IRONIC RHETORIC IN BUSINESS ENGLISH COURSES FROM FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS PERSPECTIVE

The present paper is devoted to irony as a rhetoric and stylistic device from the angle of teaching Business English. The authors focus on two main aspects of the topic, i.e. which linguistic means are typical and acceptable in ironic business communication, and what didactic methods Business English teachers should resort to for teaching entrepreneurs and other representatives of business to make the best use of irony in their professional activity. The problem is considered in terms of functional linguistics which is quite efficient to that end.