Beyond ((laughter)): some notes on transcription

In this short chapter we will lay out some of the features of laughter, and explore some reasons why, even when laughter appears to be ‘flooding out’, it is still important to capture its often subtle interactional features. There will not be space here to cover all the possible features of laughter, nor the interactional significance of doing it one way rather than another. Nevertheless, we will attempt to provide some basic methods for hearing and transcribing that will draw on and develop the basic transcription conventions designed by Gail Jefferson.