Title: Social Communication | Sarcasm
Headings: 
Features of Sarcasm
Sarcastic Tone of Voice
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Sarcastic Facial Expressions, Eye Rolls, and Postures
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Hyperbole in Sarcasm
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Sarcasm in Writing
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Polite (!) Uses of Sarcasm
More Aggressive Uses of Sarcasm
Using Sarcasm in an Argument
Using Sarcasm to Insult
Using Sarcasm to Establish Power Differences
Particular Phrases
Responding to Sarcasm
If you’re not sure whether or not a speaker is being sarcastic….
If the sarcasm is self-directed…
If the sarcasm expresses frustration with a situation
If the sarcasm is directed towards you
Exercises
Scholarly Sources
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Recommended Reading
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Content: Social Communication | Sarcasm
Sarcasm is when people say something very different (often the opposite) of what they really mean without intending to deceive (e.g., saying “Whoop-de-doo – I’m so happy,” when they’re very unhappy, or “I’m a genius” when they think they’ve done something stupid). ( Literary critics differentiate between sarcasm and irony (being ironic), but for our purposes, there isn’t a practical difference in conversation.) Some people are more sarcastic than others, as a matter of personality, but sarcasm is very common in general. If you can’t recognize or interpret it, you are at a significant disadvantage; even if you understand that the person didn’t believe the actual words they used, you may be taking offense where none is intended, or assuming someone is joking in a friendly way when in fact they’re being somewhat hostile. We don’t recommend that you incorporate sarcasm into your own speech, because there are considerable risks involved, especially for someone who might miss signs that you’ve made others uncomfortable, but we do urge you to work on recognizing, interpreting and responding to it. Features of Sarcasm
Sarcastic Tone of Voice
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The sarcastic tone of voice is so conventional that most people can instantly recognize it, even though they can’t describe it to you. Typically, it involves: lower pitch than normal for that speaker,
extra stress/emphasis (which will elongate some vowels),
longer duration of utterance (due to the elongations resulting from added stress),
but slightly reduced volume. ( Muttered sarcastic comments are quite common.)