语言学老友记

Pragmatical Analysis of the Humorous Dialogues in Friends

Abstract: Friends is a classical American sitcom which famous for its wonderful and smart dialogues. And the cooperative principle and relevance theory of pragmatics are two important theories use to explain conversations. This paper mainly focuses on the humorous and witty conversations of the famous sitcom Fiends on perspective of pragmatics, and analyses them by using the cooperative principle and relevance theory.

Key words: cooperative principle; relevance theory; humor; friends

1. Introduction

1.1 The brief introduction of humor

Humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in the human body, known as humors (Latin: humor, "body fluid"), control human health and emotion. [1] Western humor theory begins with Plato, who attributed to Socrates in the Philebus the view that the essence of the ridiculous is ignorance in the weak, which are thus unable to retaliate when ridiculed.

1.2The brief introduction of friends

Friends is a popular American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series featured six main characters throughout its run, with many other characters recurring throughout all ten seasons. It tells stories about sex, love, friendships, and careers between six main characters. The three female characters are the semplice and wilful Rachel, the obsessive-compulsive and competitive Monica and the ditsy and smart Phoebe. One of the other three male characters Ross is a perfect and an upright man who is involved in an on-again-off-again relationship with Rachel throughout the series. The other two are Chandler that is known for sarcastic sense of humor and the simple-minded womanizer Joey. The excellent performance and...