Tambov
SCIENTIFIC SERIES
“COGNITIVE STUDIES OF LANGUAGE”

UNDERSTANDING IRONY IN DISCOURSE: A COGNITIVE ANALYSIS

UNDERSTANDING IRONY IN DISCOURSE: A COGNITIVE ANALYSIS


Author:  K.M. Shilikhina

Affiliation:  Voronezh State University

Abstract
The paper is an attempt to model the cognitive operations involved in under-standing irony in discourse. Ironic interpretation of an utterance is possible provided that the text contains elements the combination of which results in the emergence of an incoherent cognitive structure. Intended flouting of semantic coherence triggers the search of implicit meanings. The second condition for ironic interpretation is the negative deontic evaluation of the victim of irony. This kind of evaluation shows that the object or the situation does not comply with the speaker’s expectations or social norms.

Keywords:  verbal irony, incoherence, emotion, conceptual integration, non-trivial collocation

Back to the list