The Pragmatic Analysis of Verbal Humor in the Ellen DeGeneres Show on the basis of CP and PP开题报告

 2022-08-13 14:34:09

1. 研究目的与意义

The thesis has theoretical significance for a more comprehensive pragmatic study of verbal humor. And it also has practical significance for helping audience to better understand verbal humor in the talk show and for providing implications for better second language teaching and cross-cultural communication.

Theoretically, previous studies were more concerned with humor in static text. For example,the study of humor in Mark Twain''''s book is conducted in a static manner, while a dynamic approach is adopted to the analysis of verbal humor in this paper. Furthermore, though more and more scholars are attracted to the dynamic analysis of verbal humor, one of the limitations is that these studies are mostly based on the data from such movies or sitcoms as Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, and Friends. It is my view that since the novels and movies are well edited or revised before they are publicized, they might well lack the sense of spontaneity or genuineness to some degree, which will make the studies of verbal humor less reliable. Therefore, this thesis will take the naturally occurring conversation in the Ellen DeGeneres Show, the famous talk show, as the study object. Finally, although verbal humor in the Ellen DeGeneres Show has been studied, few are based on PP proposed by Leech and CP proposed by Grice. Hence based on more delicate treatment of linguistic data in the Ellen DeGeneres Show on the basis of CP and PP, this thesis not only explains the mechanism through which verbal humor is generated, but also compares respectively strengths and weaknesses of CP and PP in terms of their employment in daily communication.

Practically, humor plays a significant role in our daily life, as it helps make communication smoother and shortens interpersonal psychological distances. The thesis will not only help audience better understand the verbal humor in the Ellen DeGeneres Show, but can also help English learners or cross-cultural communicators have a better understanding of American culture and avoid the possible embarrassment during communication.

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2. 研究内容和预期目标

Research problem：How could verbal humor be generated through the violation of CP and PP

The key issue to be solved：Based on the qualitative analysis of data, this thesis discusses how verbal humor is generated through violation of Cooperative Principle and Politeness Principle in the Ellen DeGeneres Show to offer some suggestions for better cross-cultural communication.

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3. 国内外研究现状

When it comes to humor, its definition needs to be clarified first. Based on different standards from various perspectives, people differ a lot in their view of humor. Here come three major views concerning humor throughout the history, naming Superiority Theory developed by Hobbes, Relief Theory represented by Freud and Incongruity Theory with Kant and Schopenhauer as its representatives. (Cai amp; Yin, 2005).

Superiority Theory, which is also known as Disparagement Theory, comes into being during Plato Period. Plato points out that “malice or envy is at the root of comic enjoyment and that we laugh at the misfortunes of others for joy that we do not share them', while Aristotle states that “comedy is an imitation of men below average”(Raskin, 1985, p. 36). Similar to Plato’s and Aristotle’s view, Thomas Hobbes then proposed another view on humor in his Hulruzn Narure, which has great influences on the following studies. Hobbes believes that 'laughter is nothing else but a sudden glory arising from a sudden conception of some eminence in ourselves by comparison with the infirmity of others or with our own formerly' (Hobbes，1840, p. 46). To put it simply, a person will laugh at the poor when he finds them suffering from hardship to gain confidence or protect their social status. It is obvious that as the earliest theory about humor, the theory reveals some irrational or immoral intention of people’s humor. However, limits of the theory should also be noted. People do not feel superior to others when they are told absurdities, grotesques and innocent jokes unintentional. Moreover, Superiority Theory ignores humor-incongruity, which is an important characteristic of humor. To correct this logical error, Incongruity Theory is proposed.

Incongruity Theory attempts to analyze humor from a cognitive point of view. According to Altardo (1994), Incongruity theory dates back to the Renaissance. Aristotle mentions in his book Aristotle ''s Poetics and Rhetoric that humor can be realized by contradicting the situation which has been established for audience. This theory is later modified by Immanuel Kant. In Critique of Judgment, he (Kant, 1952) noted, 'Laughter is an affection arising from the sudden transformation of a strained expectation into nothing'.This view is further developed by German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, who proposes that laughing is caused by the sudden realization of abstractions and material objects. To sum up, advocates for Incongruity Theory demonstrates that humor is triggered by the perception of incongruity between what is in mind and what is in reality.

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4. 计划与进度安排

Introduction

(Research background, significance, objectives and methodology)

Literature Review

Introduction of Grice''s Cooperative Principle Theory

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5. 参考文献

Attardo, S. (1993). Flouting of conversational maxims and cooperation: The case of

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