IRONY AND HUMOUR AS DISCURSIVE MECHANISMS OF PRAGMATIC IMPACT (BASED ON BUSINESS ARTICLES IN MASS-MEDIA)

Abstract

Tis article is devoted to the use of irony and humour in the functional feld of modern English business mass-media discourse which is a somewhat atypical environment for these stylistic means. Functional-linguistic analysis of vast empirical material gives an opportunity to understand why authors of articles in British and American periodicals use comical elements to describe phenomena of the world of business. It also helps to defne the systemic role that linguistic means of creating humorous effect play in the realization of an article’s functional-pragmatic potential. As a rule, in mass-media discourse the purpose of a jokey utterance is not to criticize but rather stimulate analysis and improvement. Ironic text mass media, on the other hand, is expressively emotional and implicitly actualizes disapproval, criticism and negative attitude of the author towards the object of speech. A hidden form of subjective evaluative modality makes irony an effective means of pragmatic modifcation. Irony and humour are special means of pragmatic impact that give journalists a chance to improve modern mass-media discourse aimed at both informing people and putting across opinions, values, criticism. Surplus comical effect, which is achieved through the realization of the functional loading of the ironic/ humorous elements of persuasive rhetoric, gives an easy way to impose key ideas on the audience.