Extemporaneous blending: Conceptual integration in humorous discourse from talk radio

Conceptual integration, or blending, is a theoretical framework for describing how people combine information from different domains to yield new concepts. Previous work suggests that blending processes are important for humor production and comprehension, as humorous examples often involve the construction of hybrid cognitive models in so-called blended spaces. However, such work has focused mainly on blends that underlie written and scripted language. The use of blending processes in more spontaneous examples of humorous discourse can be demontrated by an analysis of an excerpt from the syndicated talk radio show Loveline. This analysis suggests that humorous discourse between the show's hosts displays many of the same types of blending processes at play in more scripted examples. In addition, it suggests that humorous conceptualizations that occur in the course of extemporaneous blending are shaped in part by the demands of conversational interaction.