TITLE:
Restrictive Conditions, Realization Features, and Pragmatic Functions of Ironic Illocutionary Act
AUTHORS:
Qianjun Luo
KEYWORDS:
Ironic Illocutionary Act, Pragmatic Function, Restrictive Condition, Reference, Core Act
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.13 No.6,
June
25,
2026
ABSTRACT: The restrictive conditions governing the ironic illocutionary act can be systematically analyzed through four categories: the Propositional Content Condition, the Preparatory Condition, the Sincerity Condition, and the Essential Condition. The realization feature of an ironic illocutionary act is its indirectness. Its illocutionary act is not executed directly but is mediated indirectly through the mechanism of another illocutionary act. Ironic illocutionary acts comprise two core components—“reference” and “core act”—which yield four combinatorial patterns, all capable of generating indirectness. The particularity of the performative process endows ironic discourse with a range of pragmatic functions to fulfill various pragmatic objectives. The pragmatic functions specifically include: delivering criticism, displaying power, maintaining face, forming alliances, serving as a deterrent, venting personal emotion, and providing amusement.