ATTENUATION AS A PRAGMATIC STRATEGY IN SUBVERSIVE STAND-UP COMEDY

Abstract

This research examines the function of attenuation in the humorous monologue performed by current Spanish female comedians. Our first hypothesis is that attenuation is one of the discursive strategies used by the comedians who represent a subversive type of humor, since the use of attenuation in a humorous context allows the speaker to easier deal with topics or issues that could be controversial or troublesome in the beginning. With the aim of verifying this assumption, this study reflects a corpus of 15 humorous monologues performed in different Spanish auditoriums and theatres during the years 2017 and 2018. The transcription and segmentation of these samples has allowed us to draw the frequency of use regarding the different tactics and linguistic procedures for attenuating the subversive humorous discourse, as well as to examine the functions attenuation fulfils as a pragmatic strategy. The obtained results certify that the Spanish female comedians under review use attenuation and thereby get off the subject linguistically, in order to get closer to the public–or not too much distant from it–.