Association of Arab Universities Journal for Arts مجلة اتحاد الجامعات العربية للآداب
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Verbal irony traditionally holds that one says something literally and means the opposite. This paper argues that the ironic intention occurs when the speaker says something that differs from what he intends. The intended meaning is not necessarily contradictory to what is said. The paper, therefore, is an attempt to demonstrate that the traditional view of verbal irony is not an adequate representation of the various forms that verbal irony can take, where oppositeness, which seems not to be straightforward in its dictionary sense, is an unnecessary condition to account for verbal irony. More specifically, it will show that verbal irony tends to occur even when the utterance means exactly what it literally says. The paper also aims to show that verbal irony occurs not only as a result of flouting the Quality Maxim but of other maxims as well.
Recommended Citation
Al-Kuran, Mohammad and Al-Kanakry, Mahmoud
(2023)
"Is Oppositeness Necessary for the Interpretation of Verbal Irony?,"
Association of Arab Universities Journal for Arts مجلة اتحاد الجامعات العربية للآداب: Vol. 20:
Iss.
2, Article 10.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.aaru.edu.jo/aauja/vol20/iss2/10