Play or violence? An analysis of verbal student's communication at school

School is a learning and social construction space that, over the time, are increasing the number of violent occurrences. In this environment, one of the main interaction tools is verbal communication, and it's been shaped according to the context that surrounds it. This article aims to describe how violence is expressed through verbal communication between students. For that, we interviewed eight students from a federal public school in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre / Rio Grande do Sul / Brasil. The data analysis was realized based on Content Analysis in Thematic Mode. From this qualitative study, discordant perceptions were identified regarding the existence of verbal violence in the school space. There were reports of bullying, racism, and prejudice regarding sexual orientation, among other forms of violence. There was a recognition of the violent potential of some statements between colleagues, but this is minimized with justifications based on parameters of intimacy and consent. Such findings show a process of trivialization and naturalization of disrespectful and violent speeches that occur, but should not, in the school environment. To face these situations of violent communication, the school must provide to the entire school community spaces for discussion and reflection on strategies for the communication can contribute to the construction of respectful and affective relationships, in order to positively impact everyone's life.