Irony through metaphor in online comments, or Lithuania between (grim) Soviet past and (bright) European future

Abstract

The present investigation focuses on the analysis of ironic comments and memes dealing with the introduction of the euro in Lithuania on 1 January 2015. The analysis relies on the understanding of irony as a clash, or shift, or contrast, between literal and intended (opposite) meaning of an utterance (Ritchie 2005; Garmendia 2014; Gibbs and Izett 2013), often not devoid of (critical) evaluation (Attardo 2000; Garmendia 2014; Dynel 2014, 2014a; Bryant 2012). In communication, ironic utterances are usually rated as less severe than direct critical remarks (Gibbs and Izett 2013: 134). Recent papers have demonstrated that the intended meaning of an ironic utterance is not only concerned with the ironist's intention but might also involve the expectations of the addressee (Gibbs and Colston 2007); irony is not necessarily confined to a single utterance and is employed to negotiate social relationships (Gibbs and Colston 2007; Bryant and Gibbs 2015). The data for the present investigation has been collected from Facebook (posts, comments and memes from personal profiles and Facebook pages) and from reader comments following editorials and news reports found in the most popular news portals in Lithuania: lrytas.lt, delfi.lt and 15min.lt. They cover the period between 10 September 2014 and 2 February 2015. The results suggest that a number of ironic comments are based on metaphor. Differently from innovative metaphors employed in some humorous situations (Dynel 2009), most metaphors employed in ironic comments are dead, such as TIME IS SPACE, MORE IS UP or MONEY IS A PERSON. However, the metaphors are revived by foregrounding an unexpected mapping and/or by echoing metaphors in "ironic chains" (the term adopted from Gibbs and Colston 2007). The echo, a frequent clue of irony (Garmendia 2014; Goatly 2012: 265), is often reproduced partially, i.e. by repeating some words of the original utterance and preserving its pattern as the interaction goes on. Cases of irony combining verbal and visual information also employ metaphors which create multiple oscillating frames clashing between themselves and communicating ironic messages, often bearing political implications. The victims of ironic communication in most cases are people (political figures or their supporters, or unidentified individuals from a crowd) adhering to the Soviet past or having sentiments about the national currency litas and sceptical about the euro and European values. When the focus of contrast is shifted and unexpected and surprising mappings are activated, ironic utterances and memes are also often humorous.