In this thesis, I will address the following research question: Do sarcastic and hiniku utterances without humoristic intent exist? I will explore the relationship between sarcasm, irony and humor...Show moreIn this thesis, I will address the following research question: Do sarcastic and hiniku utterances without humoristic intent exist? I will explore the relationship between sarcasm, irony and humor and hiniku and humor. More often than not, sarcastic utterances are known to have humoristic intent and make the listener and any outside observers laugh by playfully making fun of the listener, i.e. making a joke. Hiniku, the closest Japanese equivalent of sarcasm, has similar aspects for it makes fun of the addressee by criticizing him or her. I want to find out whether sarcasm and hiniku can be used without humoristic intent, i.e. the speaker does not want to be funny when he or she says something sarcastic or hiniku.Show less
