The albur

Abstract

This article studies a Mexican linguistic manifestation, the albur, and its different social and cultural implications. It presents its evolution as a phenomenon and its progression from the private to the public sphere, as well as from one social stratum to another. It is analyzed formally, as a social dialect, and as a manifestation of popular culture; its code is described, and at the same time it is shown that by itself it is insufficient in order to understand and practice albur as a verbal game; for albures are configured based on improvisation and verbal dexterity on a syntagmatic level. Moreover, it studies the structure and cultural process that concerns building a verbal reality based on albur between interlocutors, which involves humor and mental sagacity. This article exhibits how albur appears and its humoristic drifts, which have been taken by marketing creatives as communicational strategy rooted in culture. It also exemplifies the variations it can present depending on the work environment and social or gender context in which it develops. Especially, comprehensive analyzes of the presence of the albur in Spanish poetry are carried out, as well as in modern Mexican literature, in the work of Juan José Arreola, José Agustín, José Juan Tablada and finally an albur obtained from popular orality is studied, which continues to interest academics.