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Ironic speakers, vigilant hearers

  • Diana Mazzarella

    Diana Mazzarella is Professor at the Cognitive Science Centre of the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Her main research interests are in theoretical and experimental pragmatics, particularly the interface between linguistic communication and other cognitive systems, such as Theory of Mind and epistemic vigilance.

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    and Nausicaa Pouscoulous

    Nausicaa Pouscoulous is Associate Professor at the Linguistics Department of University College London, UK. Her research combines experimental and theoretical approaches and focuses on linguistic phenomena at the interface between semantics and pragmatics, such as scalar implicature, presupposition, and figurative uses of language. She is interested in the acquisition of pragmatic abilities in typically and atypically developing children.

Published/Copyright: April 4, 2023
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Abstract

Verbal irony characteristically involves the expression of a derogatory, dissociative attitude. The ironical speaker is not only stating a blatant falsehood or irrelevant proposition; she is also communicating her stance towards its epistemic status. The centrality of attitude recognition in irony understanding opens up the question of which cognitive abilities make it possible. Drawing on Wilson (2009), we provide a full-fledged account of the role of epistemic vigilance in irony understanding and suggest that it relies on the exercise of first- and second-order vigilance towards the content, the ironic speaker as well as the source of the irony.


Corresponding author: Diana Mazzarella, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, E-mail:

Funding source: SNSF Eccellenza

Award Identifier / Grant number: 186931

About the authors

Diana Mazzarella

Diana Mazzarella is Professor at the Cognitive Science Centre of the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Her main research interests are in theoretical and experimental pragmatics, particularly the interface between linguistic communication and other cognitive systems, such as Theory of Mind and epistemic vigilance.

Nausicaa Pouscoulous

Nausicaa Pouscoulous is Associate Professor at the Linguistics Department of University College London, UK. Her research combines experimental and theoretical approaches and focuses on linguistic phenomena at the interface between semantics and pragmatics, such as scalar implicature, presupposition, and figurative uses of language. She is interested in the acquisition of pragmatic abilities in typically and atypically developing children.

  1. Research funding: This work was supported by a SNSF Eccellenza Grant awarded to DM (2020–2025, Project number: 186931).

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Published Online: 2023-04-04
Published in Print: 2023-04-25

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