MOCKERY AS SOLIDARITY: THE SOCIOLINGUISTICS OF INSULTS AND HUMOUR IN WE NEED NEW NAMES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/vc1pkd06Keywords:
Children's Peer Discourse, Humour and Teasing, Mock Impoliteness, Sociolinguistics, Solidarity, We Need New Names (2013) by Noviolet BulawayoAbstract
This study examines the sociolinguistic roles played by insults, teasing, banter and humorous mockery in NoViolet Bulawayo's We Need New Names (2013) from a theoretical perspective of Jonathan Culpeper's Theory of Mock Impoliteness. The research uses a qualitative textual analysis method by analysing selected dialogues and interactions between the child protagonists in the novel to explore the use of apparently offensive language in their peer group. The results show that mock impoliteness is mostly used as a means of solidarity than as an act of hostility. Teasing, joking insults and verbal play are important means of communication through which the children negotiate intimacy, group membership, friendships and social cohesion in the face of economic deprivation and social volatility. The study also illustrates that the interpretation of impolite expression is not purely linguistic, but also relational and depends on the shared understanding. This research adds to the fields of literary sociolinguistics and the significance of language in the construction of identity, belonging and resilience in children's peer cultures, through the application of sociolinguistic and pragmatic theories.
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