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  • 3 - Irony and Cognitive Operations

  • from Part II - The Scope of Irony
  • Edited by Raymond W. Gibbs, Jr, Herbert L. Colston, University of Alberta
  • Book:
    The Cambridge Handbook of Irony and Thought
    Published online:
    20 December 2023
    Print publication:
    07 December 2023, pp 38-59

  • Summary

    Irony is a complex phenomenon that may rely on several different forms of thought which are routinely relied on in verbal and nonverbal communication. This chapter outlines a theory of the “cognitive operations” that underlie the possible production and understanding of ironic meaning. These cognitive operations (e.g., strengthening and mitigation, expansion and reduction) are critical in the expression and interpretation of many figures of speech (e.g., metaphor, metonymy) and may provide the basis for a more general theory of meaning construction. Mendoza Ibáñez focuses primarily in this chapter, however, on ironic echoing, which allows speakers to pretend to be in agreement with some previously stated utterance or presumed thought. He considers many of the formal complexities of ironic echoing to demonstrate their varying, often subtle, communicative effects. His analysis also suggests how attention to cognitive operations may provide the theoretical basis for unifying verbal and situational irony.