Dafina Genova – Humor as a Communicative Strategy in Protests

Abstract: The aim of the paper is to study how humor as a communicative strategy framed politically motivated protests in Sofia in the summer and autumn of 2013. The analysis shows that humor has more than one function for each participant in the threefold relation in which it is situated: initiator or protesters, target (politicians and institutions) and onlookers. Humor is most efficient in the contexts in which protesters attain their social and political goals. In the contexts in which they do not, humor is efficient in the construction of community among the protesters and gaining support from onlookers. Other linguistic aspects of humor in the protests are also discussed.

Key words: verbal humor, humorous performances, communicative strategy, protest.

Read the original of the article (in English)

Rhetoric and Communications E-journal, Issue 14, October 2012, rhetoric.bg/, ISSN 1314-4464

Read the original of the article (in English)