Research On Humor Of The Big Bang Theory From The Perspective Of Appraisal Theory

This dissertation aims to apply the approach known as Appraisal Theory, developed by Martin(2005) to analyze the verbal humour of the US TV sitcom The Big Bang Theory. The analysis aims to help the audience to understand the humorous mechanisms and evaluative function of the programme better, and on that basis to understand evaluative meaning as expressed in verbal humour in a richer way. It is argued that the audiences extend their cognitive system in seeking to form a perfect personality system.Martin developed Appraisal Theory on the basis of Systemic Functional linguistics, and focuses within that framework on personal meaning, which in his view consists of Attitude, Engagement and Graduation.The research demonstrated that different evaluative meanings are created by humour in relation to diverse attitudes. The speakers in the TV sitcom analysed employ language to express affect influenced by phenomena, and evaluate phenomena from the perspective of affect. In terms of the human affect system, implicit or negative attitudinal resources can be deployed to convey an implicit evaluative position and to align to varying degrees with the audience. In contrast, explicit evaluative resources tend to produce humorous effects. In regard to the human engagement system, the expansion of communication through dialogue opens up more positions and voices and makes them appear more reasonable; by contrast, more humour is achieved by means of dialogic contraction, which reduces other positions or voices except itself. In respect of graduation, force and vagueness of focus can also generate further humour.In relation to a broader scheme of Systemic Functional linguistics, the analysis of The Big Bang Theory from the perspective of Appraisal Theory, not only broadens the scope of Appraisal Theory by means of its selected case study, but at the same time offers the basis for a new stylistic approach to the study of Sitcom..