Listening: Advanced Pragmatic & Discourse Understanding C1 - Lesson 2: Understanding Implied Meaning, Irony, Humor, and Sarcasm in Highly Nuanced Speech

C1 PRAGMATICS

Implied Meaning

អត្ថន័យបង្កប់ និង ការចំអក

🎯 Scenario: The "Great" Idea.
Sarah: An enthusiastic but clueless manager proposing 5-hour daily meetings.
Tom: A senior employee using sarcasm to critique the idea.

S

Sarah (Manager)

T

Tom (Colleague)

Analysis: Tom uses Hyperbole ("Love hearing our own voices") and Positive Words for Negative Meaning ("Stroke of genius"). The key is the flat, deadpan intonation.

Terms for Hidden Meaning:

Irony Using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

Sarcasm The use of irony to mock or convey contempt (often sharper/meaner than irony).

Deadpan Deliberately impassive or expressionless (a common delivery style for sarcasm).

Understatement The presentation of something as being smaller or less important than it really is.

Why is Tom's comment sarcastic?

Literal Agreement

He genuinely thinks meetings are better than work.

Contextual Contradiction

In a business context, "doing work" is objectively more valuable than "hearing voices". His enthusiasm is fake.

Task: Decode the Sarcasm

Translate Tom's sarcastic comment into a Direct, Professional Objection.

"It's a stroke of genius."