke may be defined as by Random House (1993, p.1033)
as "something said or done to provoke laughter or cause amusement, as a witticism, a short
and amusing anecdote, or a prankish act" with the qualification that additional humor is
implied through the irreverence atypical for the environment in which it occurs. The
incongruity between the humor and the setting is important, because it is at this juncture that
they meet where Southwest Airlines succeeds in generating a different operating environment.