Sarcasm: Difference between revisions
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'''Sarcasm''' is "a sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark; a bitter gibe or [[taunt]]."<ref name="OED">[[Oxford English Dictionary]]</ref><ref>{{cite book | author = Boxer, D. | quote = Only ''people'' can be sarcastic, whereas ''situations'' are ironic. | year = 2002 | title = Applying Sociolinguistics: Domains and Face-to-Face Interaction | chapter = 4 - 'Yeah right:' sociolinguistic functions of sarcasm in classroom discourse | page = 100 | publisher = John Benjamins Publications | isbn = 978-90-272-1850-6 }}</ref> |
'''Sarcasm''' is "a sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark; a bitter gibe or [[taunt]]."<ref name="OED">[[Oxford English Dictionary]]</ref><ref>{{cite book | author = Boxer, D. | quote = Only ''people'' can be sarcastic, whereas ''situations'' are ironic. | year = 2002 | title = Applying Sociolinguistics: Domains and Face-to-Face Interaction | chapter = 4 - 'Yeah right:' sociolinguistic functions of sarcasm in classroom discourse | page = 100 | publisher = John Benjamins Publications | isbn = 978-90-272-1850-6 }}</ref> Sarcasm may employ [[ambivalence]],<ref>{{cite book | author = Rockwell, P. A. | title = Sarcasm and Other Mixed Messages: The Ambiguous Ways People Use Language | publisher = Edwin Mellen Press | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-0-7734-5917-5 }}</ref> although sarcasm is not necessarily ironic.<ref>{{cite book | author = Partridge, Eric | authorlink = Eric Partridge | title = Usage and Abusage: A Guide to Good English | publisher = Penguin Press | isbn = 0-393-31709-9 | year = 1969 | quote = Irony must not be confused with sarcasm, which is direct: sarcasm means precisely what it says, but in a sharp, caustic, ... manner.}}</ref> |
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"The distinctive quality of sarcasm is present in the spoken word and manifested chiefly by vocal inflections". <ref>http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/irony?s=t | The distinctive quality of sarcasm is present in the spoken word and manifested chiefly by vocal inflection, whereas satire and irony arising originally as literary and rhetorical forms, are exhibited in the organization or structuring of either language or literary material.</ref> Any comment could be considered sarcastic in the correct context. <ref> Author | Author = John D. Campbell | title = Investigating Components of Sarcastic Context | year = 2012 </ref> |
"The distinctive quality of sarcasm is present in the spoken word and manifested chiefly by vocal inflections". <ref>http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/irony?s=t | The distinctive quality of sarcasm is present in the spoken word and manifested chiefly by vocal inflection, whereas satire and irony arising originally as literary and rhetorical forms, are exhibited in the organization or structuring of either language or literary material.</ref> Any comment could be considered sarcastic in the correct context. <ref> Author | Author = John D. Campbell | title = Investigating Components of Sarcastic Context | year = 2012 </ref> |
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Revision as of 17:13, 16 September 2013
Sarcasm is "a sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark; a bitter gibe or taunt."[1][2] Sarcasm may employ ambivalence,[3] although sarcasm is not necessarily ironic.[4] "The distinctive quality of sarcasm is present in the spoken word and manifested chiefly by vocal inflections". [5] Any comment could be considered sarcastic in the correct context. [6]
Origin of the term
The word comes from the Greek σαρκασμός (sarkasmos) which is taken from the word σαρκάζειν meaning "to tear flesh, bite the lip in rage, sneer".[1]
It is first recorded in English in 1579, in an annotation to The Shepheardes Calender by Edmund Spenser:
Tom piper, an ironicall Sarcasmus, spoken in derision of these rude wits, whych ...[1]
However, the word sarcastic, meaning "Characterized by or involving sarcasm; given to the use of sarcasm; bitterly cutting or caustic", doesn't appear until 1695.[1]
Usage
Dictionary.com describes the use of irony thus:
In sarcasm, ridicule or mockery is used harshly, often crudely and contemptuously, for destructive purposes. It may be used in an indirect manner, and have the form of irony, as in "What a fine musician you turned out to be!," "It's like you're a whole different person now...," and "Oh... Well then thanks for all the first aid over the years!" or it may be used in the form of a direct statement, "You couldn't play one piece correctly if you had two assistants." The distinctive quality of sarcasm is present in the spoken word and manifested chiefly by vocal intonation ...[7]
Distinguishing sarcasm from banter, and referring to the use of irony in sarcasm, Bousfield writes [8] that sarcasm is:
The use of strategies which, on the surface appear to be appropriate to the situation, but are meant to be taken as meaning the opposite in terms of face management. That is, the utterance which appears, on the surface, to maintain or enhance the face of the recipient actually attacks and damages the face of the recipient. ... sarcasm is an insincere form of politeness which is used to offend one's interlocutor.
John Haiman writes: "There is an extremely close connection between sarcasm and irony, and literary theorists in particular often treat sarcasm as simply the crudest and least interesting form of irony." Also, he adds:
First, situations may be ironic, but only people can be sarcastic. Second, people may be unintentionally ironic, but sarcasm requires intention. What is
essential to sarcasm is that it is overt irony intentionally used by the speaker as a form of verbal aggression.[9]
While, Henry Watson Fowler writes:
Sarcasm does not necessarily involve irony. But irony, or the use of expressions conveying different things according as they are interpreted, is so often made the vehicle of sarcasm ... The essence of sarcasm is the intention of giving pain by (ironical or other) bitter words.[10]
and also that
Understanding
Understanding the subtlety of this usage requires second-order interpretation of the speaker's or writer's intentions; different parts of the brain must work together to understand sarcasm. This sophisticated understanding can be lacking in some people with certain forms of brain damage, dementia and autism (although not always),[12] and this perception has been located by MRI in the right parahippocampal gyrus.[13][14] Research has shown that people with damage in the prefrontal cortex have difficulty understanding non-verbal aspects of language like tone, Richard Delmonico, a neuropsychologist at the University of California, Davis, told an interviewer.[15] Such research could help doctors distinguish between different types of neurodegenerative diseases, such as frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease, according to David Salmon, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Diego.[15]
In William Brant's Critique of Sarcastic Reason, sarcasm is hypothesized to develop as a cognitive and emotional tool that adolescents use in order to test the borders of politeness and truth in conversation. Sarcasm recognition and expression both require the development of understanding forms of language, especially if sarcasm occurs without a cue or signal (e.g., a sarcastic tone or rolling the eyes). Sarcasm is argued to be more sophisticated than lying because lying is expressed as early as the age of three, but sarcastic expressions take place much later during development (Brant, 2012). According to Brant (2012, 145-6), sarcasm is
(a) form of expression of language often including the assertion of a statement that is disbelieved by the expresser (e.g., where the sentential meaning is disbelieved by the expresser), although the intended meaning is different from the sentence meaning. The recognition of sarcasm without the accompaniment of a cue develops around the beginning of adolescence or later. Sarcasm involves the expression of an insulting remark that requires the interpreter to understand the negative emotional connotation of the expresser within the context of the situation at hand. Irony, contrarily, does not include derision, unless it is sarcastic irony. The problems with these definitions and the reason why this dissertation does not thoroughly investigate the distinction between irony and sarcasm involves the ideas that: (1) people can pretend to be insulted when they are not or pretend not to be insulted when they are seriously offended; (2) an individual may feel ridiculed directly after the comment and then find it humorous or neutral thereafter; and (3) the individual may not feel insulted until years after the comment was expressed and considered.
Cultural perspectives on sarcasm vary widely with more than a few cultures and linguistic groups finding it offensive to varying degrees. Thomas Carlyle despised it: "Sarcasm I now see to be, in general, the language of the devil; for which reason I have long since as good as renounced it".[16] Fyodor Dostoyevsky, on the other hand, recognized in it a cry of pain: Sarcasm, he said, was "usually the last refuge of modest and chaste-souled people when the privacy of their soul is coarsely and intrusively invaded."[17] RFC 1855, a collection of guidelines for Internet communications, includes a warning to be especially careful with it as it "may not travel well." A professional translator has advised that international business executives "should generally avoid sarcasm in intercultural business conversations and written communications" because of the difficulties in translating sarcasm.[18]
Vocal indication
In English, sarcasm is often telegraphed with kinesic/prosodic cues[19] by speaking more slowly and with a lower pitch and with the use of air quotation marks. Similarly, Dutch uses a lowered pitch; sometimes to such an extent that the expression is reduced to a mere mumble. But other research shows that there are many ways that real speakers signal sarcastic intentions. One study found that in Cantonese, sarcasm is indicated by raising the fundamental frequency of one's voice.[20]
Punctuation
Though in the English language there is no standard accepted method to denote irony or sarcasm in written conversation, several forms of punctuation have been proposed. Among the oldest and frequently attested are the percontation point—furthered by Henry Denham in the 1580s—and the irony mark—furthered by Alcanter de Brahm in the 19th century. Both of these marks were represented visually by a ⸮ backwards question mark (unicode U+2E2E). A more recent example is the snark mark. Each of these punctuation marks are primarily used to indicate that a sentence should be understood at a second level. A bracketed exclamation point or question mark as well as scare quotes are also sometimes used to express irony or sarcasm.[21]
In certain Ethiopic languages, sarcasm and unreal phrases are indicated at the end of a sentence with a sarcasm mark called temherte slaq, a character that looks like an inverted exclamation point ¡.[22]
Identifying sarcasm
A French company has developed an analytics tool that claims to have up to 80% accuracy in identifying sarcastic comments posted online.[23]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Oxford English Dictionary Cite error: The named reference "OED" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Boxer, D. (2002). "4 - 'Yeah right:' sociolinguistic functions of sarcasm in classroom discourse". Applying Sociolinguistics: Domains and Face-to-Face Interaction. John Benjamins Publications. p. 100. ISBN 978-90-272-1850-6.
Only people can be sarcastic, whereas situations are ironic.
- ^ Rockwell, P. A. (2006). Sarcasm and Other Mixed Messages: The Ambiguous Ways People Use Language. Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 978-0-7734-5917-5.
- ^ Partridge, Eric (1969). Usage and Abusage: A Guide to Good English. Penguin Press. ISBN 0-393-31709-9.
Irony must not be confused with sarcasm, which is direct: sarcasm means precisely what it says, but in a sharp, caustic, ... manner.
- ^ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/irony?s=t | The distinctive quality of sarcasm is present in the spoken word and manifested chiefly by vocal inflection, whereas satire and irony arising originally as literary and rhetorical forms, are exhibited in the organization or structuring of either language or literary material.
- ^ Author | Author = John D. Campbell | title = Investigating Components of Sarcastic Context | year = 2012
- ^ "Irony". Dictionary. Dictionary.com.
- ^ Brousfield, B. in Marina Lambrou and Peter Stockwell, Contemporary Stylistics, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010, p. 213.
- ^ John Haiman (1998). Talk is Cheap: Sarcasm, Alienation and the Evolution of Language. p. 20.
- ^ Fowler, Henry Watson (1950). A Dictionary of Modern English Usage. Oxford University Press.
- ^ Fowler, Henry Watson (1950). A Dictionary of Modern English Usage. Oxford University Press.
Sarcasm does not necessarily involve irony. But irony, or the use of expressions conveying different things according as they are interpreted, is so often made the vehicle of sarcasm ... The essence of sarcasm is the intention of giving pain by (ironical or other) bitter words
- ^ Shamay-Tsoory, Simone G.; Tomer, R.; Aharon-Peretz, J. (2005). "The Neuroanatomical Basis of Understanding Sarcasm and Its Relationship to Social Cognition". Neuropsychology. 19 (3): 288–300. doi:10.1037/3624-4105.19.3.288. PMID 15910115.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Hurley, Dan (June 3, 2008), The Science of Sarcasm (Not That You Care), New York Times
{{citation}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Slap, J. W. (1966). "On Sarcasm". The Psychoanalytic Quarterly. 35: 98–107.
- ^ a b Singer, Emily (23 May 2005). "Understanding Sarcasm is a Complex Business". New Scientist. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Carlyle, Thomas (Originally published in 1833-34 in Fraser's Magazine). [].
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Dostoyevsky, r Dostoyevsky (originally published 1864.). Notes from Underground.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Wooten, Adam (Sept. 9 2011). "International Business: Sarcasm is never lost in translation: yeah, right!". Deseret News. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Kinesic/prosodic cues are among five cues to sarcasm's presence noted by Diana Boxer, 2002:100; the other cues are counter-factual statements, extreme exaggeration, tag questions, and direct cues.
- ^ Cheang, H. S.; Pell, M. D. (2009). "Acoustic markers of sarcasm in Cantonese and English". Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 126 (3): 1394–1405. doi:10.1121/1.3177275. PMID 19739753.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Guidance on Standards for Subtitling". ITC Guidance on Public Consultation: Codes & Guidance Notes. ITC. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- ^ "A Roadmap to the Extension of the Ethiopic Writing System Standard Under Unicode and ISO-10646" (pdf). 15th International Unicode Conference. p. 6. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
- ^ "Authorities 'use analytics tool that recognises sarcasm'". Retrieved July 4, 2013.
^ Partridge, E. (1969). Usage and Abusage: A Guide to Good English. Penguin Press. ISBN 0-393-31709-9. "Irony must not be confused with sarcasm..."
Brant, William. (2012). Critique of Sarcastic Reason: The Epistemology of the Cognitive Neurological Ability Called “Theory of Mind” and Deceptive Reasoning. Südwestdeutscher Verlag für Hochschulschriften. Saarbrücken, Germany.
External links
 Topics related to Sarcasm | |
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