Research Article
Year 2018,
Volume: 4 Issue: 12, 717 - 721, 10.01.2019
Abstract
Political
discourse has recently been the center of attention of many academics as well
as laymen, which is explained by the strenuous international situation in the
world. According to Critical Discourse Analysis, politicians use political
language as a means of gaining power (Van Dijk, 2009) through different
strategies, the main of which are persuasion and manipulation. To achieve this
aim different expressive means are used. This article examines humour and irony as a
way to influence the audience and contribute to the effect of the politician’s
speech. The topic of irony and humour in
politics has attracted the attention of scholars and rhetors for a long time.
Yet, it still remains a debatable question whether it is appropriate for a
speaker to use humour and irony in political speech and what effect it has on
the audience. Modern authors characterize humour and irony as “interpersonal
weapons” (Arroyo, 2010) and as devices which help
to cope with different difficult scenarios, like pre-election campaign or interviews (O’Connell,
Kowal, 2005). In this study the notions of humour and irony are explored; the
authentic material based on the speeches of British and American politicians is
analyzed to draw the conclusion that humour and irony are important and
powerful tools in the speeches of skillful politicians. The paper aims to
contribute to a better understanding of irony and humour in modern political
discourse. The results of the study can be used in educating public speakers
and pose a challenge for the further development of the theory of political
discourse.
References
- Alba-Juez, L. (2014) Irony as inferred contradiction, Russian Journal of Linguistics, no. 4, pp. 139—152. Arroyo, J.L. (2010) Interpersonal issues in political discourse. Interpersonal Pragmatics. Handbook Ed. by Locher, Miriam A. / Graham, Sage L. pp.405-434.Bilig, M. (2005) Laughter and ridicule. Towards a social critique of humour. Nottingham Trent University, Sage Publications, UK.Chiaro, D. (1992) The Language of Jokes: Analysing Verbal Play. London: Routledge.Crystal, D. (1995) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language/D. Crystal – Cambridge: CUP.Duncan, J. (1985) The superiority theory of humour at work. Joking relationships as indicators of formal and informal status patterns in small task-oriented groups // Small Group Behavior 16(4), pp. 556–564.Fialkova, L., Yelenevskaya, M. (2013) In Search of the Self: Reconciling the Past and the present in Immigrants’ Experience. Tartu ELM Scholarly Press.Giora R. (2001) Irony and its discontent. Utrecht publications in general and comparative literature. Vol. 35. John Benjamins publishing company. Amsterdam, Philadelphia, pp. 165—185.Gornostaeva, A. (2013) Irony as a component of English style of communication (In Russian), Maska, Moscow.Gornostaeva, A. (2016) American Political Discourse: Irony in Pre-Election Campaign 2016”, Russian Journal of Linguistics, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 179—196.Habib, R. (2008) Humor and disagreement: Identity construction and cross-cultural enrichment. Journal of Pragmatics 40, pp. 1117–1145.Holmes, J., Stubbe, M., Marra, M. (2003) Language, humour and ethnic identity marking in New Zealand English. ASNEL Papers 7. The Politics of English as a World Language. New Horizons in Postcolonial Cultural Studies: pp. 431–455.Hutcheon, L. (2005) Irony’s Edge. The Theory and Politics of Irony, New York: Routledge.Lewis, P. (2006) Cracking up. American humour in a time of conflict. The University of Chicago Press, 2006. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Pearson Education Limited, 2001 (LDCE).Miller, J. (1988) Jokes and joking: A serious laughing matter. In Durant & Miller (Eds.), pp. 5–16.Morreall, J. (2005) Humor and the conduct of politics. In S. Lockyer & M. Pickering (Eds.), Beyond the Joke. The Limits of Humor, pp. 63-78, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Musolff, A. (2017) Metaphor, irony and sarcasm in public discourse. Journal of Pragmatics., vol. 109, pp. 95-104, 2017.O’Connell, D.C., Kowal, S. (2005) Laughter in Bill Clinton’s My Life 2004 interviews, Pragmatics 15(2–3): pp. 275–299. O’Quin, K., Aronoff, J. (1981) Humor as a technique of social influence // Social Psychology Quarterly 44, pp.349–357.Ross, A. (1998) The Language of Humour. London: Routledge.Schnurr, S. (2010) Humour. Interpersonal Pragmatics. Handbook. Ed. by Locher, Miriam A. / Graham, Sage L. pp. 307-326.Simpson, P. (2003) On the Discourse of Satire,. Queen’s University Belfast.Tsakona, V and Popa, D. (2011) “Humour in politics and the politics of humour. In V. Tsakona & D. Popa (Eds.), Studies in Political Humour: In between political critique and public entertainment, pp. 1-30. Philadelphia: John Benjamins.Van Dijk, T. A. (2009) Society and discourse: how social contexts influence text and talk. Cambridge University Press.Zajdman, A. (1995) Humorous face-threatening acts: Humor as strategy, Journal of Pragmatics, 23. pp. 325–339
Year 2018,
Volume: 4 Issue: 12, 717 - 721, 10.01.2019
Abstract
References
- Alba-Juez, L. (2014) Irony as inferred contradiction, Russian Journal of Linguistics, no. 4, pp. 139—152. Arroyo, J.L. (2010) Interpersonal issues in political discourse. Interpersonal Pragmatics. Handbook Ed. by Locher, Miriam A. / Graham, Sage L. pp.405-434.Bilig, M. (2005) Laughter and ridicule. Towards a social critique of humour. Nottingham Trent University, Sage Publications, UK.Chiaro, D. (1992) The Language of Jokes: Analysing Verbal Play. London: Routledge.Crystal, D. (1995) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language/D. Crystal – Cambridge: CUP.Duncan, J. (1985) The superiority theory of humour at work. Joking relationships as indicators of formal and informal status patterns in small task-oriented groups // Small Group Behavior 16(4), pp. 556–564.Fialkova, L., Yelenevskaya, M. (2013) In Search of the Self: Reconciling the Past and the present in Immigrants’ Experience. Tartu ELM Scholarly Press.Giora R. (2001) Irony and its discontent. Utrecht publications in general and comparative literature. Vol. 35. John Benjamins publishing company. Amsterdam, Philadelphia, pp. 165—185.Gornostaeva, A. (2013) Irony as a component of English style of communication (In Russian), Maska, Moscow.Gornostaeva, A. (2016) American Political Discourse: Irony in Pre-Election Campaign 2016”, Russian Journal of Linguistics, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 179—196.Habib, R. (2008) Humor and disagreement: Identity construction and cross-cultural enrichment. Journal of Pragmatics 40, pp. 1117–1145.Holmes, J., Stubbe, M., Marra, M. (2003) Language, humour and ethnic identity marking in New Zealand English. ASNEL Papers 7. The Politics of English as a World Language. New Horizons in Postcolonial Cultural Studies: pp. 431–455.Hutcheon, L. (2005) Irony’s Edge. The Theory and Politics of Irony, New York: Routledge.Lewis, P. (2006) Cracking up. American humour in a time of conflict. The University of Chicago Press, 2006. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Pearson Education Limited, 2001 (LDCE).Miller, J. (1988) Jokes and joking: A serious laughing matter. In Durant & Miller (Eds.), pp. 5–16.Morreall, J. (2005) Humor and the conduct of politics. In S. Lockyer & M. Pickering (Eds.), Beyond the Joke. The Limits of Humor, pp. 63-78, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Musolff, A. (2017) Metaphor, irony and sarcasm in public discourse. Journal of Pragmatics., vol. 109, pp. 95-104, 2017.O’Connell, D.C., Kowal, S. (2005) Laughter in Bill Clinton’s My Life 2004 interviews, Pragmatics 15(2–3): pp. 275–299. O’Quin, K., Aronoff, J. (1981) Humor as a technique of social influence // Social Psychology Quarterly 44, pp.349–357.Ross, A. (1998) The Language of Humour. London: Routledge.Schnurr, S. (2010) Humour. Interpersonal Pragmatics. Handbook. Ed. by Locher, Miriam A. / Graham, Sage L. pp. 307-326.Simpson, P. (2003) On the Discourse of Satire,. Queen’s University Belfast.Tsakona, V and Popa, D. (2011) “Humour in politics and the politics of humour. In V. Tsakona & D. Popa (Eds.), Studies in Political Humour: In between political critique and public entertainment, pp. 1-30. Philadelphia: John Benjamins.Van Dijk, T. A. (2009) Society and discourse: how social contexts influence text and talk. Cambridge University Press.Zajdman, A. (1995) Humorous face-threatening acts: Humor as strategy, Journal of Pragmatics, 23. pp. 325–339
There are 1 citations in total.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal Section | Articles |
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | January 10, 2019 |
| Submission Date | October 30, 2018 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2018Volume: 4 Issue: 12 |
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