The present study investigated how Cantonese speakers learning English as a second language (L2) would comprehend English irony and whether their L2 proficiency and use would moderate their irony processing. Thirty Cantonese speakers with differing English proficiency (intermediate vs advanced) were asked to complete an irony comprehension task in which they had to determine if given comments in literal or ironic situations were positive or negative. The irony comprehension task was immediately followed by a stimulated recall session to further explore the participants' thought processes while responding to the irony comprehension items. The results revealed that the participants were faster and more accurate when processing positively-valenced comments (literal praise, ironic criticism), compared to negatively-­valenced ones (literal criticism, ironic praise). The findings suggest that learners had greater difficulty identifying ironic praises than ironic criticisms, underscoring the role of valence in second language irony inferencing. The stimulated recall data suggested that the anticipation of irony may accelerate the identification of ironic criticisms. While proficiency facilitated the speed of irony comprehension, the duration of L2 use, especially in speaking, emerged as an important factor in moderating the accuracy of irony comprehension.

Weiyi Li

Jookyoung Jung

Language Awareness

Language Awareness encourages and disseminates work which explores the following: the role of explicit knowledge about language in the process of language learning; the role that such explicit knowledge about language plays in language teaching and how such knowledge can best be mediated by teachers; the role of explicit knowledge about language in language use: e.g. sensitivity to bias in language, manipulative aspects of language, literary use of language. It is also a goal of Language Awareness to encourage the establishment of bridges between the language sciences and other disciplines within or outside educational contexts.

The journal Language Awareness encourages and disseminates research that explores the following areas: the role of explicit knowledge about language in the process of language learning; the role that such explicit knowledge plays in language teaching and how it can be effectively mediated by teachers; and the role of explicit knowledge in language use, such as sensitivity to bias in language, manipulative aspects of language, and literary uses of language. Additionally, one of the goals of Language Awareness is to foster the establishment of connections between the language sciences and other disciplines, both within and outside educational contexts.

《Language Awareness》期刊鼓励和传播以下方面的研究：显性语言知识在语言学习过程中的作用；这种显性语言知识在语言教学中的作用，以及教师如何最好地传递这些知识；显性语言知识在语言使用中的作用，例如对语言偏见的敏感性、语言的操控性以及语言的文学使用。此外，《Language Awareness》期刊的目标之一是促进语言科学与教育领域内外其他学科之间的桥梁建立。

Category	Quartile
文学	2
文学, 语言与语言学	2
文学, 语言学	2

L2 irony comprehension and the role of L2 proficiency and use

ivySCI AI Smartly Parses PDF, Answers Researchers' Questions, and Helps You Understand Papers in Seconds

Journal Info