Irony and Mockery in the Internet Commentaries

Abstract

The paper discusses the ironic and mocking commentaries observed in the Internet. Despite the differences of formal and semantic nature (irony based on semantic inversion, whereas mockery is a type of direct speech, without semantic obliqueness) the two types of linguistic behaviour fall under a common description. They are differ from verbal aggression verging on the vulgar or indeed being vulgar and are present in the genre of the texts under study.

The ironic and mocking texts seek to depreciate and mock a business partner. The goal is realised by way of a series of means, among which the most often used are the following: inverted commas as a semantic sign of over-evaluation, strategy of reproof through praise, parody of the partner’s manner of presentation, deriding counsels or instructions, pseudo-polite forms, depreciating nominal expressions, verbalising or signalising ironic smiles by means of emoticons. The manner by which to express the mocking of deriding attitudes should be regarded as varied, but on the other hand they differ little from ironic and derisive expressions which we encounter in communicative situations in reality, including public life (e.g. in critical presentations delivered by politicians or journalists commentators). Some areas of life and man’s activity are almost conventional (references to them are clear in the material under analysis). They fall under ironic and derisive comments, i.e., suggestions that the opponent is mentally or intellectually retarded, objections of infantilism in thought and conduct, or, eventually, pointing out ignorance or inexperience in a given area.