Abstract

Humor has drawn the interest and attention of scholars in many fields for many years. With the mushroom growth of linguistics in theory, pragmatics provides a new perspective for the study of humor. This thesis makes a research on English humor exactly from the angle of pragmatics. To begin with, the first part presents the definitions and classifications of humor, the importance of relevant researches and the structure of the thesis. Then, the second part discusses the conventional and modern theories of humor. Next, from the aspects of cooperative principle, deixis, speech acts and presupposition，the third part analyzes the pragmatic apparatuses for humor production in detail. The fourth part discusses the importance of humorous teaching. Finally, the fourth part draws a brief conclusion. 

Key words: English humor, pragmatics, theory，apparatuses

CONTENTS

中文摘要

Abstract

1. Introduction .1

  1.1 Definitions of Humor 2

  1.2 Classifications of Humor .3

     1.2.1 Situational Humor 4

     1.2.2 Non-situational Humor 4

  1.3 Significance of the Present Research .6

  1.4 The Structure of the Thesis 6

2. Literature Review 7

  2.1 Conventional Theories of Humor .7

     2.1.1 Superiority Theory .7

     2.1.2 Relief Theory .7

  2.2 Modern Studies on Humor .8

 2.2.1 Humor and Syntax 8

 2.2.2 Script-based Semantic Theory of Humor .8

3. Pragmatic Apparatuses for Humor Production .9

  3.1 Cooperative Principle and Its Maxims 9

     3.1.1 The Maxim of Quality 9

     3.1.2 The Maxim of Quantity .10

     3.1.3 The Maxim of Relevance .10

     3.1.4 The Maxim of Manner .11

  3.2 Humor and Deixis 11

  3.2.1 Discourse Deixis .12

  3.2.2 Time Deixis .12

  3.2.3 Place Deixis 12

  3.2.4 Person Deixis 13

  3.3 Speech Acts and Their Misunderstanding 13

  3.4 Presupposition and Its Cancellation 14

4. The Use of Humor in Teaching .14

5. Conclusion 16

Works Cited .17