An 8-year-old shows irony and sarcasm in his speech by saying "That's just great, I'm a regular Michael Jordon!" after he misses a free throw in a basketball game; this suggests that his ____ has improved.
A) metalinguistic awareness
B) psycholinguistic skills
C) linguistic relativity
D) ability to use linguistic heuristics

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Metalinguistic awareness refers to the ability to think and talk about language itself, including the ability to understand and use figurative language such as irony and sarcasm. The 8-year-old's use of the ironic statement "That's just great, I'm a regular Michael Jordan!" suggests that he is developing metalinguistic awareness and an understanding of figurative language.

An 8-Year-Old Shows Irony and Sarcasm in His Speech by Saying