Based on real-life linguistic data, this paper delves into the relationship between the propositional meaning and implicature of ironic discourse. It argues that “the opposition between literal meaning and intended meaning” is not the sole semantic feature of ironic discourse; instead, the propositional meaning and implicature may also diverge or even coincide. Building on this analysis, the paper proposes a working definition of irony and further identifies restrictive conditions for ironic discourse, aiming to deepen the understanding of its nature.
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