反语幽默属性研究论文

[Abstract]Verbalirony,asawidelyusedfigureofspeech,hasreceivedconsiderableattentionfromcognitivepsychologistsandlinguists.Thetraditionalstudyofverbalironyfromrhetoricalandaestheticalapproacheshasbeenshiftedtocurrentcognitiveandpragmaticinvestigation.Inthispaper,focuswillbelaiduponthehumorfeatureofverbalironyfromtheperspectiveofpragmatics.First,throughthecomparisonofdifferentkindsofdefinitionsofirony,ageneralideaaboutwhatisironyisestablished.Then,thispaperexaminestheCooperativePrinciple(CPforshort)ofAmericanlinguistGricewhichputforwardsthatironyactsasaviolationofCP.Lastbutnottheleast,withthehelpofthecomparisonofthepragmaticfunctionsofEnglishironyandChineseirony,thehumorfeatureofverbalironycanbewelldisplayed.InEnglish,ironycouldbeusedtostateone’snegativeattitudetosomething.Itcouldbeusedasameanstosatirize,anapproachtopoliteness,anapproachtohumor.Chineseironycanbeclassifiedintofivetypesfromtheperspectiveofpragmaticfunctionsasfollows:ironyforcommendationandderogation,ironyforsatire,ironyforfun,ironyforaffectionandironyforemphasis.Thepragmaticfunctionsofironyinbothlanguagesaresimilar.

[KeyWords]verbalirony;pragmaticfunction;humor;EnglishandChineseironies

【摘要】反语作为一种普遍使用的修辞格，引起了认知心理学家和语言学家的关注。反语研究的角度从传统的修辞学和美学转向了认知心理学和语用学的探究。本文首先从定义和分类上，对反语进行认知层面上的归纳总结。其次，基于语用学角度分析了反语与合作原则和礼貌原则的联系。反语违反合作原则主要体现在对质量准则的违反上。反语作为一种间接言语，成为礼貌的一种手段。反语原则独立于礼貌原则之外，是对礼貌原则的一大补充。此外，反语是言语幽默的一种表现形式。英汉反语的语用功能大致相似，但也存在不少差异。文中对此异同进行归纳总结，从而得知，反语的幽默属性是其基本属性，在其语用功能中也得到了很好的体现。

【关键词】反语；语用功能；幽默；英汉反语

1.Introduction

Ironyisacommonlinguisticphenomenoninverbalcommunication.Recentyearshaveseenamushroomgrowthofdistinctlyangledtheorizationsinthisorientation,whichneverthelessexhibitstrongcomplementarity.Traditionally,ironyistreatedasafigureofspeechwhoseintendedmeaningistheoppositeofthatexpressedbythewordsuttered.Thestudyofironyinthiswaybelongstothatofrhetoric.AmericanlinguistGricetakesironyasoneofthosefiguresofspeechthatfloutstheCooperativePrinciple(CPforshort),especiallytheMaximofQuality.Ironyinterpretedunderthispragmaticmodelconveysthecontradictionofwhatisliterallysaid.LinguistsSperberandWilsontreatironyasanechoicmentionwhilelinguistCuddonstatesthat“Atitssimplest,verbalironyinvolvessayingwhatonedoesn’tmean.”[1]

Inthispaper,focuswillbelaiduponthehumorfeatureofverbalironyfromtheperspectiveofpragmatics.First,throughthecomparisonofdifferentkindsofdefinitionsofirony,ageneralideaaboutwhatisironyisestablished.Secondly,thispaperexaminesGriceanCooperativePrinciplewhichputforwardsthatironyactsasaviolationofCP.Thirdly,withthehelpofLeech’sideaofirony,thepragmaticfunctionofironycouldbebetterdisplayed.Finally,thelastpointisaboutthepragmaticfunctionsofbothEnglishironyandChineseirony.Inaword,ironyisonewaytoproducehumorinverbalcommunication.

2.Whatisirony

Itisdifficulttodefinethewordof“irony”whichcouldbeunderstoodinvariousways.Theexpansionofitsresearchareamaybethedirectcauseofthediversityofthedefinitionofirony.Thefollowingaresomedefinitionsofironyfromdictionaries.

2.1Dictionarydefinitionsofirony

1)Expressionofone’smeaningbysayingthedirectoppositeofone’sthoughtsinordertobeemphatic,amusing,sarcastic,etc.[2]

OxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglish-ChineseDictionary

2)Useofwordswhichareclearlyoppositetoone’smeaning,usuallyeitherinordertobeamusingortoshowannoyance(e.g.bysaying‘Whatcharmingbehaviour’whensomeonehasbeenrude.)[3]

LongmanDictionaryofEnglishLanguage&Culture(English-Chinese)

3)Ironyisaliterarytechniquethatachievestheeffectofsayingonethingandmeaninganotherthroughtheuseofhumorormildsarcasm.[4]

Webster’sNewWorldEncyclopedia

4)Theuseofwordstoexpresssomethingotherthanandespeciallytheoppositeoftheliteralmeaning.[5]

WebsterEnglishDictionary

5)Ironyisafigureofspeechthatachievesemphasisbysayingtheoppositeofwhatismeant,theintendedmeaningofthewordsbeingtheoppositeoftheirusualsense.Thisformofironyiscalledverbalirony,anddiffersfromthestylisticdeviceofdramaticirony.[6]

EnglishRhetoricalOptions

6)DefinitionofironyfromGrolierInternationalDictionary:

a).Anexpressionorutterancemarkedbysuchadeliberatecontrastbetweenapparentandintendedmeaning,forhumorousorrhetoricaleffect.

b).Incongruitybetweenwhatmightbeexpectedandwhatoccurs.[7]

Theabovedefinitions,althoughexplainedbydifferentexpertsfromdifferentangles,roughlydisplaythenatureofironyfromboththeformandfunction.Amongthesedefinitions,thebasicmeaningofironycouldbefoundas“sayingonethingbutmeaninganother.”Thebestdescriptionofirony,say,theGrolierInternationalDictionary,takesboththeformandfunctionofironyintoconsiderationandgivesusabetterpicture.However,allofthesedefinitionshavesomeshortcomings.First,noneofthemprovidesaneffectivewaytoidentifyironyfromnon-irony.Second,theybasicallyregardironyasatropeorafigureofspeechwhoseliteralandconnotativemeaningsaremutuallyopposedtoeachother.Thistraditionalunderstandinghasbeenunderchallengesbymodernresearch.

2.2Classificationofirony

Theclassificationofironyispresentedindifferentwaysbythosewhoworkonit.Boothidentifiesquiteanumberoftypes:tragicirony,comicirony,stableirony,unstableirony,dramaticirony,situationalirony,verbalirony,rhetoricalironysoonandsoforth.KreuzandRobertsdistinguishfourtypesofirony:Socraticirony,dramaticirony,ironyoffateandverbalirony.[8]

Ingeneral,ironyinvolvesacontradictionbetweenappearanceandreality.Ironyresultswherethereisadifferenceinpointofviewbetweenacharacterandthenarratororreader.Traditionally,therearefourmajortypesofirony:verbal,dramatic,situationalandcomic.

2.2.1Verbalirony

Verbalironyreferstospokenwordsonly.Verbalironyoccurswhenacharactersaysonething,butsuggestsorintendstheopposite.Thecontrastisbetweenwhatthespeakersaysandwhatheactuallymeans.Forexample,inJuliusCaesar,MarkAntonyrepeatsthewords“andBrutusisanhonorableman”inthefamous“Friends,Romans,Countrymen”speech.[9]MarkAntony’smeaning,however,isthatBrutusiscompletelydishonorablebecauseBrutus,Caesar’sbestfriend,joinedtheotherconspiratorsandplungedaknifeintoCaesar’schest.

Inthispaper,thediscussionislaiduponthistypeofirony,verbalirony.

2.2.2Dramaticirony

Dramaticironyinvolvesmorethanjustspokenwords.Dramaticironyoccurswhenthemeaningintendedbyacharacter’swordsoractionsisoppositeofthetruesituation.Thecontrastisbetweenwhatthecharactersays,thinks,ordoesandthetruesituation.Further,thecharactercannotseeorunderstandthecontrast,buttheaudienceorreadercan.Forexample,inOthello,dramaticironyoccurswhenOthelloreferstoIagoas“honestIago”.[10]UnknowntoOthello,IagoisavillainwhodeceiveshimintothinkingthatDesdemona(Othello’swife)hasbeenunfaithful.Forthis,Othellounjustlykillshiswife,believingthewholetimeinIago’shonesty.

Thedifferenceinexamplesforverbalanddramaticirony:AntonycallsBrutus“honorable”andknowsheisnothonorable,whileOthellocallsIago“honest”anddoesnotknowofIago’sdeceit.

2.2.3Situationalirony

Situationalironydefieslogicalcause/effectrelationshipsandjustifiableexpectations.Forexample,ifagreedymillionaireweretobuyalotteryticketandwinadditionalmillions,theironywouldbesituationalbecausesuchacircumstancecannotbeexplainedlogically.Suchacircumstanceseems“unfair”.Thissenseofbeing“unfair”or“unfortunate”isatrademarkofsituationalirony.Becausepeoplecannotexplaintheunfairness,itcausesthemtoquestionwhetherornotthewordmakessense.

2.2.4Comicirony(orIronyoffate)

Someironygoesbeyondbeingunfairandismorallytragic.SuchironyisoftensoseverethatitcausespeopletoquestionGodandseetheuniverseashostile.Forexample,ifanhonest,hardworking,andgenerouspersonbuysalotteryticketandwinstenmilliondollars,onlytodieinanautocrashtwodayslater,theironywouldreachtragicproportions.Whensituationalironyreachesthisscale,itisoftencalledcomicironyorironyoffate.Suchironytypicallysuggeststhatpeoplearepawnstomaliciousforces.

3.IronyandtheCooperativePrinciple

3.1TheCooperativePrinciple

“AmericanphilosopherH.P.Gricemadeanattempttoexplainthecourseofnaturalconversation,inwhichimpliedmessagesarefrequentlyinvolved.Hisideaisthatinmakingconversation,theparticipantsmustfirstofallbewillingtocooperate;otherwise,itwouldnotbepossibleforthemtocarryonthetalk.ThisgeneralprincipleiscalledtheCooperativePrinciple,abbreviatedasCP.Itgoesasfollows:

Makeyourconversationalcontributionsuchasrequiredatthestageatwhichitoccursbytheacceptedpurposeordirectionofthetalkexchangeinwhichyouareengaged.

Theprinciplebreaksdownintoparticularmaximsthatsummarizeparticularassumptionsaboutconversation.DifferentpragamaticistsproposedifferentnumbersofthesemaximsbutasoriginallyproposedbyGrice,thePrinciplecontainedfoursetsofmaxims:

Themaximsofquantity

a).Makeyourcontributionasinformativeasisrequired(forthecurrentpurposesoftheexchange)

b).Donotmakeyourcontributionmoreinformativethanisrequired.

Themaximsofquality

Trytomakeyourcontributiononethatistrue:

a).Donotsaywhatyoubelievetobefalse.

b).Donotsaythatforwhichyoulackadequateevidence.

Themaximofrelation

Berelevant.

Themaximsofmanner

Beperspicuous:

a).Avoidobscurityofexpression.

b).Avoidambiguity.

c).Bebrief(avoidunnecessaryprolixity).

d).Beorderly.”[11]

3.2IronyasviolationofCP

GriceclassifiesironyasanexampleofimplicatureandshowshowonecanaccountforironyasacaseoffloutingtheCooperativePrinciplebyviolatingthemaximofquality.

Examples:

(1)Thisdiligentstudentseldomreadsmorethananhourpermonth.[12]

Theintendedmeaningofthespeakeristhisisalazystudent.However,heusesanoppositeof“lazy”—diligent.Diligentishereusedtoproducesarcasm.

(2)A:Sorry,Mary.Icannotgiveyoualiftafterwork.Ihavetomeetafriendattheairport.

B:Thankyouverymuch.It’sverykindofyou.[13]

Inthisconversation,BdoesnotreallypraiseA.Heuses“It’sverykindofyou.”toshowhisdissatisfactioninfact.

(3)A:Johnsayshetopsusallatfootball.

B:Ilikehischeek.[14]

WhenBsaid,“Ilikehischeek.”,heinfringedthequalitymaximtotellalie.ItiseasilyinferredfromthecontextthatBusestheoppositeword“like”tomeanhistrulydislike.

(4)RoseandDavidmetanelegantwomanonthestreet.Theyappreciatedherfineactionuntilshesuddenlyspittedphlegmtothefloor.Underthissituationcomesthediscourseasfollows:

Rose:Sheisreallylovely,isn’tshe?

David:Shesureis.[15]

Rosetendedtouse“lovely”tolaughattheelegantwoman’spooractionhere.

Theseinstancesareviolationsofthemaximoftruthbysayingsomethinghe/shedoesnotreallybelieve.Intheseironyacts,indirectnessseemslikeashieldwhichmasksagenuineintentconsideredriskybythespeakers.Theironicalutterancesnotonlyconveymessagesbutalsoconcealwhatthespeakersreallybearinmind.ThespeakersviolatetheCooperativePrincipleconsciouslytoexpresstheirrealmeaninginindirectway.Ironyhelpstomaketheutterancemuchmorehumor.

4.IronyandthePolitenessPrinciple

4.1ThePolitenessPrinciple

LeechthinksthatGrice’sCooperativePrincipleinitselfcannotexplainwhypeopleemployindirectnesswhileconveyingwhattheymean.Inaddition,differentsocietiesmayoperatemaximsindifferentways.TheremustbesomeapparentexceptionsinactualcommunicationthatCooperativePrinciplecannotexplain.ThereforeLeechproposestosupplementGrice’sCooperativePrinciplewiththePolitenessPrinciple(PPforshort).Thestrategiesaresummarizedbelow:

Tact:

a).Minimizecosttoother.

b).Maximizebenefittoother.

Generosity:

a).Minimizebenefittoself.

b).Maximizecosttoself.

Approbation:

a).Minimizedispraiseofother.

b).Maximizepraiseofother.

Modesty:

a).Minimizepraiseofself.

b).Maximizedispraiseofself.

Agreement:

a).Minimizedisagreementbetweenselfandother.

b).Maximizeagreementbetweenselfandother.

Sympathy:

a).Minimizeantipathybetweenselfandother.

b).Maximizesympathybetweenselfandother.[16]

Altogether,themaximsaresaidto“save”theCooperativePrinciple,theyexplainwhathappensinthecasewhenitisbreached.

Example:

Forrest:Ionlycaughtfive.

BoatSalesman:Acouplemoreandyoucanhaveyourselfacocktail.

…[17]

ThisisadialogueinthemovieForrestGump.AlthoughBubbatellsForresteverythingaboutshrimping,butForreststillfindsthatshrimpingistough.Oneday,heonlycatchesfiveaftera-whole-dayhardworking.TheboatsalesmanjustmakesajoketoForrestinordertocheerhimup.Meanwhile,healsotellsForrestafactthatForrestcatchestoolittle.ItisaninstanceofpolitenessaccordingtothePolitenessPrinciple.

4.2TheIronyPrinciple

AccordingtoLeech,ironyisasecond-orderprinciplethatbuildsonorexploitsthePolitenessPrinciple.TheIronyPrinciple(IPforshort)maybestatedinageneralformasfollows:

“Ifyoumustcauseoffence,atleastdosoinawaywhichdoesn’tovertlyconflictwiththePolitenessPrinciple,butallowsthehearertoarriveattheoffensivepointofyourremarkindirectly,bywayofimplicature.”[18]

IronycanhappenifthespeakerovervaluesthePolitenessPrinciplebyblatantlybreakingamaximoftheCooperativePrincipleinordertoupholdthePolitenessPrinciple.Forexample:

A:Geoffhasjustborrowedyourcar.

B:Well,IlikeTHAT![19]

AccordingtotheIronyPrinciple,wecaninterpretthisironicalutterancethisway:whatBsaysispolitetoGeoffandisclearlynottrue.ThereforewhatBreallymeansisimpolitetoGeoffandtrue.LeechbelievesthattheIPcanmakeaspeakerimpolitewhileseemingtobepolite.Inbeingpolite,aspeakerisoftenfacedwithaclashbetweentheCPandthePP.Thespeakerhastochoosehowfarto“trade-off”theCPagainstthePP.Inbeingironic,aspeakerexploitsthePPinordertouphold,ataremotelevel,theCP.

TheIronyPrincipleservesthepurposeofavoidingdirectcriticismthrough‘beingantisocial’,beinginsincerelypolite.ThisprincipleexplainswhysomeoftheGriceanmaximsarebreached.[20]

5.Ironyandverbalhumor

5.1VerbalHumor

Fromthesurfacemeaningofthephrase“verbalhumor”,wecaneasilygetitsmeaning:verbalhumoristhehumorthatisorganizedthroughverbalform.Verbalhumoristhehumorthatiscreatedorexpressedthroughlanguagewiththeassistanceofsituationalcontextoccasionally.

Verbalhumorcanbeproducedbykindsoffigureofspeech,say,personification,exaggeration,ironyandsoon.

5.2Verbalironyasanapproachtoverbalhumor

Verbalironyreferstospokenwordsonly.Itoccurswhenacharactersaysonething,butsuggestsorintendstheopposite.Itisanapproachtohumor.Asanexpressionofwisdom,ironyisfrequentlyusedbythegreatminds,say,writersorphilosophers.

Example:BernardShaw’sAnxiety

TheexceedinglyfascinatingandcharmingAmericanwomandancerDuncanoncegotoffacrack（说俏皮话）toBernardShaw:“Sir,givenIamincombinationwith（与……结合）you,andthatwehaveachildwhohasbothmylooksandyourwisdomandability.Itshouldbecrackerjack（杰出的）.”Thecommonplace-looking（相貌平平）,IrishwriterBernardShawcrackedback（回嘴）:“Incasethechildonlyhasmylooksbutyourwisdomandability,thatwouldbecrack-brained（发疯的）.”[21]

Inthisstory,BernardShaw’sAnxiety,whatBernardShawsaidisaccordingtothesentenceofthewomandancerDuncan.Sotheysharedtheunderstandingincommonandthehumorwasineffect.

Example:HatandHead

HansChristianAndersen,aDanishnurserytalewriter,wasborninahumblefamily.Heoftenworeatornhateveninthewinter.Aplayboylookeddownupon（看不起）himandsaidunconscionably（肆无忌惮）:“Whattheshabby（寒酸的）thingonyourhead?Isthatstilledcalledahat?”Nottobeoutdone（胜过）,Andersencountered（对抗）thatchapinreply:“Whattheshabbythingbeneathyourhat?Isthatstillcalledahead?”[22]

HereAndersenchangedtheorderofthetwowords,“hat”and“head”,whichhelpedhimtocrackback.Humorresulted.

Example:AGreatMan

EinsteinoncewrotealettertoCharlieChaplin.Hesaid:“Yourfilm‘TheModernTime’,everybodyintheworldcanunderstand.Youwillcertainlybecomeagreatman.Einstein.”

InhisanswertotheletterCharlieChaplinwrote:“Iadmireyouevenmore.YourTheoryofRelativitynobodyintheworldunderstands,butyouhavealreadybecomeagreatman.Chaplin.”[23]

Inthisstory,CharlieChaplinwasclevertolendironytoamuseandescapefrombeingoutdone.

Fromtheaboveexamples,theconclusioncanbeeasilyreachedasironyisfrequentlyusedtoproducehumor.Inotherwords,thehumorfeatureofironycouldbeeasilyfoundinhumorstories.

6.Pragmaticfunctionsofirony

Intheformerpartsofthispaper,wehavealreadydiscussedabouttherelationbetweenironyandCP,theassociationbetweenironyandIP,andtheconnectionbetweenironyandverbalhumor.ThoughironyseemstotakefloutingCPasitsownduty,itactsasanassistantofIPactively.Asatypeofverbalhumor,ironydevotesitselftoproducehumorinpeople’scommunications.However,whatarethepragmaticfunctionsofirony?Inthissection,thekeytothisquestionwillbepresentedmainlyfromtwomajoraspects:pragmaticfunctionsofEnglishironyandpragmaticfunctionsofChineseirony.

6.1PragmaticfunctionsofEnglishirony

PragmaticfunctionsofEnglishironycanbestatedinvariousways,similartotheclassificationofit.Inthefollowingpassage,theeffortwillbeconcentratedonthemajorfunctionsofirony.Firstly,whileusingironypeopletendtouseaffirmativetoexpresscritiqueordiscontent.Secondly,ironyisalwaysusedasameanstosatirize.Thirdly,ironyisusedasanapproachtobepolite.Lastbutnottheleast,ironyisusedasanapproachtobehumorous.

6.1.1Usedasanaffirmativetoexpresscritiqueordiscontent

InEnglish,ironyisoftenusedtostateone’snegativeattitudetosomething.Forexample:

(1)Ijustadoremosquitoes.[24]

(2)Youareabighelp![25]

(3)Youaretellingstories![26]

Inexample(1),“adore”actuallytellsusthedispleasureofthespeaker.Itcanbelearnedfromthemeaningbetweenthelinesthatthespeakerhatesmosquitoesinfact.Thesentenceofexample(2)isnotreallyusedtopraisethe“help”buttoindicate,“Youonlydonothingtohelp.”Thespeakerofexample(3)appliesironytomakeamockery.

Ineverydaylife,peopletendtouseironyintheirspeechthoughsometimestheymaynotbeconsciousofit.Thefollowingisanotherinstance:

(4)Thismorning,Iwaslateforwork;atnoon,Ihadmybikestolen;onthewayhomethisafternoon,Islippeddowninthestreet.Sotoday,Iamcertainlyenjoyingmyself.[27]

Obviously,thenarratordidnotenjoyhimselfindeedthisday.Withthestrongdiscontentoftheterribleexperience,heexpressedhisdispleasurebyusingtheoppositeword“enjoy”.

6.1.2Usedasameanstosatirize

Ironyisusedtoveilfeelingsinasubtleway.Wordsofpraiseareoftenfoundwherecondemnationismeant.Belowaresomeexamples:

(1)LikealltheotherofficersatGroupHeadquartersexceptMajorDanby,ColonelCathcartwasinfusedwiththedemocraticspirit:hebelievedthatallmenoutsideGroupequal,andhethereforespurnedallmenoutsideGroupHeadquarterswithequalfervour.(JosephHeller:Catch22)[28]

(ThispassageimpliesthatColonelCathcartwasnotdemocraticatall:hisdemocraticspiritextendedonlytohisowngroup;allothershetreatedwithscornandhighhandedness.)

(2)…ayounghealthychildwellnursedisatayearoldamostdelicious,nourishing,andwholesomefood,whetherstewed,roasted,bakedorboiled;andImakenodoubtthatitwillequallyserveinafricasseeoraragout.[29]

Theauthorhereproposedthemeasuretosolvetheproblemofstarvationandoverpopulationbyeatingorsellingchildrenfrompoorfamilies.However,hisrealpurposewastoripoffthehypocriticalmaskofhypocrites.Usedasameanstosatirize,ironyhelpedtodisclosetheseriousproblemofthesocietyinaboveexample.

6.1.3Usedasanapproachtobepolite

Indailyconversation,peopleareapttobepolite.Asanindirectexpression,ironyiswidelyapplied.Forexample:

(1)“Haveadrink?”

“Allright,butnotupatthebar.Wewilltakeatable.”

“Theperfectfather.”

(F.S.FitzgeraldBabylonRevisited)[30]

(2)“Theboyhasbrokenanotherglass,”saidthemother.

“Afinething!”thefatherreplied.[31]

Inexample(1),thesonchosethepolitewayofusing“theperfectfather”whichactuallyreferredtoonewhowasstingyaboutmoneymatter.Ifhecomplaineddirectlytohisfatherthat“Astingyfather”,theimpolitenesswouldbreaktherelationshipbetweenthefatherandsonmoreorless.Conversely,thefatherinexample(2)criticizedthefaultofhissoninanindirectway.“Afinething!”couldbetreatedasacriticismoutofgoodwill.

6.1.4Usedasanapproachtobehumorous

InSection5.2ofthispaper,wehavelearnedthatverbalironyservesasanapproachofverbalhumor.Therefore,thehumorousfunctionofironycanbeeasilyrevealed.Belowaresomemoreexamplesforfurtheracknowledging.

(1)Politehorse

TheBachseesBallwalkinglamely,askshim:“What’shappened?”Ballsays:“IwenttotheforestparktoridethehorseonSunday.”“I’msurethatitwasanunruly（难驾驭的），orthehorsedidnotallowtoride?”“Botharenot.Justthehorsewasverypolite---whenitrantoastockade（栅栏）atafullgallop,itstoppedallofasuddenandmademeleapoverfirst.”SaysBall.[32]

(2)TakeninTwice

“What’sthematterwithyourhands?”

“Theywerebittenbytheserpent（大蛇）.”

“Howcanithappen?”

“Iwenttotheforestthedaybeforeyesterday.Seeingthereisasnakearoundthetree,Ipickedupasticktobeat.”

“Missedthetarget.”

“No,whatistwisted（缠绕）aroundthetreewasarope,whilewhatIpickedupwasjustasnake.”[33]

Anewconceptionofwhatapolitehorseisshowsforthinexample(1).HumoroccurredwhenBallunderstatedhisdispleasingexperiencebyusingirony.Similarly,theembarrassmentofthenarratorinexample(2)iswellveiledintheironicstatement,whichbringshumortogoodeffect.

6.2PragmaticfunctionsofChineseirony

6.2.1Chineseirony

Chineseirony,tosomeextent,isequaltothetypeofEnglishirony,namelyverbalirony.Generallyspeaking,itcanbeclassifiedasfivetypes:ironyforcommendationandderogation（褒贬反语），ironyforsatire(讽刺反语)，ironyforfun（趣味反语）,ironyforaffection（亲热反语）andironyforemphasis（强调反语）.[34]Theclassificationisbasicallyinthelightofthepragmaticfunctionsofirony.Thedetaileddemonstrationofthemwillbecontinuedinthefollowingparts.

6.2.2PragmaticfunctionsofChineseirony

(i)Ironyforpraiseanddenigration

Ironyforpraiseanddenigrationistousepraiseinsteadofderogatoryterm,orviceversa.Itisanindirectutterancethatcanavoidmakingcommentsindirectway.Ithasnothingtodowithsarcasm.Forinstance:

凤姐道：“我那里管得这些事来？见识又浅，口角又笨，心肠又直率，人家给个棒槌我就认作针，脸皮又软，搁不住人家两句好话，心里就慈悲了。……”

(“I’mincapabableofrunningthings,”shesigned.“I’mtooignorant,bluntandtactless,alwaysgettingholdofthewrongendofthestick.AndI’msosoft-hearted,anyonecangetroundme….”)[35]

Apparently,WangXi-fengdowngradedherselfas“ignorant,bluntandtactless”.However,herpersonalityiswellknownastalent,quick-tonguedandwise.Itcanbeconsideredthatironyisusedtobemodestinthissituation.

(ii)Ironyforsatire

Satireplaysaroleoffrequentfeatureofirony.Itseemslikeaspoiledchildtosomeliteraturewriters.Forexample:

(1)几个“慈祥”的老板到菜场去收集一些菜叶，用盐一浸，这就是他们难得的佳肴。

(Somekind-heartedbossesgotothemarketandpickupsomevegetableleaves,comingbackanddippingthemintosaltwater,thenagod-givencateisreadyforthem(thewomenworkers))[36]

(2)湘云笑道：“‘主雅客来勤’，自然你有些警动他的好处，他才要会你。”宝玉道：“罢，罢！我也不称雅，我乃俗中又俗的一个俗人，并不愿同这些人来往。”

(“‘Whenthehostiscultured,guestsfrequenthishouse’,”quotedHsiang-yun.“Helikesseeingyou,surely,becausehecanlearnsomethingfromyou.”

“Don’tcallmecultured,”beggedPao-yu.“I’mthemostvulgarofthevulgarherd,andI’venodesireatalltomixwithsuchpeople.”)[37]

Inexample(1),theauthorlent“kind-hearted”toridiculethebosseswhotreatedthewomenworkersniggardly.Inexample(2),Pao-yulaughedathimselfas“themostvulgarofthevulgarherd”,ironically.

(iii)Ironyforfun

Ironyforfunreferstotheonethatmaycreatearelaxedatmosphere.Forexample:

这个“四十条”去年以来不吃香了，现在又“复辟”了。

(Thesefortyarticleswentoutofvoguelastyearbutarenowstaginga“comeback”.)[38]

Literally,“comeback”isanexpressionofcensure.Buthereitstandsforanewstartingofthefortyarticles.Byusingthisword,thespeechrunsmoothlyunderthelightair.

(iv)Ironyforaffection

Ironyissometimesusedtoexpressstrongaffection.Tomakeadvancestoothers,peoplecanuseironyasasupport.Forexample:

几个女人有点失望，也有些伤心，各人在心里骂着自己的狠心贼。

(Disappointedandratherupset,eachwomanwassecretlylayingtheblameonherheartlessbruteofahusband.)[39]

Seemingly,thesewomenwereblamingtheirhusbands.Actually,thatisnotthecase.Theylovedtheirhusbandssomuchthatironywasusedtomanifesttheirrealaffectionindirectlybytheauthor.

(v)Ironyforemphasis

Ironycanbeapprovedinthefollowingexamplethatitcanemphasizetheoppositemeaning.

Example:

我于是日日盼望新年，新年到，闰土也就到了。好容易到了年末，有一日，母亲告诉我，闰土来了，我便飞跑的去看。

（IlookedforwardeverydaytoNewYear,forNewYearwouldbringRuntu.Atlasttheendoftheyearcame,andonedayMothertoldmethatRuntuhadcome,andIflewtoseehim.）[40]

Here“好容易”canbeeasilyunderstoodasitsrealmeaning“好不容易”.PeoplecancatchitsmeaningasthisisancommonexpressioninChinese,say,“好不高兴”means“好高兴”，andsoon.

6.3ThecomparisonbetweenEnglishironyandChineseirony

TherearebothsimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenEnglishironyandChineseirony.Thesimilaritieslieinsomeaspects.Theyarebothusedforsatirizing,amusingandproducinghumor.Itseemsthatthedifferencescountmuchmorethanthesimilarities.

ThedifferencesbetweenEnglishironyandChineseironymainlylieinfourpointsasfollows.Firstly,theclassificationofEnglishironydiffersfromthatofChineseirony.ThefourmajortypesofironyinEnglishareverbal,dramatic,situationalandcomic.Tosomeextent,ChineseironyisincludedinEnglishironyasverbalirony.Secondly,EnglishironydependsoncontexttoalargerextentwhileChineseironysimplycountsonwords.Besides,ironyforaffectionturnsouttoappearmorefrequentlyinChineseironythaninEnglish.Lastbutnottheleast,ironyforemphasiscanberegardedasauniquefeatureofChineseironysinceitcouldnotbefoundinEnglish.

7.Conclusion

Asstated,thepragmaticfunctionsofEnglishironyareasfollows:usedasameanstoexpresscritiqueordiscontent,usedasameanstosatirize,usedasanapproachtobepolite,usedasanapproachtobehumorous.Meanwhile,thepragmaticfunctionsofChineseironyarepresentedas:ironyforpraiseanddenigration,ironyforsatire,ironyforfun,ironyforaffectionandironyforemphasis.

Fromtheabovediscussioninthispaper,wecancometoaconclusionthatthemajorpragmaticfunctionsofironycouldbestatedashumorousfunctions.Inabroadsense,thehumorousfunctionsmayberegardedaslighthumorousfunctionsandheavyhumorousfunctions.Thefunctiontobehumorouscouldbeconsideredasonebreachofthehumorousfunctions.Thelighthumorousfunctionsincludethefunctiontobepolite,thefunctiontobehumorous,ironyforfun,etc.Ontheotherhand,thefunctionforsatireservesasaheavyhumorousfunction.Tosumup,themainfeatureofironyishumorfeature.

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