Abstract
Sarcasm is commonly used in daily communication, particularly on platforms like X. Due to character limitations and contextual constraints, sarcasm recognition (SR) and comprehension (SC) on X becomes more challenging compared to face-to-face interactions (Reyes et al., 2013). However, few studies focus on Chinese adult English learners’ (CAEL) SR and SC on X. Therefore, my study aims to investigate how well CAEL can recognise and comprehend sarcasm and what kinds of cues, strategies, and challenges they encounter during their SR and SC.91 CAEL and 27 NS studying in the UK participated in a questionnaire, where they rated 35 tweets and identified the intention and target of sarcasm. Subsequently, 15 CAEL and 5 NS from these initial participants joined in a think-aloud protocol and an interview, where they verbalised their thoughts and answered some open questions regarding the same tweets from the questionnaire.
Quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed that CAEL face more challenges in identifying sarcasm targets and intentions. CAEL interpret sarcasm hasher than NS. They mainly use seven prototypical cues including linguistic cues, knowledge of trending issues, understanding of tweet characters, readers’ perspectives, experiences and expectations, the concept of sarcasm, factual cues, and discourse practices in their sarcasm recognition and comprehension. Moreover, CAEL use ‘analogy’ more often, while NS rely more on ‘critical thinking’ and ‘stance-taking.’ Regarding the challenges faced by CAEL in SR and SC, these include a lack of interest or knowledge in certain topics, language issues, misreading, and difficulties in identifying sarcasm targets and tweeters’ attitudes.
Overall, this study contributes to the SR and SC among English as second language learners. Through the relevance-theoretical framework, the study highlights the disparities between CAEL and NS in SR and SC and illuminates how CAEL utilise sarcasm features on social media, identifying seven prototypical cues, four strategies, and nine challenges.
Thesis is embargoed until 31 July 2029.
| Date of Award | Jul 2024 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
|
| Supervisor | Jane Lugea (Supervisor), Clara Neary (Supervisor) & Ibrar Bhatt (Supervisor) |
Keywords
- sarcasm
- irony
- comprehension
- Chinese adult English learners
- tweets
- X