Children's understanding and production of verbal irony in family conversations

Abstract

This study examined how children use and understand various forms of irony (sarcasm, hyperbole, understatement, and rhetorical questions) in the context of naturalistic positive and negative family conversations in the home. Instances of ironic language in conversations between mothers, fathers, and their two children (M(ages) = 6.33and4.39years) were recorded during six 90-min observations for each of 39 families. Children's responses to others' ironic utterances were coded for their understanding of meaning and conversational function. Mothers were especially likely to ask rhetorical questions and to use ironic language in conflictual contexts. In contrast, fathers used hyperbole and understatement as frequently as rhetorical questions, and employed ironic language in both positive and conflictual contexts. Children also showed evidence of a nascent ability to use ironic language, especially hyperbole and rhetorical questions. Family members used rhetorical questions and understatement proportionately more often in a negative interaction context. Finally, older siblings understood irony better than younger siblings, and both children's responses revealed some understanding of ironic language, particularly sarcasm and rhetorical questions. Overall, the results suggest that family conversations in the home may be one important context for the development of children's use and understanding of ironic language.

Intonation influences how children and adults interpret sarcasm

“…Given that children encounter sarcastic language frequently in their everyday experiences (Recchia, Howe, Ross & Alexander, 2010), there is social risk associated with misinterpretation. Indeed, children who demonstrate more socially withdrawing behaviors attribute more negative intentions to sarcastic speakers (Mewhort-Buist & Nilsen, 2012).…”

Where in the brain is nonliteral language? A coordinate-based meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies

“…However, it is interesting to note that a rather large body of research exists on non-literal language comprehension in children. Compared with other language functions, non-literal language comprehension evolves relatively late during development (Creusere, 1999;Nippold and Taylor, 1995;Recchia et al, 2010), with some studies indicating that this process continues up to the age of 12 (Filippova and Astington, 2008). Unfinished brain maturation processes could be associated with the decreased ability of younger children to grasp non-literal intentions Sakai, 2005;Uddin et al, 2010).…”

Irony comprehension: Social conceptual knowledge and emotional response

“…Children understand the false beliefs of others by age 4À5 years (Happé, 1995), yet understanding of irony develops from this only later (Dews et al, 1996;Hancock et al, 2000;Harris and Pexman, 2003;Keenan and Quigley, 1999). Usage of irony in family conversations helps children develop an understanding of irony (Recchia et al, 2010), and children's knowledge of irony is elaborated with age (Filippova and Astington, 2008;Laval and Bert-Eboul, 2005;Pexman et al, 2005). The constraint-satisfaction model (Akimoto et al, 2012;Katz, 2005;Pexman, 2008) provides a good explanation of the respective roles of mentalizing and conceptual knowledge during irony comprehension.…”