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1、成 都 理 工 大 学学生毕业设计（论文）文献综述报告学生姓名：张露学号：200811010418专业名称：英语文献综述题目：A Pragmatic Analysis of English Humor Literature Review 英语幽默语用浅析文献综述引用文献：中文 6篇；英文9篇；其它语种 0 篇其中期刊：3种；专著12本；其它： 0种引用文献时间跨度：1962 2006 年 指导教师审阅签名： 综述报告正文：A Pragmatic Analysis of English Humor Literature ReviewDifferent researches of humor ap
2、pear in different periods. Traditionally, there exist three dominant theories: Superiority Theory, Release Theory and Incongruity Theory. Currently, the Script-based Semantic Theory, General Theory, and Audience-based Theory have held peoples attention. In the following, this paper will make a detai
3、led account of the six theories mentioned above.1. Traditional Theories on Humor1.1 Superiority TheorySuperiority theory, which is also called degradation, disparagement and derision theory, has a long history. It derives from Aristotles (384-322 BC) view that comedy is based on an imitation of men
4、worse than the average, of people who are ridiculous, which accounts for the pleasure one feels when the less fortunate and less desirable figures are laughed at. Though it deals with the nature of comedy, it can also be applied to humor, because in the broad sense the two are interchangeable though
5、 comedy is, technically speaking, a literary form (Berger, 1993). Plato (427-347BC) suggests that all humor can be explained by this theory. People laugh whenever someone or something is degraded, so they can feel themselves superior. Later, Thomas Hobbes develops their views in that laughter bears
6、on ones social status and superiority over ones peers. He (1651) explains that humans are in constant competitions with each other, and looking for shortcomings of other persons. Laughing at the inferior builds our self-confidence and makes us feel superior. Because of their emphasis on the interper
7、sonal and social aspect of humor, superiority theories are of considerable interest to the sociolinguists of humor.However, this theory is not so popular now as it was in ancient times, because not any humor can display a superior-inferior relationship and the feelings of superiority is not enough t
8、o explain why people laugh. Whats more, sometimes instead of being amused, we would rather pity those who are inferior and suffering. 1.2 Release TheoryThis theory is primarily a psychological one about humor, closely associated with Freud. In his book, Jokes and Their Relation to Unconscious (1960)
9、, Freud states that there is a strong link between the unconscious and both jokes and dreams, and that the latter two employ similar techniques (condensation, displacement) to carry out their “joke-work” and “dream-work”. As for the material that causes amusement, he distinguishes between jokes (wit
10、s), the comic, and humor. Each of them involves a saving or economizing of energy which, having become unnecessary for its normal purposes, is dissipated in the form of laughter: jokes allow economies in expenditure on inhibition and suppression, the comic on ideation (thinking), and humor on emotio
11、n. Freud explains that the “psychic energy” in our body is built as an aid for suppressing feelings in taboo areas, like sex or death. When this energy is released, laughter can be experienced, not only because this energy is released, but also these taboo thoughts are being entertained. A more conv
12、entional version of this theory is that a pleasant sensation is experienced when humor replaces negative feelings like pains or sadness.Freud (1960) comments that the feeling of propriety that prevents us from insulting someone directly can be overcome if the insult is expressed in the form of a jok
13、e. Lippitt (1995) argues that this is not always the case. Under some circumstances, even when the butt of the joke feels obliged to join in the pleasure, rather than be seen as lacking a sense of humor, he can be left looking foolish while the joker superior. That is, such an insult joking can be e
14、ven more wounding than a direct insult, in which the insulters behavior may be socially censored and the insulted person receives sympathy.Herbert Spencer (1977) also discusses release in relation to laughter, but his is chiefly a physiological explanation, which sees laughter as the discharge of ne
15、rvous energy triggered by simple emotions. He proposes that as a response to the comical, the comical inexorably signifies some sort of incongruity, but this incongruity must carry a descending character. In other words, in a comical situation, something large is expected, and something small is fou
16、nd. This is what is called a “descending incongruity”. On the contrary, if something large is suddenly discovered instead of something small, a feeling of “ascending incongruity” is obtained. As to the above point, Lorenz (1996) proposes that most jokes provoke laughter by building up a tension which is then suddenly and unexpectedly exploded.1.3 Incongruity TheoryThe incongruity theory of humor, virtu
