SotA Anthology 2015-16
act to serve a particular communicative
function. Not only is this to let the audience
receive the joke but also gives Brand time
to move on to another topic. The timing of
his performance also slightly differs in the
case of impersonating Jordin Sparks: the
speech is delivered at a slower pace and
the rhythm changes compared to his own,
presumably in an attempt to make her
seem less intelligible. When impersonating
Sparks, Brand uses fewer syllables in his
breath groups in order to draw out Sparks’s
speech:
[um yeah um]
[I just like to say]
[ that er]
It is also noticeable that towards the
punchlines and at the height of Brand’s
jokes, the speed tends to become a lot
faster compared to the rest of his speech.
At one point in the performance, Brand
delivers 22 words in just one breath group:
[I know you’ve had a bit of trouble with that
a couple of years ago I believe butterfly R
Kelly right ]
He speaks this sentence at speed, making
it clear the joke is about to be delivered.
Pitch and intonation
Brand is well known for being a dramatic
speaker. One of the main aspects of this is
that he uses a wide pitch range, which in
terms of performance, keeps the audience
hooked and entertained. His varied pitch
range along with expressive body language
allows Brand’s stand-up act to be a very
th