Properties of sarcasm : a case study in perceptions of features and function

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on how a select group of individuals chosen as participants within two focus groups perceive and detect sarcasm in speech. In the study, the various general notions linked to the participants’ perceptions of sarcasm as well as the numerous functions and features analysed in order to detect sarcasm are analysed and discussed in depth. Through the discussions held within the focus groups, the present researcher reveals a number of pragmatic notions linked to the perception and detection of sarcasm. The conclusion obtained from the study is that the individuals who formed part of the focus groups were able to detect sarcasm when a shared social, emotional and intellectual knowledge of a context is present. The results also revealed that sarcasm may be easy to detect if there is a genuine dynamic between interlocutors, which highlights the importance of familiarity amongst speakers for successful meta-message delivery. Additionally, the importance of the paralinguistic feature of tone was emphasised and it was shown that such a suprasegmental feature is salient in the detection of sarcasm. Finally, participants felt that in order to detect sarcasm, an analysis of function was necessary and it was deemed that the need to express hostility or condescension through sarcasm was one of the primary methods through which sarcasm could be identified. The work presents a detailed description of the methods involved in obtaining these results as well as an elaborate and in-depth analysis of the findings attained.