1. INTRODUCTION: THE RELEVANCE-THEORETICAL ACCOUNT OF IRONY Even before the framework of relevance theory was developed (Sperber and Wilson 1986/1995, 1987), the earliest proposals on irony were put forward (Sperber and Wilson 1981, 1978). Besides, these have reached very recent times -for instance, Wilson, 2006). In what follows, an overall outline of the model will be made, and emphasis will be laid upon those aspects that have been central for the main contentions and scope of analysis of the research carried out within this paper.
