Irony

An accessible introduction to the pragmatics of irony that presents the main theoretical approaches and central discussions of the analysis of ironic communication.

Joana Garmendia (Author)

9781107465916, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 17 September 2020

178 pages
21.5 x 14 x 1 cm, 0.23 kg

Irony is an intriguing topic, central to the study of meaning in language. This book provides an introduction to the pragmatics of irony. It surveys key work carried out on irony in a range of disciplines such as semantics, pragmatics, philosophy and literary studies, and from a variety of theoretical perspectives including Grice's approach, Sperber and Wilson's echoic account, and Clark and Gerrig's pretense theory. It looks at a number of uses of irony and explores how irony can be misunderstood cross-culturally, before delving into the key debates on the pragmatics of irony: is irony always negative? Why do speakers communicate via irony, and which strategies do they usually employ? How are irony and sarcasm different? Is irony always funny? To answer these questions, basic pragmatic notions are introduced and explained. It includes multiple examples and activities to enable the reader to apply the theoretical frameworks to actual everyday instances of irony.

1. Introduction
2. Irony as opposition
3. Irony as echo
4. Irony as pretense
5. Attitude expression in irony
6. Clues of irony
7. Sarcasm and humour.

Subject Areas: Linguistics [CF]