Intonation of sarcasm

Sarcasm

When pitch does not rise at all, with pitch starting low and remaining low, it can sound sarcastic. Being sarcastic means that what is said is the opposite of the literal meaning of the sentence. That is, the intended meaning of the speaker actually is the opposite of what she says. These are examples of sarcastic remarks:

Always a delight when you end up in a subway car with someone singing at the top of their lungs. (annoyed)

I love going to work at 5:45 am on a Saturday (hate)

This dish really could use more salt. (already too salty)

The use of sarcasm is very common in English speech. According to some studies, about a quarter of the time, Americans use “Yeah right” to mean the opposite, that is, to disagree. Detecting sarcasm can be difficult for non-native speakers. One important clue for sarcasm is intonation. When pitch moves the opposite direction of what is expected based on the meaning of the sentence, the speech can be interpreted as a sarcastic remark. For instance, pitch should rise steeply in a sentence meaning excitement. But, if pitch stays flat instead, it is most likely used sarcastically. The following sentences are used sarcastically:

Great ! (sarcasm)

 2 

Fantastic. (sarcasm)  

  2

Compare the following pairs of sentences where one has the expected pitch movement and the other has the sarcastic movement:

 

That’s just what I wanted. (excitement)

        3                     4 -1               

That’s just what I wanted. (sarcasm)

2

Yeah right (agreement)

  2     3-1 

Yeah right (disagreement)

      2