Great weather we're having! Awesome job! You're a tremendous athlete! Compliments, right? Well, maybe. Depending on the attitude and tone of voice behind these lines, they very well may be compliments. They may also be, though, pointed and attacking lines. This slight change of attitude behind the lines reveals what we call verbal irony. So when someone says, "Great weather we're having," it is quite possible that the person really means that if the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the wind is calm. But if the weather is horrible, the clouds are looming, and the wind is a raging tempest, and someone says, "Great weather we're having," he probably doesn't actually mean that. He probably means that the weather is horrible, but he has said the opposite. This is verbal irony when the speaker says the opposite of what he means. I know what you're thinking. Isn't this sarcasm, isn't the speaker being sarcastic? Yes. When a speaker says the opposite of what he means, that is verbal irony. When a speaker then goes the step farther to mean the opposite of what he says and seeks to be a little pointed and mean, like he's making fun of something, then you have sarcasm. Take the second example: "Awesome job!" Someone accomplishing his life-long dream: awesome! Someone winning a sports championship: awesome! Someone rear-ends another car: not awesome. So when the passenger says, "Awesome job!" they probably mean the opposite with a hint of poking fun. That is verbal irony and that is sarcastic. "You're a talented athlete," said to an Olympian: authentic, no verbal irony present. Said to the klutzy kid tripping into English class and spilling his books and pencil case all over the room, now that is just harsh and verbally ironic because what you said is not what you meant. That is verbal irony. You have said the opposite of what you mean. Additionally, since you have the intention of mocking this poor person, you have not only been verbally ironic, but sarcastic as well. Beware, though. While all sarcasm fits the definition of verbal irony, not all verbal irony is sarcastic. Verbal irony is where what is meant is the opposite of what is said, while sarcasm adds that little punch of attitude. There are times, though, where another layer of meaning can be present without that sarcastic tone. Alright, now go out there and find those examples of verbal irony and sarcasm. Good luck! No, seriously, I mean it, good luck. No, no, really, I truly want to wish you luck on this difficult task. Ok, ok, sincerely good luck. You can do it! No verbal irony here.
Kakvo sjajno vreme! Super si to uradio! Ti si sjajan sportista! Komplimenti, zar ne? Pa, možda. U zavisnosti od stava i tona iza ovih rečenica, to zaista mogu biti komplimenti. Ipak, to takođe mogu biti zajedljive i napadne rečenice. Ova blaga promena stava iza rečenica otkriva ono što nazivamo verbalnom ironijom. Kada neko kaže: "Kakvo sjajno vreme", moguće je da ta osoba zaista to i misli, ako sunce sija, ptice pevaju i vetar je miran. Ali ako je vreme užasno, naziru se oblaci, a vetar je pobesnela oluja i neko kaže: "Kakvo sjajno vreme", ta osoba to verovatno ne misli. On verovatno misli da je vreme užasno, ali je izgovorio suprotno. Ovo je verbalna ironija, kada govornik kaže suprotno od onoga što misli. Znam šta vi mislite. Zar ovo nije sarkazam, zar govornik nije sarkastičan? Da. Kada govornik kaže suprotno od onoga što misli, to je verbalna ironija. Kada taj govornik onda ode korak dalje i misli suprotno od onoga što govori i pokušava da bude pomalo zajedljiv i zao, kao da ismeva nešto, onda imate sarkazam. Uzmimo drugi primer: "Super si to uradio!" Neko je ostvario svoj životni san: super! Neko je pobedio na sportskom takmičenju: super! Neko otpozadi udari drugi automobil: nije super. Kada saputnik kaže: "Super si to uradio!", on verovatno misli suprotno od toga sa naznakama ismevanja. To je verbalna ironija i to je sarkastično. Kažemo olimpijskom sportisti: "Ti si talentovani atletičar", to je iskreno, nema verbalne ironije. Kada se ovo izgovori trapavom klincu koji se spotakne na času engleskog i po celoj sobi prospe knjige i sadržaj peratonice, to je zlobno i verbalno ironično jer ne mislite to što ste rekli. To je verbalna ironija. Rekli ste suprotno od onoga što mislite. Pritom, pošto imate nameru da ismevate ovu jadnu osobu, ne samo da ste bili verbalno ironični, nego i sarkastični. Ali pazite se. Iako sarkazam odgovara definiciji verbalne ironije, nije svaka verbalna ironija sarkastična. Kod verbalne ironije je ono što se misli suprotno od onoga što se izgovara, a sarkazam dodaje malo stava. Ipak, postoje situacije gde može biti prisutan još jedan sloj značenja, bez tog sarkastičnog tona. U redu, a sad idite i nađite primere verbalne ironije i sarkazma. Srećno! Ne, stvarno, to i mislim, srećno. Ne, ne, stvarno, zaista vam želim sreću u ovom teškom zadatku. Ok, ok, iskreno, srećno. Možete vi to! Ovde nema verbalne ironije.