Verbal Irony

Verbal irony is when someone says something that goes against reality. They say it in a way that is noticeable to the people listening to them.

In other words, it’s when there is a mismatch between what you say and the truth – and you want the people in the conversation to know.

When this happens, the people involved in the conversation (interlocutors) need to be able to see that there is a difference between the words said and reality. If the speaker (or writer) is trying to cover up the fact that their words don’t match reality, this isn’t the same thing.

People usually use verbal irony to do things like:

• Create humour.
• Draw attention to a ridiculous situation.
• Be less obvious with their feelings.

When you use verbal irony in a conversation, we’d say you’re flouting a maxim – specifically the maxim of quality. However, you need two or more active participants in a conversation to talk about Grice’s Maxims. So, not all verbal irony counts.

Sarcasm is a type of verbal irony. It is when your ironic words are meant to mock another person. That makes it feel quite cynical and negative.

Not all verbal irony fits into this category. Sometimes, you do it in a light-hearted way that makes everyone laugh – without questioning the intelligence of someone else.

There are plenty of ways that you can show your text receiver that there’s a difference between your words and reality. You have the non-verbal cues, such as your body language and facial expressions. There’s your sarcastic or ironic tone. Then, the most basic one is just when they can see or hear the juxtaposition between your words and reality right in front of them.

Example

Let’s look at an example from the film, Bruce Almighty. It has a great example of a line that uses verbal irony. The line repeats throughout the film with different implicatures. Here’s one instance.

In this case, Bruce feels frustrated that his dog peed in the house. Even more than that, though, he’s noticing the irony in the fact that the dog stopped peeing as soon as he got outside. Bruce is communicating the fact that it’s annoying that he went to all that effort to run to the door, just for the dog to stop.

So, he uses his catchphrase “B-E-A-utiful” to express all his thoughts and feelings about the situation.

This isn’t quite sarcasm because he’s not trying to mock his dog. He’s just drawing attention to how ridiculous the situation is. So, we’d say that he’s using verbal irony.

What is the Difference Between Verbal Irony and Lying?

For both verbal irony and lying, there is a mismatch between what you say and the truth. However, the purpose for this mismatch is very different.

It’s the difference between flouting a maxim and violating a maxim. Flouting a maxim is when you want your interlocutors to notice. Violating a maxim is when you hope they don’t.

The same is true for the difference between verbal irony and lying because verbal irony is flouting a the maxim of quality and lying is violating it – well, when the speakers and listeners are both engaged in the conversation, of course!

When you lie, you do it to deceive the people around you. The same isn’t true for verbal irony because you want them to notice.