ABSTRACT Frasier is one of the most famous American situation comedy among Chinese audiences. One of the reasons accounting for the popularity of that sitcom is the good use of verbal humor. Yet Chinese audiences still have some obstacles in understanding the verbal humor in that drama owing to cultural differences.46379
In order to have a better understanding of the verbal humor in the sitcom Frasier, this paper analyzed some typical conversations from the second and the third seasons of this sitcom from the illocutionary level and the perlocutionary level of the Speech Act Theory. At the first level, five types of illocutionary acts have been investigated, namely representatives, directives, commissives, expressives and declarations. At the second level, three types of perlocutionary acts have been analyzed, namely solidarity, aggression and defense.
The paper retested that Speech Act theory has a strong explanatory power for the verbal humor American sitcoms. From the view of Speech Act Theory, the language and the action are combined by each other. The humor sense can be discussed more comprehensively and more extensively. On one hand, the analysis can help Chinese audience understand the humor and the plot in the sitcoms. On the other hand, it can enlighten the director of sitcoms to create original plot in order to achieve humorous effects.
Keywords: Speech Act Theory; situation comedy;verbal humor; Frasier
摘要对于中国观众而言，《欢乐一家亲》无疑是一部非常著名的美剧。这部剧之所以如此流行，原因之一在于它很好的将言语幽默融合进它的剧情当中。然而，因为中美之间的文化差异，当下仍有部分中国观众对该剧中的言语幽默理解有困难。
为了更好的理解美剧《欢乐一家亲》中的言语幽默，本文从言语行为理论视角对该剧中的一些经典对话进行分析。其中，言外行为层面从五个方面进行分析，即阐述类、指令类、承诺类、表达类以及宣告类。言后行为层面从三个方面进行分析，即听懂而配合、没听懂却达成一致以及听懂而不配合。
本研究再次证明言语行为理论对美剧中的言语幽默拥有较强的解释力。从言语行为理论的视角出发，语言与行为相互结合可以更全面、更广泛地诠释言语幽默。本文的分析能够帮助中国观众理解《欢乐一家亲》中的言语幽默，从而更好地理解它的情节。另一方面本研究对情景喜剧创作者如何设计幽默的情节有一定的指导作用。
毕业论文关键词：言语行为理论；情景喜剧；言语幽默；《欢乐一家亲》
Table of Contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Background and Significance of the Study 1
1.2 Objectives of the Study 2
2 Literature Review 2
2.1 Studies on Speech Act Theory 2
2.2 The Perspectives of Studying Verbal Humor 4
2.3 Studies on American Sitcoms from the Perspective of Speech Act Theory. 5
3 Analysis of the Verbal Humor in Frasier on the Basis of Speech Act Theory. 6
3.1 At the Level of Illocutionary Act 6
3.1.1 Representatives 6
3.1.2 Directives 7
3.1.3 Commissives 9
3.1.4 Expressives 10
3.1.5 Declarations 11
3.2 At the Level of Perlocutionary Act 12
3.2.1 Solidarity 12
3.2.2 Aggression 14
3.2.3 Defense 15 美剧《欢乐一家亲》中的言语幽默分析:http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_48073.html