Echo i udawanie w ironii komunikacyjnej (Echo and Pretending in Communicative Irony). Studia Semiotyczne, 23(2), 2019, 364-394.

Abstract

In this paper, we present a model of communicative irony formulated within speech act theory. We argue that acts of verbal irony constitute special cases of phenomena that John L. Austin referred to as etiolations of language. After discussing the notion of communicative irony understood in the spirit of Mitchell S. Green’s model of expressive communication, we propose a development of Austin’s idea of etiolations and show how etiological uses of language parasitize the mechanisms of its serious or ordinary uses. In particular, we argue that echoic mention and overt pretence are two etiolation techniques that enable speakers to express a negative attitude toward contextually available mental or linguistic representations. We also show that the proposed model allows for an explanation of verbal forms of communicative irony.