John Benjamins Publishing Company
Recognizing sarcasm without language
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Abstract
The goal of the present research was to determine whether certain speaker intentions conveyed through prosody in an unfamiliar language can be accurately recognized. English and Cantonese utterances expressing sarcasm, sincerity, humorous irony, or neutrality through prosody were presented to English and Cantonese listeners unfamiliar with the other language. Listeners identified the communicative intent of utterances in both languages in a crossed design. Participants successfully identified sarcasm spoken in their native language but identified sarcasm at near-chance levels in the unfamiliar language. Both groups were relatively more successful at recognizing the other attitudes when listening to the unfamiliar language (in addition to the native language). Our data suggest that while sarcastic utterances in Cantonese and English share certain acoustic features, these cues are insufficient to recognize sarcasm between languages; rather, this ability depends on (native) language experience.
Abstract
The goal of the present research was to determine whether certain speaker intentions conveyed through prosody in an unfamiliar language can be accurately recognized. English and Cantonese utterances expressing sarcasm, sincerity, humorous irony, or neutrality through prosody were presented to English and Cantonese listeners unfamiliar with the other language. Listeners identified the communicative intent of utterances in both languages in a crossed design. Participants successfully identified sarcasm spoken in their native language but identified sarcasm at near-chance levels in the unfamiliar language. Both groups were relatively more successful at recognizing the other attitudes when listening to the unfamiliar language (in addition to the native language). Our data suggest that while sarcastic utterances in Cantonese and English share certain acoustic features, these cues are insufficient to recognize sarcasm between languages; rather, this ability depends on (native) language experience.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction: Prosody and humor 1
- Recognizing sarcasm without language 15
- Prosodic and multimodal markers of humor in conversation 37
- Prosody in spontaneous humor 61
- Formulaic jokes in interaction 81
- Verbal irony in the wild 103
- Rich pitch 121
- Does prosody play a specific role in conversational humor? 143
- Prosody of humor in Sex and the City 167
- Index 189
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction: Prosody and humor 1
- Recognizing sarcasm without language 15
- Prosodic and multimodal markers of humor in conversation 37
- Prosody in spontaneous humor 61
- Formulaic jokes in interaction 81
- Verbal irony in the wild 103
- Rich pitch 121
- Does prosody play a specific role in conversational humor? 143
- Prosody of humor in Sex and the City 167
- Index 189
