Korean Job Discussion Forums

[huck]

Here's an easy way to check and see if you're low-level students understand sarcasm - of course, as with all sarcasm, it might be a bit mean...

you know there's always one student who is obviously worse than the others...when he/she does or says something that is blatantly imbecilic, just kindof snort, and say "Choen-jae" in a sarcastic manner...

It sounds mean, but the one kid will never pick up on it. Just look at it as a pscyological experiment..

OR when I grade my students tests, and I give them back to them....I always try to say positive things...However, if they get a 65 and I say, "Great job, Sue," invariably the student will say "Teacher, joke!" which means their picking up on the sarcasm...

Disclaimer - I'm really not a bad teacher.....sometimes it's fun to joke with the students, though...

[tomato]

I found the source which I referred to in my earlier post.
It's from Ugly Koreans, Ugly Americans by �κ�ö, published by BCM Media, ����� ���ʱ� ���ʵ� 1305-7, [email protected]



Now watch me get sued for copyright violation.

[SarcasmKills]

Sarcasm?

I don't get it.

And I probably never will.

[tomato]

Here are some expressions in English which can be assumed to be sarcastic:

"You're a fine one to talk."
"Yeah, right."
"Big deal!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"I humbly apologize."
"A likely story."

Can you add any others to the list?

[inkoreaforgood]

[uberscheisse]

i had a situation with a student a while ago. i called on him to read. he is a bit stunned in general...

"ok, danny, it's your turn to read."

"who me?"

to which i answer "no, the other danny. the one who sits behind you". (in my class there is no possible way for a student to sit behind another student).

danny turns around and looks for someone behind him. nobody is there, he's thoroughly confused.

last night i was at a wedding reception and i met a guy who briefly worked for the first crap hagwon i worked at in korea. he was talking about the director, who is possibly the worst human being i've met in years. i say "oh yeah, he's a great guy. i love him" and the guy just smiles and agrees. doesn't detect the sarcasm at all.

[Mr. Literal]

[Veronica]

A life without sarcasm is like without sight.

[SarcasmKills]

[Veronica]

...is like life without sight.

[kermo]

I saw first hand today that sarcasm is alive and well in the ESL classroom.

My co-teacher is able to go to serene to livid in under a second, and she's very quick to dole out hideous threats and cutting epithets. It's her duty, I suspect. Anyway, she popped into my classroom to pass on a piece of paper to one of my students, and one of the kids translated a comment she made as she handed it over:

"Teacher! She just called him a psycho!"

I didn't crack a smile, but sketched a little figure with robes and a halo on the board, and said "She is an angel, and she would never make a comment like that."

Oh, how they laughed.

[Bo Peabody]

Americans aren't really that great at sarcasm as they claim to be. The Canucks do it better, the Brits do it best.

This Scandinavian referee gets sarcasm.



caption: "Man Utd's cause is not helped as Wayne Rooney is sent off for sarcastically applauding the referee's decision to book him."

[sonofthedarkstranger]

I'm lost. Why would he be happy that the ref is booking him?

[Bo Peabody]

[tomato]

I am not satisfied with most of the existent definitions of the word sarcasm.

The electronic dictionary says "The use of words or expressions to mean the opposite of what they actually say." But that's not exactly what the word means.

What does the word mean, then?
Let's look at some examples:

�� meaning the opposite of what one actually says

Suppose I said, "You know why the chicken crossed the road? To get to the other side!"
And you said, "That's a new one!"

In this case, sarcasm fits the definition in the electronic dictionary.

�� making an understatement

My college friends and I were sitting at the dinner table, gossiping about another student who wasn't present. One of the students said, "Oh, she's a little odd"

You could argue that this category fits under the first category because "a little" is the opposite of "extremely."

You could argue that this category doesn't fit under the first category because "normal" is the opposite of "odd."

�� pretending to take a stand which you consider ridiculous

A Creationist might say, "Oh, sure! We got up and left the jungle and built houses and churches and schools. While all the other monkeys went right on swinging from trees."

An Evolutionist might say, "Oh, sure! We were created exactly as we are six thousand years ago. All those fossils were just created for our amusement in science class!"

�� pretending to agree with another person's exalted self-image

Suppose I said, "So you're new at teaching English? I've been at it for a few years now. Let's talk it over and maybe I can give you a few pointers."
And you said, "Oh, you're a real pro, huh?"

In this case, you are not implying that I am a bad teacher, only that I have an exaggerated self-image as a good teacher.

I guess you could call this a sub-division of the above category.

�� giving a foolish answer to a foolish question

Suppose I asked where Pusan is.
And you said, "Why, in Bangladesh, of course!"

If you give a foolish answer to a foolish yes-no question, then the words would indeed "mean the opposite of what they actually say." But it would be kinda hard for one geographical location to be the opposite of another geographical location--unless they are on opposite sides of the world.

All of these examples have two elements in common:

1. In all of the examples, the person being sarcastic is expressing hostility or contempt.
2. In all of the examples, the person's words are different from his or her true belief. The words may or may not be the exact opposite of his or her true belief.

My definition of sarcasm, then, involves both of these two elements.

That's really profound, isn't it!