On The Interpretation Of Conceptual Integration Theory For Verbal Humor

Humor, like good medicine, is filled in various aspects of people’s life, in various forms and with great expressive power. Humor is irreplaceable in our daily life. At present, a stack of experts and scholars at home and abroad have static studies of verbal humor by using different theories of linguistics. There are also some scholars who have studied verbal humor by using conceptual integration theory of cognitive linguistics. But how to receive a further investigation and research about that using conceptual integration theory to explain generated process of verbal humor in a sitcom. This dynamic cognitive activity has not been paid enough attention to. For the above-mentioned reasons, this thesis will tentatively study the dynamic process of verbal humor generation by using conceptual integration theory.Examples of verbal humor in this thesis are collected from popular American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. Based on classifications of verbal humor by western scholars, verbal humor in American sitcom The Big Bang Theory is divided into three categories in this thesis, namely:situational humor, word games humor and cultural humor.The theoretical foundation of this thesis is conceptual integration theory, which is put forward by Fauconnier and Turner. By using four types sub-network model of conceptual integration network, this thesis tries to analyze dynamic generation process and mechanism of meaning for three types of verbal humor in American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. According to a lot of case studies, this thesis proves that conceptual integration theory can directly help analyze the dynamic generation process of verbal humor.This thesis includes five parts. The first chapter is mainly the introduction. This part briefly introduces the purpose and significance of this research as well as the structure of this thesis. The second chapter is literature review. Firstly, it introduces the concept of verbal humor and its classification. Then based on the features of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory and classifications of verbal humor by western scholars, verbal humors in this sitcom are classified into three types. These three types of verbal humor are the objects of this study. Secondly, this chapter presents a detail analysis and summary about relevant researches on verbal humor by experts and scholars at home and abroad. Then it briefly introduces the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. It also makes a summary about related researches on this sitcom in linguistic circle in recent years. The third chapter is theoretical foundation. It mainly introduces the theoretical background and basic concepts of conceptual integration theory. Then it introduces conceptual integration network models and conceptual integration process. It also introduces four basic types of conceptual integration network model in detail. Finally, it further illustrates optimization principles of conceptual integration theory during the integration process. The fourth chapter is case study. This chapter uses four sub-network models of conceptual integration network, which is put forward by Fauconnier and Turner, to analyze dynamic cognitive process for three types of verbal humor in sitcom The Big Bang Theory. During these processes, three processes of integration, which includes combination, completion, elaboration, runs through whole analytical processes. These three integration processes work together to generate an emergent structure. This emergent structure only exists in blend space. It does not exist in any input spaces. The emergent structure leads to the generation of humorous effect. The fifth chapter is conclusion.According to lots of case studies, the main research conclusions of this thesis are as follows:1) It proves that the conceptual integration theory has strong explanatory power for generation process and mechanism of the meaning about verbal humor in American sitcom The Big Bang Theory.2) Although four different types of integration network models has different patterns and features during the process of integration, all of integration processes have to complete three steps of conceptual integration, which could finally achieve complete explanation of verbal humor.3) According to the analysis of conceptual integration process, the whole integration process could not be separated from grounding box. We have to familiar with personal characters and specific situation when we analyze situational humor. We also have to clearly learn cultural background behind the language when we analyze cultural humor.4) Mental activities are a series of dynamic cognitive processes, which occur during analyzing the producing processes of humor by people. Conceptual integration network models and diagrammatic analysis could help us directly present these dynamic mental activities. The processes of conceptual integration were dynamic. This kind of dynamic research breaks up static research about generation mechanism of verbal humor. This chapter also includes the deficiency of this study and suggestions for future research.The study of verbal humor can help us not only better explain the producing process of humor, but also better understand the meaning of it. The study of this thesis expands research perspectives of verbal humor. It also helps people to better appreciate the verbal humor in sitcom The Big Bang Theory.