IRONY IN BRITISH

NEWSPAPERS OF VARIOUS
TYPES
Zanda Mauria

Daugavpils, 2014

The aim:
to

study the use of irony in British

broadsheet and tabloid newspaper
articles.

THE RESEARCH QUESTION AND

HYPOTHESIS

Research question:
In which type of newspapers (broadsheet or
tabloid) is irony exploited more frequently, how
and for what purpose is it created and used?
Research hypothesis:
Since broadsheet newspapers are of more serious
character, irony is more characteristic of tabloid
newspaper articles, it is most often created by
means of contextual markers and it functions to
reinforce the meaning of an utterance.

IRONY
A trope, the trope of tropes, and not a trope at all. It is a plain
inversion and a complex mode of consciousness, immersed
engagement and superior distance, an inevitable function of
language and a cruel and unusual use. It is purely rhetorical and
deeply structural, (auto)poiesis and (auto) annihilation, a duty
and an indulgence. It is dialectic, an entrapped oscillation, an
endless interruption, a permanent becoming, political and
private, transcendent and nihilistic, ethical, unethical and aethical. It is sarcasm, wit, scepticism and enthusiasm, evokes
sympathy and hostility, empathy and incomprehension, and is a
divine and wholly human mode of creation.
Long Derrida and a Theory of Irony: Parabasis and Parataxis
(2010: 11)

TYPES OF IRONY
verbal

irony
situational irony
dramatic/tragic irony

NEWSPAPERS
Devoted to the news of the day, and some
analysis and comment on this news.
Reah The Language of Newspapers (2002: 2)

Print publication issued daily, weekly or at

regular times that provides news, features,
information of interest to the public, and
advertising.
Danesi Dictionary of Media (2009: 213)

Broadsheet [also called (erroneously)

broadside] 1. early colonial newspaper
imported from England, consisting of a
single sheet; 2. full-size newspaper; 3. a
newspaper that covers news in a serious,
informative way.

Tabloid a small format newspaper that

is roughly half the size of a standard
newspaper, usually containing
sensational coverage of crime, scandal,
gossip, violence, or news about
celebrities. Tabloids also typically
include lurid photographs, cartoons and
other graphic features.
Danesi Dictionary of Media (2009: 49; 283)

The broadsheet newspapers:

The Guardian
The Telegraph
The Independent
The tabloid newspapers:
The Daily Mail
Metro
The Daily Express.

Time is running out to deal with

climate change, Steven Guilbeault of
Greenpeace said in 2006. Ten years
ago, we thought we had a lot of
time. We did? We thought we had
lots of time? Hmm.
Despite everything, life keeps getting better by Daniel Hannan, December
27th, 2013 The Daily Telegraph

Wow, what a terrific intro to

this article. It really is
brilliant.
Oh great, an article about sarcasm I am really looking forward to
reading it by Ross McGuinness, Tuesday 9 Jul 2013, Metro

CONCLUSIONS

THANK YOU FOR

YOUR ATTENTION!