dc.description.abstract | The aim of the publication is to analyse the phenomenon of the ritual insult within the
field of pragmatics. The core of the research is focused on understanding what kind of values
and linguistic characteristics of the ritual are present among the members of rap subculture. We
specify the characteristics of the ritual insult used by rappers during an event called in Spain
“The Rooster Fight” (Rap Battle). The verbal game in question is a highly stylized activity that
crucially relies on creativity, verbal wit and cunning, and often rough rhetoric. No matter where
the game is played, its rules demand that it be fought in a nonviolent way (Smitherman, 1995b:
20) and some conventional lines or standard themes trigger the exchange. Equally universal is
the theatricality of the event. It is “speech on display” by definition, a ritualized way of projecting
one’s personality to others while working up and fighting with the rival (Schwegler, 2007:
135).
The analysis of ritual insult is carried out in the area of the Relevance Theory (Sperber and
Wils on, 1986/95; Carston, 2002; Wils on and Sperber, 2002, 2004) that departs substantially
from Grice’s account of the expectations that guide the comprehension process. For relevance
theorists, the very act of communicating raises precise and predictable expectations of relevance,
which are enough on their own to guide the hearer towards the speaker’s meaning. Sperber and
Wils on (1995: 182) introduced the notion of explicature, which was to complement the Gricean
notion of implicature, in an attempt to show that pragmatic inferences contribute not only to
what is implied, but also to what is explicitly communicated. The notion of explicature and
implicature has been used to carry out the analysis of ritual insult.
In this publication a historical outline of studies on insult with particular reference to the
works on pragmatic aspect of insulting is presented. Among many definitions of insult, the most
convincing seems to be the one provided by Marisela Colín Rodea (2003, 2005, 2010) who postulates
that insulting includes every act, verbal or non-verbal (word, expression, behavior, face
expression), that uses aggression and tends to hurt the addressee. This elaboration is based on
the previous research by Marisela Colín Rodea that include the following factors: socialization,
violence, aggression, emotions and politeness. What is more, the contemporary model of the
insult that take into account the explicitness and the implicitness of its expression is discussed.
The study includes the explanation of the historical issues of ritual insult (Labov, 1972;
Brown, 1972; Kochman, 1972; Morgan, 1991; Majors, 1994; Van Dijk et al. 2000a; Schwegler,
2007; Cutler, 2007; Progovac and Locke, 2009) and origins of the hip hop subculture. It is
claimed that hip hoppers are a typical example of “urban tribes”, that are microgroups of people who share common interests in urban areas. The members of these relatively small groups
tend to have similar worldviews, dress styles and behavioral patterns. Their social interactions
are largely informal and different from late capitalism’s corporate-bourgeoisie cultures (Toner,
1998; Keyes, 2002; Pawlak, 2004; Gonçalves de Paula, 2006; Camargo, 2007; Reyes Sánchez,
2007; Cutler, 2007). The main focus of this part of the study is the introduction of the research
of ritual insults by W. Labov (1972) that provides a rich structural and functional analysis of
the sounding. Then the parallels between the Rap Battle and the Tragedy are discussed. At the
end of this part general features of the language of youth, and general characteristics of rap discourse
are suggested. The author points out that the ‘antycourtesy’ (Zimmermann, 2003, 2005)
is a constituent of the identity of young people.
The last part of the study has the analytic character. Firstly, the reason of using the Relevance
Theory in order to analyze the ritual insult is explained. Secondly, the definition of the
ritual insult in the context of the Rap Battle in Spain is developed by the author. Then, using
the framework of interactional sociolinguistics, videos from the MC battles that took place in
Barcelona, Madrid and Bilbao between 2007—2009 are analysed. Moreover, a typology of the
ritual insults is proposed: expressed in an implicit way (You have the Hobbit face) and in an
explicit way (Asshole!, You idiot!). Seven main groups of the rituals are distinguished and they
are related to the mother of a rival and other members of his family, his appearance, the skills
of a rival, his discourse, the masculinity of a rival. Additionally, the author analysed ritual insults
paying a special attention to the usage of rhetorical figures (between the most frequent:
metaphor, metonymy, hyperbole, personification). Finally, the rhetoric aspect of the discourse is
introduced, given that the rap discourse has the persuasive character and is pronounced by the
rappers who attempt to inform, persuade and motivate the audience in the specific situation of
the battle. | pl_PL |