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A Comparative Study on Chinese and English Verbal Humors from the Pragmatic
Perspective
Cao Aihong
Contents
Abstract（English）………………………………………2
Abstract（Chinese）………………………………………3
1. Verbal Humors…………………………………………4
1.1The definition of humor………………………………5
2.The Similarities Between English and Chinese Humor………………………………………………………………5
2.1Humor created through rhetoric devices………………5
2.1.1 Pun………………………………………………5
2.1.2 Hyperbole…………………………………………6
2.1.3 Parody……………………………………………7
2.1.4 Irony………………………………………………8
3. Conclusion……………………………………………9
References………………………………………………10
Abstract
As a particular feature of people’s talk in daily life， the humor widely exists in a unique art form in our communication system. From the point of the connotation of humor， it is not only a concept system that carries language， but also has the characteristics of culture. It becomes an independent school in the morphology of the language， containing rich meaning of connotative interpretation.
This thesis collected a large quantity of materials from the joke books and the Internet， and intended to make a multi-angled comparative research on humor in the frame of the pragmatics. Compare and contrast methods were employed in this research. At the beginning， the theories of presupposition， deixis and Cooperative Principle were used to explain the mechanism of humor production. Then the author analyzed the similarities between English and Chinese humor from the angles of written form and rhetorical devices. The differences of these two kinds of humor were studied from the perspectives of cultural and style differences. In the conclusion part， the author summarized these two kinds of humor and found their significant functions in application： releasing the depressed emotions， enhancing good relationships， resolving the embarrassments， criticizing and educating others.
Keywords： Chinese and English contrast research； verbal Humor； pragmatics
1. Verbal Humors
1.1Definition of Humor
Before researching on the humor and comparing Chinese and English humor， it is necessary to understand the definition of humor.
Many scholars have already tried to define the precise meaning of the word “humor" from various aspects since it was created. For example， Kerbtat-Orechiono defines humor from the influence factor， “a text whose per-locutionary effect is laughter.’’ （Attardo 13） Although this definition is directive and brief， its flaw is evident. It highlights the effectiveness of laughter to humor， but ignores other influence aspects. In other respects， laughter is not the only symbol of humor. Sometimes we replace laughter with smile or seriousness. Besides， “text’’ also consists one of the humor aspects， not the whole. And as Apte， whose occupation is one scholar coming from the USA， considers the laughter as the “external manifestation’’ which relates with “sociocultural reality”. Lin Yutang lays the stress on the importance of mind， viewpoint， and a way of seeing world horizon. Chen Xiaoying whose identity is researcher on Chinese contemporary comedy insists that “mufti-level’’ is one aspect of the humor’s concept. Thus there is a rough clue about the development of the definition of humor. From some foreign authoritative dictionaries， we can also know some information about the concept of humor. For instance， in Webster’s Third International Dictionary， “humor’’ is defined as “that quality in a happening， an action， a situation or an expression of ideas which appeals to a sense of the ludicrous or absurdly incongruous： comic or amusing quality.” And “the mental faculty of discovering， expressing， or appreciating ludicrous or absurdly incongruous elements in ideas， situations， happenings， or acts： droll imagination or its expression.” In Longman Modern English Dictionary， “Humor is something which arouses amusement， laughter， etc.， or the capacity for recognizing， reacting to or expressing something which is amusing， funny， etc.” In The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language， “Humor is the quality of being laughable or comical and the ability to Perceive or express what is comical， witty， etc.”
In some Chinese authoritative dictionaries， there are also some definitions about humor. For example， Ci Hai illustrates the humor’s comic factors and aesthetic features， and in humorous atmosphere， people can relax themselves， have a good time， and even improve the level of talking and expression. For another， in The Contemporary Chinese Dictionary， it pays attention to both “funny” and “thinking” two factors in “humor”.
Based on both English and Chinese literature， the characteristics can be drawn in common： fun， amusement or happiness， which are the core of the humor. There are various ways of creating humor. Hence， it is an inevitable truth that the definition of humor is extensive， rich and multi-angled， and each definition is not only correct， but also narrowed. While we research on the humor from different perspectives， we can make various definitions about it.
fiction comics. The Behavior-humor is mainly about the way of human’s behaviors and actions which are full of humor such as the humor dance and the humor mime.
2. The Similarities between English and Chinese Humor
Humor is the spices of life and it is a common art form with distinct cultural characteristics in both English and Chinese language. It expresses a view and a way of thinking about life. People can get inspiration and enlightenment from it. What’s more， it reflects the wisdom of human beings through language. Therefore， humor is the common features among human’s languages. Even though people all over the world have different ethics and languages， we can still find the similarities in the humor. Specifically， in English and Chinese， we are able to find their resemblance through the rhetoric devices. 2.1Humor Treated through Rhetoric Devices
Analyzing many examples of humor， we can find that rhetoric devices are of a very common method creating humorous effect. Pun， hyperbole， parody， irony and metaphor will be explained in details in the following parts.
2.1.1 Pun
Pun， also called paronomasia， is the play on words which suggests two or more meanings， by exploiting multiple meanings of words， or of similar-sounding words， for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. According to the Webster’s New World Dictionary， pun is the humorous use of a word or of words which are formed or sounded alike but have different meanings， in such a way as to play on two or more of the possible applications.
Two categories of puns are often discussed by theorists： homophonic puns and homographic puns.
The first kind refers to two words or phases that have similar sound despite different meanings and spellings. In other words， the word pairs sound alike but are not synonymous. Let’s study on several examples.
The first example：
Boyfriend： What is your favorite music band？
Girlfriend： I love U2
Boyfriend： I love you too， but what is your favorite music band？
Obviously， the girl had answered the boy’s question at the very beginning， but the boy misunderstood her answer “U2” into “You too”， which caused the funny effect.
In Chinese， a great many idioms are the vivid examples of homophonic puns. Now let’s study on several Chinese puns with homophonic features：
外甥打燈笼一—照旧（舅）
小葱拌豆腐一—一清（青）二白
东边日出西边雨，道是无晴却有晴。
The first two examples are“歇后语”in Chinese， which is a two-part allegorical saying. The first part which is stated is descriptive while the second unstated part carries the message. And the two parts are homophonic. In the third example，“晴”is the homophone of“情”.The first one means sunny day and the second one means emotions or feelings.
And the second type refers to the same word or phases that have multi-meanings or sounds under different circumstances. To put it in another way， the words spell the same but possess different meanings and sounds.
For example：
-At what time of day was Adam born？
-Just before Eve.
-What’s the worst weather for mice？
-When it rains cats and dogs.
In the two examples， the puns are “Eve” and “it rains cats and dogs”. “Eve” can mean the day before or the name from Bible. And “it rains cats and dogs” literally means cats and dogs fall from the sky just like the real rain but as matter of a fact， it means heavy rain. Of course， there’s origin of this English idiom， which we’ll not discuss here. 2.1.3 Parody
The word “parody” is derived from Greek word “paradia”， which means “beside， subsidiary and mock”. Aristotle first applied this word in Poetics. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary， parody refers to literary or musical composition imitating the characteristic style of some other work or of a writer or composer， but treating a serious subject in a nonsensical manner， as in ridicule. Above all， imitation of other’s words or tones which arouse ridiculous and humorous effect is the key point in parody.
For example：
Where there is a way， there is a Toyota.
Not all cars are created equal.
To arm or not to arm，that is a question.
It is necessary to further discuss the three examples above since background information is essential to parody. It is a well known saying that where there is a will， there is a way. The Japanese car company ingeniously used the parody of the old saying by replacing the “will” and “way” with “way” and “Toyota”. The new sentence also contains the figure of speech-pun in which “way” in the original proverb means method or means while in the new ad it means road.
Another Chinese example：
“闊人已成乘文化去，此地空余文化城；文化一去不复返，古城千载冷清清。专车队队前门站，晦气重重大学生；日暮榆关何处抗，烟花场上没人惊。”（鲁迅《伪自由书？崇实》）
This Chinese parody actually imitates a poem of Tang Dynasty named Huang He Tower. Lu Xun skillfully imitated the famous poem and satire the surrender at that time.
2.1.4 Irony
Irony is also derived from a Greek word “antiphrasis”. According to Oxford English Dictionary， irony is a figure of speech in which the intended meaning is the opposite of that expressed by the words used， usually taking the form of sarcasm or ridicule in which laudatory expressions are used to imply condemnation or contempt. From this definition we can conclude that an ironical utterance is traditionally analyzed from two aspects： the direct literal meaning and the indirect figurative meaning. Most of time， these two meanings are opposite from each other.
For example：
We are lucky. It is the other side on the thirteenth of December. That makes us feel real good.
The hard-working boy seldom reads more than an hour per week.
You are eloquent as an oyster.
These examples all illustrate the opposite meanings， and the real meanings are concealed or contradicted. In the first example， we can easily recognize “luck” and “real good” as the opposite “unlucky” and “very bad” with the knowledge of number thirteen being the sign of bad luck in western cultures. And the “hard-working” contradicted the following “seldom reads more than an hour per week”， thus we can see the word “hard-working” is an irony. It emphasized the boy was not diligent at all with a humorous tone. The last example used “eloquent” to stress on the silence of the person. Chinese irony also expresses the humorous effect. For instance：
A：“我们出去走走如何？’’
B：“现在？你有没有搞错，外面正下着雨呢！真是个好时候！”
Here“好时候”doesn’t mean a good time because of the rainy context. We can find B is actually saying that A is unwise to choose such bad weather to go out for a walk. Besides， in Chinese a mother always calls her child“小冤家”and an old woman also call her husband “老不死的”.Literally， these two appellations are often related to someone undesirable. However， in certain context， they are full of affections. In a word， irony as a figure of speech has the similar functions like other devices， which put stress on the effectiveness of humor.
3. Conclusion
Through the comparative study on the English and Chinese humor， it is showed that there are some common functions of humor in people’s communications. The knowledge of the function benefits people on keeping a good mental status and a good interpersonal relationship. What’s more， it can be used to defend oneself and improve teachers’ teaching.
According to American psychologist Flew Gail， the motivations of humor can be summed up in four aspects： expressing superiority， expressing offensive， defending oneself and expressing sexuality.
Although theorists from home and broad have done a great many researches on humor， they try to interpret it from the angles of aesthetics， psychology， sociology and linguistics. With pragmatic attracting more attention from linguists， it is also can be utilized to study on humor， which can rich the original theories and add new blood into related studies. Besides， this thesis breaks the one-sidedness of humor research and offers multi-angles. It chooses the pragmatics as the breakthrough point， and studies on the mechanism of humor production using the theories of pragmatics. It researches on humor from Chinese and English verbal language and tries to find the inherent laws. By elaborating the similarities and differences between Chinese and English verbal humor， the author summarized the general functions of humor from five aspects： releasing the depressed emotions， enhancing good relationships， resolving the embarrassments， criticizing and educating others.
References
[1]Attardo， Salvatore. Linguistic Theories of Humor [M]. New York： Mouton deGruyter，1994.
[2] Attardo，S.，Raskin，V， Script Theory Revised： Joke Similarity and Joke RepresentationModel. Humor： International Journal of Humor Research， 1991.
[3] Austin，J.L. How to Do Things with Words [M]. Oxford： Clarendon， 1962.
[4] Blackmore，D. Understanding Utterances [M]. Oxford： Blackwell， 1992.
[5] Brown，P.，Levinson，S. Universals in Language Usage： Politeness Phenomena [M].Cambridge： Cambridge University Press， 1978.
[6] Chapman， A.J.
Perspective
Cao Aihong
Contents
Abstract（English）………………………………………2
Abstract（Chinese）………………………………………3
1. Verbal Humors…………………………………………4
1.1The definition of humor………………………………5
2.The Similarities Between English and Chinese Humor………………………………………………………………5
2.1Humor created through rhetoric devices………………5
2.1.1 Pun………………………………………………5
2.1.2 Hyperbole…………………………………………6
2.1.3 Parody……………………………………………7
2.1.4 Irony………………………………………………8
3. Conclusion……………………………………………9
References………………………………………………10
Abstract
As a particular feature of people’s talk in daily life， the humor widely exists in a unique art form in our communication system. From the point of the connotation of humor， it is not only a concept system that carries language， but also has the characteristics of culture. It becomes an independent school in the morphology of the language， containing rich meaning of connotative interpretation.
This thesis collected a large quantity of materials from the joke books and the Internet， and intended to make a multi-angled comparative research on humor in the frame of the pragmatics. Compare and contrast methods were employed in this research. At the beginning， the theories of presupposition， deixis and Cooperative Principle were used to explain the mechanism of humor production. Then the author analyzed the similarities between English and Chinese humor from the angles of written form and rhetorical devices. The differences of these two kinds of humor were studied from the perspectives of cultural and style differences. In the conclusion part， the author summarized these two kinds of humor and found their significant functions in application： releasing the depressed emotions， enhancing good relationships， resolving the embarrassments， criticizing and educating others.
Keywords： Chinese and English contrast research； verbal Humor； pragmatics
1. Verbal Humors
1.1Definition of Humor
Before researching on the humor and comparing Chinese and English humor， it is necessary to understand the definition of humor.
Many scholars have already tried to define the precise meaning of the word “humor" from various aspects since it was created. For example， Kerbtat-Orechiono defines humor from the influence factor， “a text whose per-locutionary effect is laughter.’’ （Attardo 13） Although this definition is directive and brief， its flaw is evident. It highlights the effectiveness of laughter to humor， but ignores other influence aspects. In other respects， laughter is not the only symbol of humor. Sometimes we replace laughter with smile or seriousness. Besides， “text’’ also consists one of the humor aspects， not the whole. And as Apte， whose occupation is one scholar coming from the USA， considers the laughter as the “external manifestation’’ which relates with “sociocultural reality”. Lin Yutang lays the stress on the importance of mind， viewpoint， and a way of seeing world horizon. Chen Xiaoying whose identity is researcher on Chinese contemporary comedy insists that “mufti-level’’ is one aspect of the humor’s concept. Thus there is a rough clue about the development of the definition of humor. From some foreign authoritative dictionaries， we can also know some information about the concept of humor. For instance， in Webster’s Third International Dictionary， “humor’’ is defined as “that quality in a happening， an action， a situation or an expression of ideas which appeals to a sense of the ludicrous or absurdly incongruous： comic or amusing quality.” And “the mental faculty of discovering， expressing， or appreciating ludicrous or absurdly incongruous elements in ideas， situations， happenings， or acts： droll imagination or its expression.” In Longman Modern English Dictionary， “Humor is something which arouses amusement， laughter， etc.， or the capacity for recognizing， reacting to or expressing something which is amusing， funny， etc.” In The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language， “Humor is the quality of being laughable or comical and the ability to Perceive or express what is comical， witty， etc.”
In some Chinese authoritative dictionaries， there are also some definitions about humor. For example， Ci Hai illustrates the humor’s comic factors and aesthetic features， and in humorous atmosphere， people can relax themselves， have a good time， and even improve the level of talking and expression. For another， in The Contemporary Chinese Dictionary， it pays attention to both “funny” and “thinking” two factors in “humor”.
Based on both English and Chinese literature， the characteristics can be drawn in common： fun， amusement or happiness， which are the core of the humor. There are various ways of creating humor. Hence， it is an inevitable truth that the definition of humor is extensive， rich and multi-angled， and each definition is not only correct， but also narrowed. While we research on the humor from different perspectives， we can make various definitions about it.
fiction comics. The Behavior-humor is mainly about the way of human’s behaviors and actions which are full of humor such as the humor dance and the humor mime.
2. The Similarities between English and Chinese Humor
Humor is the spices of life and it is a common art form with distinct cultural characteristics in both English and Chinese language. It expresses a view and a way of thinking about life. People can get inspiration and enlightenment from it. What’s more， it reflects the wisdom of human beings through language. Therefore， humor is the common features among human’s languages. Even though people all over the world have different ethics and languages， we can still find the similarities in the humor. Specifically， in English and Chinese， we are able to find their resemblance through the rhetoric devices. 2.1Humor Treated through Rhetoric Devices
Analyzing many examples of humor， we can find that rhetoric devices are of a very common method creating humorous effect. Pun， hyperbole， parody， irony and metaphor will be explained in details in the following parts.
2.1.1 Pun
Pun， also called paronomasia， is the play on words which suggests two or more meanings， by exploiting multiple meanings of words， or of similar-sounding words， for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. According to the Webster’s New World Dictionary， pun is the humorous use of a word or of words which are formed or sounded alike but have different meanings， in such a way as to play on two or more of the possible applications.
Two categories of puns are often discussed by theorists： homophonic puns and homographic puns.
The first kind refers to two words or phases that have similar sound despite different meanings and spellings. In other words， the word pairs sound alike but are not synonymous. Let’s study on several examples.
The first example：
Boyfriend： What is your favorite music band？
Girlfriend： I love U2
Boyfriend： I love you too， but what is your favorite music band？
Obviously， the girl had answered the boy’s question at the very beginning， but the boy misunderstood her answer “U2” into “You too”， which caused the funny effect.
In Chinese， a great many idioms are the vivid examples of homophonic puns. Now let’s study on several Chinese puns with homophonic features：
外甥打燈笼一—照旧（舅）
小葱拌豆腐一—一清（青）二白
东边日出西边雨，道是无晴却有晴。
The first two examples are“歇后语”in Chinese， which is a two-part allegorical saying. The first part which is stated is descriptive while the second unstated part carries the message. And the two parts are homophonic. In the third example，“晴”is the homophone of“情”.The first one means sunny day and the second one means emotions or feelings.
And the second type refers to the same word or phases that have multi-meanings or sounds under different circumstances. To put it in another way， the words spell the same but possess different meanings and sounds.
For example：
-At what time of day was Adam born？
-Just before Eve.
-What’s the worst weather for mice？
-When it rains cats and dogs.
In the two examples， the puns are “Eve” and “it rains cats and dogs”. “Eve” can mean the day before or the name from Bible. And “it rains cats and dogs” literally means cats and dogs fall from the sky just like the real rain but as matter of a fact， it means heavy rain. Of course， there’s origin of this English idiom， which we’ll not discuss here. 2.1.3 Parody
The word “parody” is derived from Greek word “paradia”， which means “beside， subsidiary and mock”. Aristotle first applied this word in Poetics. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary， parody refers to literary or musical composition imitating the characteristic style of some other work or of a writer or composer， but treating a serious subject in a nonsensical manner， as in ridicule. Above all， imitation of other’s words or tones which arouse ridiculous and humorous effect is the key point in parody.
For example：
Where there is a way， there is a Toyota.
Not all cars are created equal.
To arm or not to arm，that is a question.
It is necessary to further discuss the three examples above since background information is essential to parody. It is a well known saying that where there is a will， there is a way. The Japanese car company ingeniously used the parody of the old saying by replacing the “will” and “way” with “way” and “Toyota”. The new sentence also contains the figure of speech-pun in which “way” in the original proverb means method or means while in the new ad it means road.
Another Chinese example：
“闊人已成乘文化去，此地空余文化城；文化一去不复返，古城千载冷清清。专车队队前门站，晦气重重大学生；日暮榆关何处抗，烟花场上没人惊。”（鲁迅《伪自由书？崇实》）
This Chinese parody actually imitates a poem of Tang Dynasty named Huang He Tower. Lu Xun skillfully imitated the famous poem and satire the surrender at that time.
2.1.4 Irony
Irony is also derived from a Greek word “antiphrasis”. According to Oxford English Dictionary， irony is a figure of speech in which the intended meaning is the opposite of that expressed by the words used， usually taking the form of sarcasm or ridicule in which laudatory expressions are used to imply condemnation or contempt. From this definition we can conclude that an ironical utterance is traditionally analyzed from two aspects： the direct literal meaning and the indirect figurative meaning. Most of time， these two meanings are opposite from each other.
For example：
We are lucky. It is the other side on the thirteenth of December. That makes us feel real good.
The hard-working boy seldom reads more than an hour per week.
You are eloquent as an oyster.
These examples all illustrate the opposite meanings， and the real meanings are concealed or contradicted. In the first example， we can easily recognize “luck” and “real good” as the opposite “unlucky” and “very bad” with the knowledge of number thirteen being the sign of bad luck in western cultures. And the “hard-working” contradicted the following “seldom reads more than an hour per week”， thus we can see the word “hard-working” is an irony. It emphasized the boy was not diligent at all with a humorous tone. The last example used “eloquent” to stress on the silence of the person. Chinese irony also expresses the humorous effect. For instance：
A：“我们出去走走如何？’’
B：“现在？你有没有搞错，外面正下着雨呢！真是个好时候！”
Here“好时候”doesn’t mean a good time because of the rainy context. We can find B is actually saying that A is unwise to choose such bad weather to go out for a walk. Besides， in Chinese a mother always calls her child“小冤家”and an old woman also call her husband “老不死的”.Literally， these two appellations are often related to someone undesirable. However， in certain context， they are full of affections. In a word， irony as a figure of speech has the similar functions like other devices， which put stress on the effectiveness of humor.
3. Conclusion
Through the comparative study on the English and Chinese humor， it is showed that there are some common functions of humor in people’s communications. The knowledge of the function benefits people on keeping a good mental status and a good interpersonal relationship. What’s more， it can be used to defend oneself and improve teachers’ teaching.
According to American psychologist Flew Gail， the motivations of humor can be summed up in four aspects： expressing superiority， expressing offensive， defending oneself and expressing sexuality.
Although theorists from home and broad have done a great many researches on humor， they try to interpret it from the angles of aesthetics， psychology， sociology and linguistics. With pragmatic attracting more attention from linguists， it is also can be utilized to study on humor， which can rich the original theories and add new blood into related studies. Besides， this thesis breaks the one-sidedness of humor research and offers multi-angles. It chooses the pragmatics as the breakthrough point， and studies on the mechanism of humor production using the theories of pragmatics. It researches on humor from Chinese and English verbal language and tries to find the inherent laws. By elaborating the similarities and differences between Chinese and English verbal humor， the author summarized the general functions of humor from five aspects： releasing the depressed emotions， enhancing good relationships， resolving the embarrassments， criticizing and educating others.
References
[1]Attardo， Salvatore. Linguistic Theories of Humor [M]. New York： Mouton deGruyter，1994.
[2] Attardo，S.，Raskin，V， Script Theory Revised： Joke Similarity and Joke RepresentationModel. Humor： International Journal of Humor Research， 1991.
[3] Austin，J.L. How to Do Things with Words [M]. Oxford： Clarendon， 1962.
[4] Blackmore，D. Understanding Utterances [M]. Oxford： Blackwell， 1992.
[5] Brown，P.，Levinson，S. Universals in Language Usage： Politeness Phenomena [M].Cambridge： Cambridge University Press， 1978.
[6] Chapman， A.J.