1、英语影视剧幽默对白的语用分析毕业作品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机制引起的幽默。将二者
2、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AbstractHumor is one of the conscious positive application of language in communication. It
3、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 pragmatic motivations, i
4、n 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 more effective in analyz
5、ing 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 Cooperative Principle and Co
6、gnitive 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 English learners to compreh
7、end and appreciate the verbal humor in English sitcoms as well as in daily communication. Key words: English films; verbal humor; Cooperative Principle; Cognitive ContextContents Abstract in Chinese iAbstract in English iiContents iii 1. Introduction 12. The Linguistic Study of Verbal Humor 22.1 The
8、 Definition of Humor 22.2 Verbal Humor & Non-verbal Humor 32.3 Verbal Humor Studies Abroad 42.4 Verbal Humor Studies at Home 43. Cooperative Principle & Cognitive Context 53.1 Cooperative Principle & Violation of the CP in Verbal Humor 73.1.1Violation of Maxim of Quantity 73.1.2Violation of Maxim of
9、 Quality 83.1.3Violation of Maxim of Relation 103.1.4Violation of Maxim of Manner 113.2 Cognitive Context & Verbal Humor 133.2.1The Definition of Context 63.2.2The Application of Cognitive Context in Verbal Humor 64. Comparison of Cooperative Principle & Cognitive Context 134.1 Limitations of CP on
10、Analyzing Verbal Humor 134.2 Limitations of Cognitive Context on Analyzing Verbal Humor 145. Conclusion 17Bibliography 18Acknowledgements 191.Introduction Humor is mankinds greatest blessing as Aristotle once observed. It provides us with a totally different access to please, to convince, to forgive
11、, and to survive in the world we live in. Humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in the human body, known as humorous, controls huma
12、n health and emotion. People of all ages, cultures, and even races will respond to humor naturally. The majority of people have the experiences of savoring humor, i.e., to be amused or to laugh at something interesting, thus they are considered to have a sense of humor. How humor is produced is an e
13、ternal and attractive question to plenty of disciplines, such as psychology, physiology and linguistics. Linguistic experts have been employing pragmatic theories and concepts in analyzing the generation of language humor, which is connected with Grices Cooperative Principle(CP), Leechs Politeness P
14、rinciple(PP),Austins Speech Act Theory(SAT), and so on. Many Chinese linguistic experts such as Zhang Shujing(1998), Li Lanping(2002), Yan Weihua(2002), Zhao Yingke(2006) talk about verbal humor from the perspective of pragmatics, exploring the generation of humor or conversational humor via the max
15、ims of CP, Sperber & Wilsons Relevance Theory (RT)is also employed. Fortunately, in recent years, as advocated by Professor Hu Wenzhong, more and more attention has been paid to teaching foreign language through films and TV plays. Because in this way, language learners can have a better understandi
16、ng of the conversational humor in a more vivid and dynamic language context; 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, an
17、d the 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
18、two theories in terms of their power in verbal-humor interpretation and their limitations. 2. The Linguistic Study of Verbal HumorNowadays, humor is prevalent in our daily life, from our daily conversation to political speeches, from literary works to commercial advertisements and television shows.
19、It 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
20、it work, the majority may not have a clear understanding of its 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 definitio
21、n 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
22、 “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 h
23、umor, 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 approac
24、h. 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:
25、195-229).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
26、): 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 b
27、roader 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 “humo
28、r” 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 is laugh causing and needs
29、 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 & Non-ver
30、bal HumorHumor is an indispensable part in our daily life, generally, it can be divided into two main parts: verbal humor and non-verbal humor. I would like to illustrate both of them respectively. Verbal humor, one of the categories of humor, is related to linguistic symbols, rather than pictures,
31、expressions or actions. And it is not simply related to language, it is created through language. What is more, verbal humor derived specifically from the manipulation or exploitation of the convention of spoken language or pre-established verbal forms, such as familiar phrases or song lyrics (Zhao
32、Yingke, 2006:13-14).Varying types of verbal humor are used liberally by comedy writers to spice their work, such as pun, innuendo, malapropism, spoonerism and mixed metaphor. As verbal humor is an important and pervasive phenomenon in our daily life, humor in language has been heatedly discussed by scholars of linguistics. During 1980s, linguistic survey of humor gradually aroused increasing interest, which makes remarkable contributions to humor research.On the other hand, non-verbal humor mainly refers to the body language and the posture which can convey the
