(Sur)vivre dans les tranchées : fonction cathartique des mots et expressions de l’argot des Poilus

Abstract

For the soldiers of the Great War (1914-1918) all means are good to protect themselves from the everyday reality of the trenches and to survive, to live. Anything that can bring some kind of catharsis is used, among other things through the language. We therefore find in the “argot des poilus” (French WW1 soldiers slang) terms and expressions, which are the result of all slangs essential functions like those based on the connivance and the playfulness, but also on the cathartic function of language. This allows the externalization of the trauma experienced, that is often the case in times of war. A significant number of figures, mainly metaphorical, especially euphemism and hyperbole, appears then in the speech. This article analyzes the cathartic use of some lexemes and phrases that are found in the speech of the soldiers of the Great War.