Two routes to sarcasm
The best-known route is the flat one: narrow pitch range, slower pace, low ending. The second is the overdone one: the voice jumps higher than needed, almost sings and draws out the key syllable. Both give away the same thing: the melody doesn't match what the words claim.
Sincere, flat, overdone
| Feature | sincere | flat | overdone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitch range | naturally wide | almost none | too wide, sung |
| Key syllable | short, strong | stretched, low | stretched, high |
| Effect | delight, praise | fed up, dry | mocking, theatrical |
Che bello three ways
Che bello!
[Che bello! ↗↘ brisk]
How lovely!
Meant sincerely.
Che bello.
[Che beeello. → low and level]
Oh, lovely.
Flat sarcasm, said while looking at the rain.
Che bello!
[Che beeello! ↗↗↘ sung high]
Oh, how wonderful!
Overdone sarcasm; the enthusiasm is put on.
Where to stretch
What gets stretched is usually the stressed vowel. In casual speech people often draw out the final vowel as well. That sounds condescending, as if the other person had said something very naive. If you stretch an unstressed syllable in the middle instead, you sound unsure rather than sarcastic.
Hear the stretch and repeat
Certo, come no.
[[ˈtʃɛːːrto ˈkome ˈnɔ] → stressed vowel long, flat]
Sure, yeah, right.
Dry doubt.
Certo, come no.
[[ˈtʃɛrtoːːː ˈkome ˈnɔ] → final vowel long]
Suuure, yeah, right.
Condescending; the other person is cast as naive.
Bravo, eh.
[[ˈbraːːvo ɛ] → eh short and low]
Well, nice work.
The tacked-on eh sharpens the mockery.
Come no: yes or yeah, right
Come no literally means "how not" and, said sincerely, is a warm "of course". Said sarcastically, it means "definitely not", much like English "yeah, right". Here it is mostly the voice that decides: the yes rises on no and sounds bright, the doubt stays flat and drops low on no.
Yes and doubt
Come no!
[come no ↗ bright and quick]
Of course!
In reply to: Posso sedermi qui?
Sì, come no.
[sì … come no ↘ flat, low]
Yeah, right.
In reply to: Domani ti restituisco tutto.
Sì, sì!
[sì sì ↗ eager, second sì higher]
Yes, yes, gladly!
Real, quick agreement.
Sì, sì.
[sì sì ↘ quick, low, no eye contact]
Yeah, yeah.
I don't believe a word.
Quoting the other person
A particularly cutting form: you repeat what someone said and put on a voice while doing it. The quote sounds higher, slightly nasal and sing-song. The frame around it stays normal. The switch itself is what makes the mockery audible.
The sing-song quote
E lui: «Arrivo tra cinque minuti». Due ore!
[E lui: → normal; «Arrivo …» ↗↘↗ sing-song, higher]
And he goes: "I'll be there in five minutes." Two hours!
«Tranquilla, ci penso io», mi ha detto.
[«Tranquilla …» stretched, nasal; mi ha detto → low]
"Don't worry, I'll handle it," he told me.
Vocal sarcasm is normal among friends. In front of a boss or strangers, and the sing-song quote above all, it easily comes across as hurtful.
