Language games and the acquisition of a "humorous competence" in PLE (Portuguese as a second language)

Authors

  • Margarida Mouta Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto

Abstract

The playful and creative aspect of transgressing the norms of “good use” of the verbal code invites the exploration of areas of language where the humor is realized. The transgressive logic of verbal humor projects us beyond the limits imposed by the established forms that determine the legibility of the world. The universe where, through this logic, we settle, is the unsettling universe of playful discovery in which at each step we are confronted with productions in which meaning is disturbed. This study aims to present an analysis of some aspects of the functioning of verbal humor present in language games and the description of some of the linguistic and discursive mechanisms that underlie it, in an attempt to account for the implications that a certain work on the language can have in obtaining the pleasure provided by the game. A game that, inscribed in the functioning of language, presupposes it as something more than a means of communication, allowing opening beyond the borders of the established and guaranteeing the liberation of social (but also linguistic) behaviors strictly monitored by the codes of common sense current or standardized. In conclusion, we highlight the beneficial effect that laughter through verbal language can have on the pragmatic aspects of communication in the context of learning a FL, both in terms of reception and in terms of the (desirable) production of humorous utterances. From this postulate comes the need to provide learners with a “humorous” competence capable of leading them to interact effectively in the face of the challenges that the Portuguese language generously poses to all those who are willing to discover it in its implicit and games of ambiguity and to let themselves become entangled in the creative practices that it cunningly allows them.

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Published

2018-05-16