A lexical approach to laughter classification: Natural language distinguishes six (classes of) formal characteristics

Abstract

Although research on laughter is becoming increasingly common, there is no consensus on the description of its variations. Investigating all verbal attributes that relate to the term laughter may lead to a broad set of descriptors deemed important by the speakers of a language. Through a linguistic corpus analysis using the German language, formal attributes of laughter were identified (original pool: 1148 single-word descriptors and 172 multi-word descriptors). A category system was derived in an iterative process, leading to six higher order classes describing formal characteristics of laughter: Basic parameters, intensity, visible aspects, sound, uniqueness, and regulation. Furthermore, 15 raters judged the words for several criteria (appropriateness, positive and negative valence, active and passive use). From these ratings and the prior assignment, a list of attributes suitable for the characterization of laughter in its formal characteristics was derived. By comparing the proposed classification of formal characteristics of laughter with the scientific literature, potential gaps in the current research agenda are pointed out in the final section.