A really great study it is, isn't it?

We encounter non-literal language daily, the majority of which is verbal irony and sarcasm (Whalen et al., 2009). Gibbs (2000) suggests that irony makes up about 8% of all language. Especially in written text, unable to rely on paralinguistic cues such as facial expression and tone, it can be difficult to correctly identify the intended meaning of a message (Burgers & Van Mulken 2017, Attardo et al., 2003). Yet, there are a variety of specific linguistic cues, which have been noted to be present when a speaker intends an ironic meaning (Whalen et al., 2013) and these cues have been categorized by Burgers in 2010.