A Pragmatic Analysis of the American Humor in Sitcom Friends 英语毕业论文.doc

A Pragmatic Analysis of the American Humor in Sitcom Friends ? Thesis statement : How verbal humor flouts each of the four maxims in Cooperative Principal and how to understand the implied meaning behind the humorous conversations. Outline Ⅰ.Introduction Ⅱ.The Cooperative Principle and Conversational Implicature A. The maxim of Quality 1. do not say what you believe to be fals 2. do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence B. The maxim of Quantity 1. make your contribution as informative as is required for the current purposes of the exchange 2. do not make your contribution more informative than is required C. The maxim of Relevance Make your contributions relevant D. The maxim of Manner 1. avoid obscurity 2. avoid ambiguity 3. be brief 4. be orderly Ⅲ. Analysis of Humor in Friends A. Humor Produced by the Deliberate Flout of the Maxim m of Quality B. Humor Produced by the Deliberate Flout of the Maxim of Quantity C. Humor Produced by the Deliberate Flout of the Maxim of Relevance D. Humor Produced by the Deliberate Flout of the Maxim of Manner Ⅳ.Conclusion Abstract： The verbal humor in the famous American sitcom Friends, to a certain degree, prevents the English learners from appreciating the sitcom effectively. This thesis, based on?? Cooperative Principle (CP) and Conversational Implicature Theory, analyses how verbal humor flouts each of the four maxims in Cooperative Principal and how to understand the implied meaning behind the humorous conversations. Meanwhile, the effects of verbal humor are illustrated in details. The study is sure to help English learners to appreciate the sitcom and improve their ability in understanding the American humor. ? Key Words:? Verbal humor? Friends? Cooperative Principle? Conversational Implicature? Ⅰ.Introduction In Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary (1997:863), the notion of humor is the quality in something that makes it funny or amusing; or th