ERIC Number: EJ1057119
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0163-853X
EISSN: N/A
Default Sarcastic Interpretations: On the Priority of Nonsalient Interpretations
Giora, Rachel; Drucker, Ari; Fein, Ofer; Mendelson, Itamar
Discourse Processes: A multidisciplinary journal, v52 n3 p173-200 2015
Findings from five experiments support the view that negation generates sarcastic utterance-interpretations by default. When presented in isolation, novel negative constructions ("Punctuality is not his forte," "Thoroughness is not her most distinctive feature"), free of semantic anomaly or internal incongruity, were interpreted sarcastically and rated as sarcastic compared to their novel affirmative counterparts (Experiments 1 and 3). In strongly supportive contexts, they were processed faster when biased toward their noncoded (nonsalient) sarcastic interpretation than toward their noncoded but (salience-based) literal interpretation (Experiments 2 and 4). Experiment 5 reduces the possibility that it is structural markedness rather than negation that prompts nonliteralness. Such findings, attesting to the priority of sarcastic interpretations, are unaccountable by any contemporary processing model, including the Graded Salience Hypothesis.
Descriptors: Morphemes, Language Usage, Semantics, Structural Analysis (Linguistics), Sentence Structure, Language Research, Negative Attitudes, Language Processing, Linguistic Theory, Prediction, College Students, Foreign Countries, Semitic Languages, Pretests Posttests
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Israel (Tel Aviv)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A