Presidential discourse analysis: Irony and sarcasm in pre-election debates
Presidential discourse analysis: Irony and sarcasm in pre-election debates
Author(s): Adina BotașSubject(s): Language studies, Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Editura Universitatii Transilvania din Brasov
Keywords: discourse analysis; presidential discourse; irony; sarcasm;
Summary/Abstract: This paper proposes a simple exercise of discourse analysis. It focuses on presidentialdiscourse, namely the speeches of the finalists in the most recent elections in the US (2016)and France (2017) during the final pre-election debates. Passages have been selected andsubmitted to an analysis that highlights the humorous aspects of language use, namelyirony and sarcasm. The analysis is based on the principle of contrastiveness. The selectedutterances will be looked at from two points of view: the original version containing thehumorous component and an imaginary version discharged of the component. The aim ofthis approach is to observe the differences engendered by the humorous (ironic, sarcastic)aspects of speech in interaction, as opposed to neutral language use.
Journal: Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov, Series IV: Philology & Cultural Studies
- Issue Year: 12/2019
- Issue No: 2
- Page Range: 3-18
- Page Count: 16
- Language: English
