Workplace impoliteness as comic style in Fidelis Okoro’s Prof. Zemzi’s Last Rehearsal
Workplace impoliteness as comic style in Fidelis Okoro’s Prof. Zemzi’s Last Rehearsal

Summary/Abstract: Pragmatic concepts and theories have largely explored naturally occurring conversations in varied social-political, cultural, and religious contexts. Yet, not so much has been done to explore ways pragmatics contributes to studying literary works, particularly drama. Hence, this research is an attempt to examine how impoliteness as a pragmatic construct reflects the dual purposes of not only identifying and categorising offensive speech acts but also in performing the aesthetic function of comic-styling, engaging the African play Prof. Zemzi’s Last Rehearsal written by Fidelis U. Okoro. The play as a comedy staged in a university setting presents a formal workplace where politeness work and restraint in language use are interactional norms to minimise face loss. Hence, the offensive dialogue between the protagonist, Prof. Zemzi, and other co-workers resulting in Face Threatening Acts (FTAs) and humour are explored, conceptualising (im)politeness in terms of the incongruity theory of humour. The study shows that the frequent use of intensified face threats, demeaning utterances, and ridicule are incongruous speech acts that buttress the humorous discourse style of the play. It argues that humorous dramatic impoliteness is a source of comic catharsis and that for impoliteness to be understood as funny, there is a shared socio-contextual cognition of the discourse as incongruous.

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