An Analysis Of The Verbal Humor In Chinese Sitcoms From The Perspective Of Conceptual Blending Theory

As a universal phenomenon,humor is everywhere.Researches on humor can be traced back to the earliest era of Aristotle.These researches involve many fields,such as,linguistics,psychology,philosophy,literature,etc.What is similar to them is that these studies centered on the static perspective of humor,such as,the generation of humor,form,function.This research applies Conceptual Blending Theory produced by Fauconnier and Turner to analyze the dynamic generation process of the verbal humor in Chinese sitcom iPartment.441 cases of verbal humor are selected from iPartment,and they are divided into three categories,namely,language verbal humor,situational verbal humor and cultural verbal humor.Based on the four basic integration networks of Conceptual Blending Theory,that is,simplex network,mirror network,single-scope network and double-scope network,a further classification is made through a analysis of these data.And then on the basis of the three types of verbal humor there will be a further classification for the verbal humors that can be used to study by Conceptual Blending Theory.That is to say,they are divided into 12 groups at last.A typical example will be selected from each subclass and being analyzed with a certain related network in Conceptual Blending Theory with a diagram to demonstrate the dynamic generation process of verbal humor.The research results show that Conceptual Blending Theory has a strong explanatory power to explain and interpret the dynamic generation process of verbal humor in this Chinese sitcom iPartrtment.There are three important steps to finish the integration process,namely,combination,completion and elaboration.Through the research observation,the author found that according to the main formation characteristics of verbal humor,some verbal humor can be studied by using one of the specific integration network to analyze and interpret the dynamic generation process.What's more,in the process of understanding and interpreting the dynamic generation process of verbal humor,relevant cultural background knowledge and situation play an indispensable role.Conceptual integration network with people's cognitive model,can also reflect the emotions,attitudes and personalities of the speakers.In this thesis,a study of the verbal humor in sitcom by applying the Conceptual Blending Theory is done which reveals the dynamic generation process of verbal humor,and further enriches the study of humor,and can help people appreciate the humor better.At the same time this study also deepens the understanding of the Conceptual Blending Theory and its application,provides help for further researches in the future.What's more,through the study of Chinese situation comedy in this thesis,it will help to propagandize Chinese situation comedy in the world to some extent.It also plays a certain role in the sense of promoting cultural transmission,cultural accumulation,and cultural exchanges.