Irony is a form of indirect language that is used often in communication, across cultures. Irony is used more often in written, for example in social media, than in face-to-face communication. Irony comprehension is challenging for children and older adults. However, theories on irony comprehension ignore developmental changes and there are no studies on how children and healthy older adults resolve the meaning of written irony. The aim of this project is to explore how children and older adults comprehend and resolve the meaning of written irony. Moreover, we investigate whether we can help children and older adults to comprehend irony by using clearer cues to ironic intent and by training the children on how and why to use irony. The knowledge provided by this project is important so that we could better understand changes in language comprehension across the lifespan, and so that we can ensure equal possibilities for children and older adults to understand and use language.

2021

2024