The Contribution of General Pragmatic and Pragmalinguistic Characteristics of Sarcasm to the Recognition of Online Sarcasm: A Qualitative Study

This study sought to identify the general pragmatic and pragmalinguistic characteristics of sarcasm that English native speakers and Iranian EFL/ESL learners draw on in the recognition of online sarcasm. In so doing, a qualitative thematic analysis design was used. The participants consisted of three groups (each consisting of 9 members) who were selected through snowball sampling. The first group consisted of English native speakers from Canada. The second group included Iranian ESL learners who were currently postgraduate students at Canadian universities. The third group consisted of Iranian students of the English language. To collect the data, a semi-structured interview was utilized. The data were then analyzed through manual thematic analysis. Results showed that the participants used Pragmalinguistic characteristics to recognize sarcasm. Moreover, the general pragmatic characteristics of sarcasm were drawn on, as documented by the interviews, in the recognition of online sarcasm. Additionally, the exertion of such features seems inevitable in the recognition of the sarcastic meaning of utterance. The findings have some implications for policymakers, curriculum planners, material developers, EFL teachers, and researchers.