Sarcasm: Difference between revisions
The integral mark as a sarcasm mark or "sarcastrophe" seems like sarcasm. Internet searches returned no viable sources for this claim. |
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page=6}}</ref> This usage is similar to Alcanter de Brahm's proposed [[irony mark]] '''؟''', a reversed question mark. Subtitles, such as in [[Teletext]], sometimes use an exclamation mark in brackets to mark sarcasm: [!]. |
page=6}}</ref> This usage is similar to Alcanter de Brahm's proposed [[irony mark]] '''؟''', a reversed question mark. Subtitles, such as in [[Teletext]], sometimes use an exclamation mark in brackets to mark sarcasm: [!]. |
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Your legs don't look fat in those jeans<math>\int</math> |
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It is common in online conversation to use a pseudo-[[HTML]] element: <code><sarcasm>Yeah, that's really going to work.</sarcasm></code><ref>{{cite web |
It is common in online conversation to use a pseudo-[[HTML]] element: <code><sarcasm>Yeah, that's really going to work.</sarcasm></code><ref>{{cite web |
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Revision as of 17:49, 19 December 2009
Sarcasm is the rhetorical device of using a characterization of something or someone in order to express contempt.[1] It is closely connected with irony, in that the two are often combined in the same statement.
Origin of the term
It is first recorded in English in The Shepheardes Calender in 1579:
Tom piper) An Ironical [Sarcasmus], spoken in derision of these rude wits, which make more account of a rhyming Rimbaud, then of skill grounded upon learning and judgment.
It comes from the ancient Greek σαρκάζω (sarkazo) meaning 'to tear flesh' but the ancient Greek word for the rhetorical concept of taunting was instead χλευασμός (chleyasmόs). Sarcasm appears several times in the Old Testament, for example:
Lo, you see the man is mad; why then have you brought him to me? Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence?
— Achish, king of Gath, I Sam 21:10-15[2]
Usage
Hostile, critical comments may be expressed in an ironic way such as saying "don't work too hard" to a lazy worker. The use of irony introduces an element of humour which may make the criticism seem more polite and less aggressive, but understanding the subtlety of this usage requires second-order interpretation of the speaker's intentions. This sophisticated understanding is lacking in some people with brain damage, dementia and autism,[3] and this perception has been located by MRI in the right parahippocampal gyrus.[4][5]
Sarcasm mark
In certain Ethiopic languages, sarcasm and unreal phrases are indicated at the end of a sentence with a sarcasm mark called temherte slaq, a character that looks like the inverted exclamation point ¡.[6] This usage is similar to Alcanter de Brahm's proposed irony mark ؟, a reversed question mark. Subtitles, such as in Teletext, sometimes use an exclamation mark in brackets to mark sarcasm: [!].
It is common in online conversation to use a pseudo-HTML element: <sarcasm>Yeah, that's really going to work.</sarcasm>[7].
A "rolling eyes" emoticon is often used as well, particularly in instant messaging.
Karl Marx uses the exclamation mark in brackets repeatedly throughout Das Kapital Volume 1. For example, in one instance, to ridicule Colonel Torrens: 'The problem is in no way simplified if extraneous matters are smuggled in, as with Colonel Torrens: "effectual demand consists in the power and inclination [!], on the part of the consumers, to give for commodities, either by immediate or circuitous barter..."'.[8]
Vocal indication
In English sarcasm is indicated from sincere speech by lowering fundamental frequency and speaking with a slower speech rate. In Cantonese however sarcasm is indicated by raising the fundamental frequency of one's voice.[9]
References
- ^ a b Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 2008,
A sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark; a bitter gibe or taunt.
- ^ Leland Ryken, Jim Wilhoit, James C. Wilhoit, Tremper Longman, Colin Duriez, Douglas Penney, Daniel G. Reid (1998), Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, p. 409, ISBN 9780830814510
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ S. G. Shamay-Tsoory, R. Tomer, J. Aharon-Peretz (2005), "The Neuroanatomical Basis of Understanding Sarcasm and Its Relationship to Social Cognition" (PDF), Neuropsychology: 288–300, doi:10.1037/0894-4105.19.3.288
{{citation}}: Unknown parameter|Number=ignored (|number=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|Volume=ignored (|volume=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Dan Hurley (June 3, 2008), The Science of Sarcasm (Not That You Care), New York Times
- ^ J.W.Slap (1966), "On Sarcasm", The Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 35: 98–107
- ^ "A Roadmap to the Extension of the Ethiopic Writing System Standard Under Unicode and ISO-10646" (PDF). 15th International Unicode Conference. 1999. p. 6.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ "HTML 5 Specification section 8.2.5.10 The "in body" insertion mode". W3C.
- ^ Marx, Karl (1976). Capital Volume I. Penguin Classics. p. 264. ISBN 0-140-44568-4.
- ^ Cheang HS, Pell MD. (2009). Acoustic markers of sarcasm in Cantonese and English. J Acoust Soc Am. 126(3):1394-405. PMID 19739753
See also
External links
