“And so that’s how it ended,” A Case Study of Anecdote Closure

The present study is an examination of anecdotes told in a specific setting. As opposed to the narratives which have been analysed in the literature and which are either elicited by the researcher or which arise naturally in conversations, the anecdotes I focus on are those told in chat show situations. The ending of these anecdotes are scrutinized in an attempt to reveal their discursive structure. It was found that there are certain devices story teller employ as an indication that their story is coming to a close such as the use of the discourse marker “so” and the punch line closure.