"In times of crisis, the humorous genres triumph because they release tensions that arise from everyday problems. The audience comes to hear a monologue or to see a comedy show on TV looking for a moment of laughter and pleasure." This was stated by Leonor Ruiz Gurillo, director of the Research Group on Spanish Humor and Irony (GRIALE) at the University of Alicante. The expert gave a talk at the  XI International Congress of General Linguistics, organized by the  Institute for  Culture and Society and the Faculty of Philosophy, at the University of Navarra.

She also noted that each language possesses "its own humorous keys" and every culture "has a special need" in this sense: some of them, such as the British culture, use these humorous resources much more. As a result, the country of origin of foreign students learning Spanish influences as to how they will understand the humor in this language, how they process will process it and how they will use it in both every day and formal situations.  

The researchers of GRIALE attempt to determine the procedures for making humor, in order to transfer them to the classroom where Spanish is taught as a foreign language, "thereby a non-native speaker can learn what to use when making jokes, writing a monologue or introducing some humor in a conversation."

Double Meaning and Ambiguity

The Research group makes a distinction between two linguistic keys:  marks, which help to understand humor, and indicators, humorous elements per se. "Between marks are pauses, ironic intonation…The most clear indicator is polysemy: double meanings, ambiguity…," explained the professor of the University of Alicante.

More than 400 experts from 22 countries participated in the XI International Congress of General Linguistics to be held from May 21-23 at the University of Navarra, organized by the Institute of Culture and Society (ICS) Project  'Public Speaking' and the Faculty of Philosophy. The experts came from more than 70 campuses and institutions in Germany, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, China, Colombia, Croatia, USA., Arab Emirates, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Libya, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Switzerland and Ukraine.

The activity continued the series of biennial conferences held on the Spanish campus since 1994 as a space for dialogue and scientific exchange about language and tongues.