Elsevier

Journal of Pragmatics

Volume 44, Issue 3, February 2012, Pages 231-242
Journal of Pragmatics

Type of evaluation and marking of irony: The role of perceived complexity and comprehension

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2011.11.003Get rights and content

Abstract

This paper reports on two experiments which demonstrate that textual characteristics of irony (type of ironic evaluation and irony markers – e.g., hyperbole, quotation marks) can influence comprehension, perceived complexity and attitudes towards the utterance and text. Results of experiment 1 show that explicitly evaluative irony is perceived as less complex and is more appreciated than implicitly evaluative irony. In experiment 2, irony markers were found to increase comprehension, reduce perceived complexity and make attitudes towards the utterance more positive. Both experiments also demonstrate that the influence of irony on attitudes depends on comprehension and complexity; if irony is understood or perceived as relatively easy, it is better liked than when it is not understood or perceived as relatively difficult.

Highlights

► Two experiments investigated the effects of textual features of irony on comprehension, perceived complexity and appreciation in a natural setting. ► Experiment 1: explicitly evaluative irony is perceived as less complex and is more appreciated than implicitly evaluative irony. ► Experiment 2: irony markers increase comprehension, reduce perceived complexity and make attitudes towards the utterance more positive. ► Both experiments: the influence of irony on attitudes depends on comprehension and perceived complexity.

Section snippets

Christian Burgers is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication Studies at VU University Amsterdam (the Netherlands). This paper is part of his PhD dissertation on the use and effects of verbal irony, which he successfully defended at Radboud University Nijmegen (the Netherlands) in September 2010. In his research, he focuses on the use and effects of stylistic devices in persuasive communication and journalism.

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    Christian Burgers is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication Studies at VU University Amsterdam (the Netherlands). This paper is part of his PhD dissertation on the use and effects of verbal irony, which he successfully defended at Radboud University Nijmegen (the Netherlands) in September 2010. In his research, he focuses on the use and effects of stylistic devices in persuasive communication and journalism.

    Margot van Mulken (PhD 1993, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands) is a Professor of International Business Communication at Radboud University Nijmegen. Her research focuses on the use and effects of various stylistic devices such as irony, puns, language intensity and visual metaphors.

    Peter Jan Schellens (PhD 1985, University of Utrecht, the Netherlands) is a Professor of Speech Communication at Radboud University Nijmegen. In his research, Schellens focuses on argumentation and style in persuasive communication. He is also involved in an interdisciplinary research project into argumentation patterns in Dutch literary critiques between 1945 and 2005.

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