How nice does it sound?
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Francesca Ervas
Abstract
The chapter presents irony as a form of the reductio ad absurdum argument having a specific emotional charge, which cannot be found either in literal arguments or in other arguments containing figurative language. The claim of the chapter is that irony production depends on the ironist’s ability to convey the emotional charge together with the point she invites the addressee(s) to infer. An empirical study is presented aiming (1) to understand whether and when participants produce (non-sarcastic/sarcastic) ironic vs. literal arguments having a positive vs. negative emotional charge and (2) to check whether and when participants revise their own (non-sarcastic/sarcastic) ironic vs. literal arguments when they are at the addressee’s side, in both critical and praise irony conditions.
Abstract
The chapter presents irony as a form of the reductio ad absurdum argument having a specific emotional charge, which cannot be found either in literal arguments or in other arguments containing figurative language. The claim of the chapter is that irony production depends on the ironist’s ability to convey the emotional charge together with the point she invites the addressee(s) to infer. An empirical study is presented aiming (1) to understand whether and when participants produce (non-sarcastic/sarcastic) ironic vs. literal arguments having a positive vs. negative emotional charge and (2) to check whether and when participants revise their own (non-sarcastic/sarcastic) ironic vs. literal arguments when they are at the addressee’s side, in both critical and praise irony conditions.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction 1
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Section 1. General empirical studies, with main focus on metaphor
- Producing metaphor (and other forms of non-literal language) in the laboratory 37
- Metaphor and one-off pictures 55
- Metaphor production and metaphor interpretation 85
- On the role of perceptual similarity in producing visual metaphors 105
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Section 2. General empirical studies – other
- On why people don’t say what they mean 129
- How nice does it sound? 175
- How defaultness shapes our language production 211
- Producing figurative meanings 237
- The production of verbal irony 263
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Section 3. Empirical and analytical studies aimed at specific applications
- Generating metaphors in product design 299
- Rock bottoms, juggling balls and coalprints 331
- Figurative production in a computer-mediated discussion forum 363
- The production of time-related metaphors by people who have experienced pregnancy loss 389
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Section 4. Other theoretical analysis and cognitive or computational modelling
- Metaphor generation through context sensitive distributional semantics 421
- Mind the gap 449
- Figurative language 469
- Metaphor as sign and as symbol 511
- Topic Index 533
- Author Index 543
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction 1
-
Section 1. General empirical studies, with main focus on metaphor
- Producing metaphor (and other forms of non-literal language) in the laboratory 37
- Metaphor and one-off pictures 55
- Metaphor production and metaphor interpretation 85
- On the role of perceptual similarity in producing visual metaphors 105
-
Section 2. General empirical studies – other
- On why people don’t say what they mean 129
- How nice does it sound? 175
- How defaultness shapes our language production 211
- Producing figurative meanings 237
- The production of verbal irony 263
-
Section 3. Empirical and analytical studies aimed at specific applications
- Generating metaphors in product design 299
- Rock bottoms, juggling balls and coalprints 331
- Figurative production in a computer-mediated discussion forum 363
- The production of time-related metaphors by people who have experienced pregnancy loss 389
-
Section 4. Other theoretical analysis and cognitive or computational modelling
- Metaphor generation through context sensitive distributional semantics 421
- Mind the gap 449
- Figurative language 469
- Metaphor as sign and as symbol 511
- Topic Index 533
- Author Index 543
