Sarcasm in Iraqi Political Interviews

Abstract

Quintilian defined the standard view of sarcasm, or verbal irony, as speech in which we comprehend something that is the complete opposite of what is said. However, This study aimed to investigate the pragmatic features of politically sensitive communication devoted to the events and issues surrounding the present-day Iraqi TV program disputes, which consist mostly of speech acts of offense and insult, frequently taking the form of sarcasm and irony. Also, it aimed to examine the roles of sarcasm and irony in politicians' and Iraqi party representatives' politicized communication. Furthermore, this study investigated why the speakers chose sarcasm to convey their thoughts, as well as why this method of communication was more effective than others. To achieve these aims, the data obtained from Balharf Alwahed, a TV show, by watching multiple episodes on YouTube that include journalists and their interviewees, was used to find out the function of sarcasm in political speeches and the role sarcasm plays in Iraqi TV shows. The findings revealed that sarcasm is an important method of criticism in television interviews. The interviewer deliberately used irony as a weapon to strike his guests with a smooth criticism that the guests would accept without any problems. Additionally, humor is one of the implicit means of provocation used by broadcasters to trace the emotions of the guest, which may lead to knowing the truth. Thus, humor is used by broadcasters with cunning and savvy, where the dialogue is knotted with an intelligence that is not very provocative to the guest but rather works to stir his feelings a little to reveal his political past.