Sarcasm
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Sarcasm is the use of sharp, cutting remarks or language intended to mock, wound, or subject to contempt or ridicule.[1] It is first recorded in English in The Shepheardes Calender in 1579:
Tom piper) An Ironical [Sarcasmus], spoken in derision of these rude wits, which make more account of a rhyming Rimbaud, then of skill grounded upon learning and judgment.
It comes from the ancient Greek σαρκάζω (sarkazo) meaning 'to tear flesh' but the ancient Greek word for the rhetorical concept of taunting was instead χλευασμός (chleyasmόs). Sarcasm appears several times in the Old Testament, for example:
Lo, you see the man is mad; why then have you brought him to me? Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence?
—Achish, king of Gath, I Sam 21:10-15[2]
Hostile, critical comments may be expressed in an ironic way such as saying "don't work too hard" to a lazy worker. The use of irony introduces an element of humour which may make the criticism seem more polite and less aggressive but understanding the subtlety of this usage requires second-order interpretation of the speaker's intentions. This sophisticated understanding is lacking in people with brain damage, dementia and autism[3], and this perception has been located by MRI in the right parahippocampal gyrus.[4][5]
Understanding sarcasm is a very complicated process to grasp. It is considered to be one of the last and most advanced concepts for children to comprehend. It is usually not fully understood till the age of twelve and sometimes much later.
In certain Ethiopic languages, sarcasm is indicated with a sarcasm mark, a character that looks like a backwards question mark at the end of a sentence, similar to Alcanter de Brahm's proposed irony mark (؟). Subtitles, such as in Teletext, sometimes use an exclamation mark in brackets to mark sarcasm: (!). In certain North American communities, a sarcastic remark might be indicated with an 'at sign' (@)[6].
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 2008, http://www.oed.com, "A sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark; a bitter gibe or taunt."
- ^ Leland Ryken, Jim Wilhoit, James C. Wilhoit, Tremper Longman, Colin Duriez, Douglas Penney, Daniel G. Reid (1998), Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, pp. 409, ISBN 9780830814510, http://books.google.com/books?id=qjEYEjVVEosC
- ^ S. G. Shamay-Tsoory, R. Tomer, J. Aharon-Peretz (2005), "The Neuroanatomical Basis of Understanding Sarcasm and Its Relationship to Social Cognition", Neuropsychology: 288–300, doi:, http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/neu193288.pdf
- ^ Dan Hurley (June 3, 2008), The Science of Sarcasm (Not That You Care), New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/health/research/03sarc.html?em&ex=1213848000&en=79518c9f61e51946&ei=5087%0A
- ^ J.W.Slap (1966), "On Sarcasm", The Psychoanalytic Quarterly 35: 98-107, http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=paq.035.0098a
- ^ Rudolph, Dina. An American, Canadian, and Mexican walk into a bar: Humor of the North American Continent. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.
