A Critical Pragmatic Analysis of Women Oppression

Abstract

Oxford English Dictionary defines insult as’’ To assail with offensively dishonoring or contemptuous speech or action; to treat with scornful abuse or offensive disrespect; to offer indignity to; to affront, outrage -perhaps by manifest arrogance, scorn, contempt, or insolence. Meriam Webster’s Dictionary defines oppression as unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power. The present study investigates women insulting jokes from a critical pragmatic perspective. Females have been oppressed and underrepresented by
jokes and many scholars have stated that joke saying is mainly a male activity (Bing, 2007 :1). The present study investigates women insulting jokes from a critical pragmatic perceptive. It aims at investigating how women are oppressed and insulted through a specific kind of jokes. Al-Hindawi and Mohamad (2018:1) state that using an impolite speech act rather than a polite one falls within the realm of critical Pragmatics. Since insulting jokes as speech acts are used to insult women, the present study falls under the realm of critical
pragmatics. The current study is a qualitative one based on analytical model that is developed for the present study. This study is limited to the analysis of nine women insulting jokes. The results of the present study are significant in supporting the notion that critical pragmatic field can investigate the use of insulting jokes for gaining dominance over women.