Verbal Dueling

Among the array of verbal practices that count as speech play, verbal dueling is a practice in which the talk that frequently characterizes everyday humor interactions is formalized and ritualized to produce a competitive display of wit and dexterity. Verbal dueling requires at least two participants who know and understand the performance conventions that govern the language game for their social group. In a verbal duel, a participant produces an utterance; a second participant must then surpass the utterance of the first with a repartee that listeners consider to be cleverer than the contribution of the first participant. The participant manipulates linguistic features at any level, in relation to each other and in relation to the sociocultural contexts in which they occur, to produce an unexpected redirection or reinterpretation of a previously introduced idea. The result is language that is innovative, humorous, and creative. Within the category of verbal dueling lie games of ritual insult, where participants vie in publicly hurling insults and invectives at each other. The African American game of ritual insult known variously as dozens, sounding, ranking, snapping, capping, and scoring has had a global impact on popular culture.

Researchers have observed verbal dueling crossculturally and diachronically. It generally has specific conventions that vary with the sociocultural context of a group. Joel Sherzer (2002), who has studied speech play across cultures, observes that rhyme and rhythm, as well as phonological, syntactic, and semantic play, may be involved in verbal dueling. In [Page 787]some cultures, it is poetic or combines with musical dueling. Shakespearean literature is a rich source of verbal dueling. In a scene from Romeo and Juliet, for example, Mercutio and Romeo engage in dialogue in which Mercutio conceptualizes Romeo’s wit as cheverel and a “most sharp sauce.” The two then compete in creatively redirecting focus and meaning through metaphoric extension.

In contemporary United States, verbal dueling often occurs in public venues, as an icebreaker at business and social gatherings and among friends. Joel Sherzer relates an exchange where an unexpected pragmatic juxtaposition of meaning leads to a verbal duel based on a proverb. Researchers associate verbal dueling in some cultures exclusively with men, but in this exchange in the United States, the exchange takes place between two female participants. In complaining about finding dates, the first participant quotes the first clause of the familiar proverb: “You can lead a horse to water … .” While commiserating with the first participant, the second participant has the last word in creativity; she provides a clever and innovative alternative to the standard follow-up clause “but you can't make it drink,” pointing out instead that “you can't make it ask you for a date.”

While the broad category of verbal dueling involves competition in displaying wit and cleverness, there is not necessarily an intent to attack the other participant. In the subcategory of ritual insult, on the other hand, the goal is to outdo an opponent in uttering insults. Despite the apparent aggressiveness of ritual insult, the practice is often a form of friendly teasing, done without animus. Ritual insult often follows a standard structure that includes a linguistic or not linguistic form that serves as a marker that the material is in the spirit of a game. Certain topics are acceptable in ritual insult, while others can lead to interpretation of a playful jibe as a serious insult. One cue that an insult is not meant as a serious affront is the sheer implausibility of a claim made by a participant; if a participant makes a claim that the targeted participant could take as true, it might be seen as a serious affront.

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