Tikrit University

A Pragmatic Study of Sarcasm in the TV. Show Parks and Recreation

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of English, College of Education for Humanities, Tikrit University, Tikrit, Iraq

Abstract
This study examines the topic of sarcasm in the American television show Parks and Recreation. This topic has been chosen as the primary focus since it is relevant to modern social discourse. The challenge that this study attempts to address is how to interpret sarcasm in the program using a pragmatic approaches which are Searle’s speech acts (1979) and Grice’s maxims (1975). It also seeks to determine the type and purpose of sarcasm. As a result, the current study seeks appropriate answers to the following questions: (1) Which types of speech acts are used in the TV show? (2) What types of Gricean maxims are most frequently violated by the participants when producing sarcasm in the chosen TV show? The following aims are described in order to find appropriate solutions to the abovementioned questions:) 1) Identifying the types of speech acts used in the TV show and (2) finding Grice’s maxims utilized in the data under study. The present study hypothesizes that (1) Assertive speech act is more commonly speech act used in this TV Show (2) The quality maxim is flouted most frequently in producing sarcasm in the data under the study. Certain situations from the American TV show are selected to be the data for this study. The data are analysed based on Searle’s speech acts (1979) and Grice’s maxims (1975). The study has arrived at the following conclusions: (1) Assertive speech acts account for 57.14 % of all speech acts. This popularity implies that characters frequently make utterances that represent their thoughts or opinions, which serve as the foundation for sarcastic dialogue. (2) The quality maxim is most frequently violated (31.25%). This intentional infringement implies that characters frequently say things that are not meant to be taken literally, heightening the sarcastic tone.

Keywords

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Volume 10, Issue 2, Part 1
Spring 2026
Pages 314-332

  • Receive Date 14 May 2025
  • Accept Date 02 June 2025
  • Publish Date 01 June 2026