Sarcasm And Sarcasm

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If someone were to say “I just love writing essays!” How would one interpret it? Would someone believe that the person speaking that sentence was serious and that they actually enjoyed writing essays? Or, would they think that the person was being sarcastic and that they actually do not enjoy writing essays? There is no right answer to any of these questions; it all depends on the context in which the person is speaking of. While one person may think that the speaker actually enjoys writing essays, another person may think that the speaker is using sarcasm as a form of verbal communication to show that they do not in fact enjoy writing essays. Either view could be seen as correct depending on a magnitude of different factors. These factors …show more content…

Mean sarcasm is meant to put people down and is used when someone is clearly upset (Sarcasm). Humorous sarcasm, however, is used to make people laugh and lighten the mood of a social situation (Dauphin). However, since sarcasm is always directed towards something or someone, not everyone may find it humorous. (Dauphin) For example if someone were to go to school in a bad mood and their best friend came up to them and said “You look like you’re in a great mood today.” This would be perceived as humorous sarcasm. Even though sarcasm is being used and directed towards a person who is in a bad mood, the intent of the sarcasm is to lighten the mood and to hopefully cheer up the person that is in a bad mood by making them laugh. Humorous sarcasm, as previously mentioned, can also be offensive or victimizing (Wedman). An example of this would be the classroom setting sarcasm mentioned earlier. If a student raises his hand and asks a teacher a question over something that the teacher just explained and another student responds with “Wow! Look who was paying attention!” This could be seen as both humorous and victimizing (Dauphin). The students in the class would most likely find the remark humorous and do not find it offensive or victimizing towards the student to whom the remark was made (Dauphin). However, the student to whom the sarcastic remark was made may feel victimized …show more content…

They may also use nonverbal communication to emphasize that they are being sarcastic in what they are saying (Mounts). These nonverbal signs can be an eye roll, a head shake, or a hand gesture (Mounts). Mainly, however, it is the verbal aspects of sarcasm that classify it as a form of nonverbal communication (Mounts). These verbal aspects are tone of voice, emphasis on words or phrases, or the change in the sound of a particular word (Mounts). All of these aspects are influenced by the cultural in which the sarcasm is being used. Since there are many different cultures throughout the world, there are many ways in which sarcasm can be used and interpreted as a form of verbal

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