Laughter Punctuation

What it is

In Robert Provine's 1993 study of 1,200 episodes of laughter in public places, more than 99 per cent of laughs fell at pauses at the end of a phrase or sentence, much like punctuation in writing. Speakers laughed more than their listeners, and whether listeners laughed depended on the mix of people in the group.

In effect

In the article on why we laugh, it is evidence that laughter is woven into talk between people rather than set off by jokes alone.

What it does not say

It is an observational finding from public settings. It does not explain why people laugh, only where in speech they do.

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