论文-反语的作用 英文版.doc

Pragmatic Functions of Irony
08英语一班
0805010121
鲍清晨

Irony is mon linguistic phenomenon in munication. Recent years have seen a mushroom growth of distinctly angled theorizations in this orientation, which nevertheless exhibit plementarity. Traditionally, irony is treated as a figure of speech whose intended meaning is the opposite of that expressed by the words uttered.
In this paper, focus will be laid upon what is irony , what are the Pragmatic functions of irony in English culture and in Chinese culture .and what is parison between English irony and Chinese irony.
2. What is irony
It is difficult to define the word of “irony” which could be understood in various ways. The expansion of its research area may be the direct cause of the diversity of the definition of irony. The following are some definitions of irony from dictionaries.
Dictionary definitions of irony
1) Expression of one’s meaning by saying the direct opposite of one’s thoughts in order to be emphatic, amusing, sarcastic, etc. [2]
                      Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary
2) Use of words which are clearly opposite to one’s meaning, usually either in order to be amusing or to show annoyance (. by saying ‘What charming behavior’ when someone has been rude.) [3]
          Longman Dictionary of English Language &Culture (English-Chinese)
3) Irony is