00:00:15
Great weather we're having!
00:00:19
You're a tremendous athlete!
00:00:22
Compliments, right?
00:00:27
Depending on the attitude
00:00:28
and tone of voice behind these lines,
00:00:31
they very well may be compliments.
00:00:33
They may also be, though,
00:00:35
pointed and attacking lines.
00:00:37
This slight change of attitude behind the lines
00:00:40
reveals what we call verbal irony.
00:00:44
So when someone says, "Great weather we're having,"
00:00:48
it is quite possible that the person really means that
00:00:52
if the sun is shining,
00:00:53
the birds are singing,
00:00:54
and the wind is calm.
00:00:56
But if the weather is horrible,
00:00:58
the clouds are looming,
00:00:59
and the wind is a raging tempest,
00:01:01
and someone says, "Great weather we're having,"
00:01:05
he probably doesn't actually mean that.
00:01:07
He probably means that the weather is horrible,
00:01:10
but he has said the opposite.
00:01:12
This is verbal irony
00:01:15
when the speaker says the opposite of what he means.
00:01:18
I know what you're thinking.
00:01:18
Isn't this sarcasm,
00:01:20
isn't the speaker being sarcastic?
00:01:23
When a speaker says the opposite of what he means,
00:01:25
that is verbal irony.
00:01:28
When a speaker then goes the step farther
00:01:30
to mean the opposite of what he says
00:01:32
and seeks to be a little pointed and mean,
00:01:35
like he's making fun of something,
00:01:37
then you have sarcasm.
00:01:38
Take the second example:
00:01:41
Someone accomplishing his life-long dream:
00:01:44
Someone winning a sports championship:
00:01:47
Someone rear-ends another car:
00:01:52
So when the passenger says, "Awesome job!"
00:01:56
they probably mean the opposite
00:01:57
with a hint of poking fun.
00:02:00
That is verbal irony and that is sarcastic.
00:02:03
"You're a talented athlete," said to an Olympian:
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