1、 i （ 20_ _届） 本科毕业 设计 英语 英语影视剧幽默对白的语用分析 A Pragmatic Analysis of Humorous Dialogue in English Films ii 摘要 幽默是对语言的一种有意识的积极运用，反映出幽默制造者的知识、修养、智慧以及交际技巧，颇有审美价值。作为交际中言语活动的结果和一种会话含义的体现，幽默离不开合作原则和认知语境，他们都是语用学关键概念之一，所以幽默可以从语言学那里找到理据。本文旨在从合作原则和认知语 境两个角度分析幽默的语用理据。 合作原则对人处于不理想状态时所说的不相关话语而引起的幽默具有解释力，而认知语境能够解释不同的心理
2、机制引起的幽默。将二者互相配合解释幽默语言是语用学关注的新焦点。本文选取深受我国广大观众喜爱的美国情景喜剧中部分幽默言语事例，从合作原则和认知语境两个角度探讨言语幽默，比较各自对幽默言语的解释力以及不足，并将分析得出违反合作原则及分析认知语境相结合是分析英语幽默产生的重要源泉。本文对于人们笑声背后幽默系统如何运作进行了尝试性的论述，它可以增进我们对美国情景喜剧和日常会话幽默的理解和欣 赏。 关键词： 英文 影视剧 ;语言 幽默 ;合作原则 ;认知语境 iii Abstract Humor is one of the conscious positive application of langu
3、age in communication. It reflects the humor producers knowledge, cultivation, wisdom and communication techniques. Humor, as the result of speech event and one kind of conversational implicature, is associated with cooperative principle and cognitive context which are key notions in pragmatics. Such
4、 pragmatic motivations, in perspective of cooperative principle and cognitive context, can be found in some concrete humorous utterances. Cooperative Principle does a better job in explaining verbal humor by speaking irrelevant utterance when the speakers are in bad moods, while Cognitive Context is
5、 more effective in analyzing verbal humor for different psychology. The combination of the two complements is a new focus on analyzing verbal humor in pragmatic study. This thesis intends to analyze the examples of verbal humor in the American sitcom with the help of pragmatic theories involving Coo
6、perative Principle and Cognitive Context. It finds that applying the Cooperative Principle and Cognitive Context is of the great importance in English humor. Based on these analyses, the deep structure of English verbal humor has been tentatively explored. The findings of this thesis can help the En
7、glish learners to comprehend and appreciate the verbal humor in English sitcoms as well as in daily communication. Key words: English films; verbal humor; Cooperative Principle; Cognitive Context iv Contents Abstract in Chinese i Abstract in English ii Contents iii 1. Introduction 1 2. The Linguisti
8、c Study of Verbal Humor 2 2.1 The Definition of Humor 2 2.2 Verbal Humor meanwhile, they can cultivate their “communicative competence” as well as “linguistic competence” with the help of extralinguistic means of communication, such as the speakers and listeners action, postures, expressions, and th
9、e distance between them, etc (Hu Wenzhong,1989:5-7). Accordingly, with Cooperative Principle and Cognitive Context as theoretical frameworks, this thesis attempts to reveal understanding of humorous language by analyzing the instances of verbal humor in English films, and further, comparing the two
10、theories in terms of their power in verbal-humor interpretation and their limitations. 2. The Linguistic Study of Verbal Humor Nowadays, humor is prevalent in our daily life, from our daily conversation to political speeches, from literary works to commercial advertisements and television shows. It
11、is obvious for us to perceive the existence of humor, for it not only brings us delight and amusement, but also provides us with an opportunity to savor the happiness of life. It is common that we regard humor as something that can produce laughter. However, when asked what humor is and how does it
12、work, the majority may not have a clear understanding of its 2 definition, let alone its operational mechanism. 2.1 The Definition of Humor Humor has been the study of multi-disciplines, but a generally agreed definition of humor has never been put forward. It goes without saying that the definition
13、 of humor ultimately depends on the purpose for which it is used. So an exact and convincing definition of convincing definition of humor seems not easy to define. Etymologically, according to Attardo (1994), “humor” is derived from the Latin word for “Liquid” or “fluid” and has much to do with the
14、“theory of humors” of medieval medicine. As Attardo (Attardo, 1994:103-104) points out, in the field of literary criticism, there is a need for a fine-grained categorization, whereas linguistic has often accepted broader definitions, arguing that whatever evokes language or is left to be funny is hu
15、mor, e.g. that humor can be deduced from its effect. Nevertheless, such language is not necessarily a precondition for humor, and to put this in mind, Attardo considers the pragmatic definition of humor as a text whose perlocutionary, e.g. intended, effect is language, to be a more fruitful approach
16、. More specifically, through centuries, humor is whatever intended to be funny, and it gradually lost its original sense and came to refer to a specific mood or quality to understand, enjoy, and express what makes people laugh, even if it might not always be perceived or interpreted (Attardo, 1994:1
17、95-229). Then a more comprehensive definition from the Websters Third New Collegiate Dictionary renders humor as follows: (a): that quality in a happening, an action, a situation or an expression of ideas which appeals to a sense of the ludicrous or absurdly in congruous: comic or amusing quality (b
18、): the mental faculty of discovering, expressing, or appreciating ludicrous or absurdly in congruous elements in ideas, situation, happenings, or acts (c): the act of or effort at being humorous (Websters Third New Collegiate Dictionary: 1976; 1102). The above definition has approached humor from a
19、broader perspective. In most cases, it is verbal that is discussed in linguistic study. Verbal humor, as its name indicated, is humor related to language, or exactly speaking, it is humor created through the use of linguistic elements. Chinese scholar Lin Yutang, is the first one who translated “hum
20、or” as “you mo” into Chinese in early 20th century, and he held the view that “humor is a popular art form to express ones viewpoint and even perceptions of the real world”. (胡范铸 , 1987:7-8) Although definitions might be different, we can still find something in common: humor 3 is laugh causing and
21、needs peoples deep thinking. Therefore, as far as the author is concerned, humor is kind of advanced activities of human intelligence which can make people feel funny and light-hearted. Thus, the author will apply this meaning to the analysis of humor in American sitcom Friends. 2.2 Verbal Humor if
22、I need a spoon, I do not expect a trick spoon made of rubber. 3. Relation. I expect a partners contribution to be appropriate to the immediate needs at each stage of the transaction. If I am mixing ingredients for a cake, I do not expect to be handed a good book, or even an over cloth (though this m
23、ight be an appropriate contribution at a later stage). 4. Manner. I expect a partner to make it clear what contribution he is making and to execute his performance with reasonable dispatch (Grice, 1975: 308-309). Grices concept of the CP and its four associated maxims is considered as a major contri
24、bution to the area of pragmatics. The CP is successful example showing human communication is governed by general principles. Humor, in its broad sense, refers to anything that can cause people to laugh in the process of communication. After “Grices original suggestion that irony and humor might be
25、connected to violation of the conversation maxims”, a lot of work has been done to analyze the specific relationship between humor and the violations (Attardo, 1994:195-229). These researchers include Zhang Jingshu (1998), Xu Lixin (2003), and Lin Yamhua (2002), Liu Ping (2005) and Gao Yujie (2006).
26、 Xu believes that some conversational humor can be accounted for by the flouting of the maxims of the CP. Lin and Gao perform a case analysis of some humorous conversation by the flouting of the maxims of the CP. Liu approaches humor from the perspective of the CP; she observes that humor is in a pa
27、radoxical position, on the one hand, humor is a successful mode of communication, on the other hand, humor violations the maxims of the CP, a general principle for successful communicative exchange. According to the survey conducted above, we know it has theoretical and practical value for this pape
28、r to try to analyze verbal humor in some English films in view of the violation of maxims of the CP. 3.1.1. Violation of Maxim of Quantity As described in the maxim of Quantity, people provide sufficient quantity of information in order to continue their conversation. However, in humorous dialogues, we may find a totally different case, as illustrated by the following examples:
