Work

Producing Irony in Adolescence: A Comparison Between Face-to-Face and Computer-Mediated Communication

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: The literature suggests that irony production expands in the developmental period of adolescence. We aimed to test this hypothesis by investigating two channels: face-to-face and computer-mediated communication (CMC). Corpora were collected by asking seventh and 11th graders to freely discuss some general topics (e.g., music), either face-to-face or on online forums. Results showed that 6.2% of the 11th graders’ productions were ironic utterances, compared with just 2.5% of the seventh graders’ productions, confirming the major development of irony production in adolescence. Results also showed that adolescents produced more ironic utterances in CMC than face-to-face. The analysis suggested that irony use is a strategy for increasing in-group solidarity and compensating for the distance intrinsic to CMC, as it was mostly inclusive and well-marked on forums. The present study also confirmed previous studies showing that irony is compatible with CMC.

Source: Psychology of Language and Communication

DOI: 10.1515/plc-2016-0013

Authors: Marc Aguert, Virginie Laval, Nadia Gauducheau, Hassan Atifi, Michel Marcoccia

Institutions: Université de Caen Normandie, Université de Poitiers, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l'Apprentissage, Université de Technologie de Troyes

Language: English

Topic: Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies

Subfield: Language and Linguistics

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: Agence Nationale de la Recherche

Award: G5374070834