通过《老友记》和《武林外传》看情景喜剧中的幽默语言.docVIP

Chapter One Introduction It has long been my interest to read jokes and to watch cartoons and comedies. I also love to tell jokes to my friends, classmates and even to my teachers and parents. On the one hand, I like bringing laughter to people around me especially when they are in face of trouble, depression or despair. I believe that humor and laughter are the best medicine. On the other hand, if we are entertained by the same thing, the distance between us will be shortened. I believe that humor and laughter have a kind of magic power which can bridge the gap among people and draw people closer. Being a humor lover, the favor of watching sitcoms will also give me a chance to understand and learn more. This is the motivation, however simple it might be, for writing this thesis. As an English major and a lover of situation comedy, I strongly hold the view that sitcom is one of the best translator of humor. What’s more, Friends and My Own Swordsman are very popular and both of them are good at using talks to make humors. Not only they have something in common, but also they reflected different humor. Therefore, I have a great interest to do this research about the similarities and differences between the two sitcoms. The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter one is the motivation for writing this thesis and introduction; Chapter two compares the definition, origin and development of humor in English and Chinese. From the comparisons and contrasts, the nature of humor can be revealed. The next part of chapter two is a literature review of the study on humor and a description of sitcom and Friends and My Own Swordsman; Chapter three attempts to examine the wordplay humor in Friend and My Own Swordsman. Theories and examples will be exploited to illustrate how humor is produced and what makes humor laughable; Chapter four focuses on the analysis of humor produced by rhetoric. It contains metaphor, pun, parody and irony; Chapter five is a summary and conclusion