Language use involves the activation of phonological, morphological, grammatical and lexical systems for meaning-making with other people in specific contexts. Therefore, we not only need to acquire and develop these linguistic systems for language use, but we also need to develop an awareness and understanding of these linguistic systems as meaning-making resources for appropriate use in a given context. For this reason, it is necessary to focus on the social use of language as a key aspect of language development.

Ironic language often conveys and elicits intense emotions. This chapter describes much of the relevant experimental research on the ways people emotionally react to sarcastic messages (e.g., “You’re so strong” when the person is actually rather weak). She considers some of the communicative reasons why people employ sarcasm in their speech, including possible affective messages they may wish to express. Experimental studies have employed eye tracking and event-related brain potentials (ERPs) measures to assess examine people’s anticipated emotional responses to story characters who were presented with either ironic (e.g., “You’re so strong”) or literal (e.g., “You’re so weak”) criticisms. The results suggest that readers initially anticipated a hurt response to ironic criticism, but eventually found it easier to integrate a hurt response following literal criticism (i.e., a “two-stage model” of emotional responses). But there are important individual differences in the ways people respond to sarcasm, not surprisingly. For example, autistic individuals do not easily distinguish between ironic and literal criticisms. Older adults also exhibit reduced abilities to understand and emotionally respond to sarcastic utterances. There are also significant variations in the ways people from different cultures use, interpret, and emotionally respond to sarcasm.