Verbale Aggression im Realsozialismus und ihre Literarisierung
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Manuel Ghilarducci
Abstract
This article analyses form, structure and role of verbal aggression in three literary texts: Vladimir Sorokin’s Happy New Year, Marek Hłasko’s The Workers and Kurt Drawert’s Silence. In spite of differences regarding their form, language and cultural context, these three texts share a performative reflection upon verbal aggression in Real Socialism. Not only do they reproduce the politically intended (and latent) aggression of the official discourse, but also individual (and manifest) invectives against the State. The latter are usually interpreted by scholars as attempts to a “liberation” from political oppression, but this is questionable when taking a more differentiated look at it. The struggle between the symbolic violence of the State and the hate speech of singular persons is far more complex and cannot be explained with the help of dichotomies. Instead of merely fighting against structural violence, literature actually feeds it: the violence appears in these works as all-encompassing. This leads to failure, as shown by the fact that the protagonists of the texts are either killed (Happy New Year) or fall victims to a total silence (The Workers and Silence). Through an interdisciplinary approach (linguistic, philosophy of language and theory of power) this paper shows how these texts deconstruct theoretical dichotomies and lead to a new interpretation of the relationship between language, violence and power in Real Socialism.
Abstract
This article analyses form, structure and role of verbal aggression in three literary texts: Vladimir Sorokin’s Happy New Year, Marek Hłasko’s The Workers and Kurt Drawert’s Silence. In spite of differences regarding their form, language and cultural context, these three texts share a performative reflection upon verbal aggression in Real Socialism. Not only do they reproduce the politically intended (and latent) aggression of the official discourse, but also individual (and manifest) invectives against the State. The latter are usually interpreted by scholars as attempts to a “liberation” from political oppression, but this is questionable when taking a more differentiated look at it. The struggle between the symbolic violence of the State and the hate speech of singular persons is far more complex and cannot be explained with the help of dichotomies. Instead of merely fighting against structural violence, literature actually feeds it: the violence appears in these works as all-encompassing. This leads to failure, as shown by the fact that the protagonists of the texts are either killed (Happy New Year) or fall victims to a total silence (The Workers and Silence). Through an interdisciplinary approach (linguistic, philosophy of language and theory of power) this paper shows how these texts deconstruct theoretical dichotomies and lead to a new interpretation of the relationship between language, violence and power in Real Socialism.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Inhalt V
- Einleitung: Sprachliche Aggression beschreiben, verstehen und erklären 1
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Teil I: Zum Ausdruck verbaler Aggression
- Was sind aggressive Sprechakte? 35
- On the strength of explicit and implicit verbal offences 51
- The offensiveness of animal metaphors 73
- Aggression in Banter 89
- Aggressiv oder supportiv? 123
- Offene und versteckte Aggression im Gebrauch von Dysphemismen und Euphemismen 145
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Teil II: Verbale Aggression in Praxisfeldern
- Kommunikative Gewalt in der Psychotherapie 171
- Ist Fehlerkorrektur im Fremdsprachenunterricht ein aggressives Verhalten? 209
- „Von Ihrer Bewerbung können wir keinen Gebrauch machen“ 219
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Teil III: Hassrede und Ideologie
- Zur Multi-Akt-Semantik der Ethnophaulismen 245
- Kulturhistorische Blicke auf die Sprache des Dritten Reiches und die antisemitische Hassrede 269
- „Um den Schädling zu vernichten” 289
- Implizite Aggression in Onlinekommentaren anlässlich der Debatte um rassistische Sprache in Kinderbüchern 305
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Teil IV: Inszenierungen verbaler Aggression
- „Doing aggressive 2.0“ 331
- The leader’s voice and communicative aggression in social media 357
- Politische Clowns in Klartext-Manier: Expressivität und Aggressivität in Zeiten transnationaler Öffentlichkeit 377
- Verbale Aggression in parlamentarischen Debatten 401
- Verbale Aggression im Realsozialismus und ihre Literarisierung 425
- Inszenierte Aggression in poetischer Sprache 447
- Autorinnen und Autoren 471
- Namen- und Sachregister 479
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Inhalt V
- Einleitung: Sprachliche Aggression beschreiben, verstehen und erklären 1
-
Teil I: Zum Ausdruck verbaler Aggression
- Was sind aggressive Sprechakte? 35
- On the strength of explicit and implicit verbal offences 51
- The offensiveness of animal metaphors 73
- Aggression in Banter 89
- Aggressiv oder supportiv? 123
- Offene und versteckte Aggression im Gebrauch von Dysphemismen und Euphemismen 145
-
Teil II: Verbale Aggression in Praxisfeldern
- Kommunikative Gewalt in der Psychotherapie 171
- Ist Fehlerkorrektur im Fremdsprachenunterricht ein aggressives Verhalten? 209
- „Von Ihrer Bewerbung können wir keinen Gebrauch machen“ 219
-
Teil III: Hassrede und Ideologie
- Zur Multi-Akt-Semantik der Ethnophaulismen 245
- Kulturhistorische Blicke auf die Sprache des Dritten Reiches und die antisemitische Hassrede 269
- „Um den Schädling zu vernichten” 289
- Implizite Aggression in Onlinekommentaren anlässlich der Debatte um rassistische Sprache in Kinderbüchern 305
-
Teil IV: Inszenierungen verbaler Aggression
- „Doing aggressive 2.0“ 331
- The leader’s voice and communicative aggression in social media 357
- Politische Clowns in Klartext-Manier: Expressivität und Aggressivität in Zeiten transnationaler Öffentlichkeit 377
- Verbale Aggression in parlamentarischen Debatten 401
- Verbale Aggression im Realsozialismus und ihre Literarisierung 425
- Inszenierte Aggression in poetischer Sprache 447
- Autorinnen und Autoren 471
- Namen- und Sachregister 479
