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4Litera
Reference:
Gornostaeva A.A. Sociocultural and linguodiscursive characteristics ofirony // Litera. 2024. № 3. DOI: 10.25136/24098698.2024.3.70258 EDN: HVOEMA URL: https://en.nbpublish.com1lbrary_read_article.p^?id=70258
Sociocultural and linguodiscursive characteristics of irony
Gornostaeva Anna Alekseevna
PhD in Philology
Associate Professor, Department of Translation and Pedagogical Skills, Moscow State Linguistic
119526, Russia, Moscow region, Moscow, ProspektVernadskogo, 105^t, sq. 299
El anngornostaeva@yandex.ru
Article was published in rubric "Irony"
DOI:
10.25136/2409-8698.2024.3.70258
EDN:
HVOEMA
Received:
27-03-2024
Abstract: The article is a review of existing scientific views on irony as a phenomenon at the junction of several disciplines. Definitions of this phenomenon are presented from the point of view of philosophical, aesthetic, anthropological, literary, linguistic approach. The views on irony as a category of the comic, a worldview category, as a way of perceiving and comprehending reality are listed. The author points out that in the process of communication, irony is a kind of barrier to dividing participants into "ironic" and their "victims", that is, those who are able to interpret irony and the "uninitiated". Discursive irony is considered as a product of interaction, cooperation between the author and the addressee, as a result of which an ironic effect may arise (if the ironic utterance is correctly interpreted) or not (in the case of a communicative failure). Various interpretations of the concept of "irony" are considered in comparison, arguments are given justifying the author's agreement / disagreement with existing formulations. The focus of the article is on irony, an effect that arises as a result of interaction between interlocutors: the ironic speaker and the recipient who perceives and interprets irony. The author's contribution to the development of the theory of discourse is expressed in the analysis of irony in English and Russian linguistic cultures. The article highlights the main socio-cultural and
linguodiscursive characteristics of irony. The conclusion is made about the importance of irony in communication, about its role in the verbal and emotional intelligence of the participants of the discourse. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that in the proposed work irony is considered as an integral characteristic of modern English and Russian discourse, which ensures that the speaker achieves the fulfillment of a communicative intention. The main result of the work is the postulate about the ethnostilistic labeling of irony, which opens up wide prospects for studying the features of irony in national discourses. The data presented in the article can be used for the further development of ethnostilistics, linguistic pragmatics, and the theory of intercultural communication.
Keywords:
irony, communication, discourse, ironic, stylistics, linguistics, language, culture, emotions, sense
References
1. Brown, R. L. (1980). The pragmatics of Verbal Irony. Language Use and the uses of Language, 111-127.
2. Chambers, R. (1990). Irony and the canon. Profession, 90, 18-24.
3. Fraser, B. (1983). The domain of Pragmatics. Language and Communication, 29-59.
4. Giora, R. (2001). Irony and its discontent. Utrecht publications in general and comparative literature, 35, 165-185.
5. Gornostaeva, A. (2019). Irony and Communicative Values in Political Discourse: Intercultural and Interpersonal Communication. International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education (IJCDSE), 4. Retrieved from http://infonomics-society.org/ijcdse/
6. Hutcheon, L. (2005). Irony's Edge. The Theory and Politics of Irony. New York: Routledge.
7. Leech, G. N. (1983). Principles of pragmatics. New York: Longman.
8. Muecke, D. C. (1982). Irony and the Ironic. London; New York: Methuen.
9. Perrine, L. (1993). Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Fort Worth: Hartcourt Brace College Pub.
10. Yus, F. (2018). Attaching Feelings and Emotions to Propositions. Some Insights on Irony and Internet Communication. Russian Journal of Linguistic, 22(1), 94-107.
Peer Review
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The content of the article "Sociocultural and linguodiscursive characteristics of irony", submitted for publication in the journal "Litera", corresponds to the stated topic. It examines the concept of irony in discourse. The research methods are based on discursive analysis, which involves the identification of a certain social orientation behind oral or
written speech. The relevance of the work is obvious, because it characterizes the modern view of the relationship between language and social processes. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the theoretical description of the category of "irony" in socio-cultural and linguodiscursive terms. In addition to the linguistic point of view, the author examines the interpretation of the concept of "irony" in philosophy, literary criticism, notes the value of irony, makes an attempt to reveal the relationship between the concepts of "irony" and "lies". Citing the opinions of many researchers about the essence of the category under study, the author shares their point of view that "an ironic statement is always false from the point of view of logic. Nevertheless, irony and lies are different in their essence due to the difference in the communicative intentions of the authors of an ironic/false statement": lies are selfish and hide under the mask of truth, and irony is "designed for the interlocutor to understand the hidden meaning", because "an ironic phrase in which the pretense of the speaker is obviously an end in itself (an expression of attitude towards the object of irony)". In the process of reasoning, the author emphasizes such properties of irony as insincerity, ambiguity, ethnodiscursivity, and duality. The species diversity of irony is also noted in various scientific works, among which, within the framework of the undertaken research in line with discursive analysis, irony is considered as an "irony effect" that occurs in the process of interaction between speakers, adding "emotions and shades". It is important that the author highlights the national and cultural specifics of irony. The researcher correctly notes that irony often serves as a kind of means of differentiation in the "friend-foe" opposition, since the meaning of irony is understandable only to initiates who know this particular culture. In general, the style, structure and content of the article meet the requirements for this kind of work. However, as a remark, it can be indicated that the thesis indicated in the results of the study as follows: "In this study, irony is understood as a characteristic of modern political communication, manifested in the ironic image of the speaker," does not find confirmation in the text of the article. In addition, we believe that it is necessary to back up with illustrative examples and theoretical generalizations the thesis about the expression of irony "with the help of an extensive set of linguistic means" - this thesis also requires a more detailed presentation and characterization. The bibliography given at the end of the article is sufficient to disclose the main provisions of the work, including new monographs and scientific articles. In the process of analysis, the author constantly refers to the opinions of opponents, finding common ground with his point of view. The findings of the study will be of interest to the readership, specialists in discourse.
