HUMOUR AND CREATIVITY AS FACTORS IN THE FORMATION OF A DISCURSIVE PERSONALITY IN MEDIA DISCOURSE

Abstract

The article investigates the role of humour and creativity in the formation of a discursive personality of a television host in contemporary media discourse, using the show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” as a case study. It analyses how verbal and extralinguistic communication strategies contribute to creating the host’s public image, enhancing recognizability, and ensuring effective interaction with the audience. At the linguistic level, attention is given to the use of humour, puns, irony, rhetorical questions, hyperbole, and metaphors, which form a witty, dynamic, and distinctive style capable of attracting the attention of diverse audience groups and highlighting the host’s individuality and professionalism. At the extralinguistic level, the study examines the role of facial expressions, gestures, intonational emphasis, pauses, and speech rate in enhancing comic effect, creating a multilayered communicative situation, maintaining emotional contact with viewers, and establishing an atmosphere of informality. The analysis of specific examples demonstrates that integrating verbal and non-verbal strategies allows the host to create a unique discursive persona, adapt to different social expectations of the audience, maintain dynamic and interactive communication, and emphasise personal creativity and originality of style. The results of the study underline the importance of a comprehensive approach to media discourse research and show that humour and creativity are key factors for effective public communication. Further research can focus on the influence of verbal and non-verbal strategies on audience perception, emotional response, the formation of a stable public image, and the mechanisms of interaction between different communicative codes in the media space.