《柯南·奥布莱恩与烤肉》中中西方语言幽默的比较分析

PAGEAComparativeAnalysisofChineseandWesternVerbalHumorfromthetalkshowsConanO’BrienandRoastCONTENTSTOC\o"1-3"\h\zABSTRACT I摘要 III.INTRODUCTION 3II.LITERATUREREVEIEW 42.1OriginationofHumorinChinaandtheWest 42.2DevelopmentofHumorinChinaandtheWest 5III.COMPARATIVEANALYSESOFENGLISHANDCHINESEVERBALHUMOR 63.1SimilaritiesofEnglishandChineseVerbalHumorfromtheTwoShows63.1.1TechniquesofVerbalHumor63.1.2FunctionsofVerbalHumor73.2DifferencesofEnglishandChineseVerbalHumorfromtheTwoShows83.2.1TopicsofVerbalHumor83.2.2PresentationofVerbalHumor83.3ReasonsforDifferencesinEnglishandChineseVerbalHumorfromtheTwoShows93.3.1DifferencesinSocialBackground93.3.2DifferencesinThinkingModel103.3.3DifferencesinValues11Ⅳ.CONCLUSION 12REFERENCES 13ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 14PAGE8ABSTRACTThereferencetothestudyofhumorousspeechcanbesummedupinseveralaspects:humorusedintenselife,thedifferenthumorousthemesusedindifferentenvironmentsandthedifferenthumoroustechniquesusedindifferentthemes.Thecommunicativesubject,contextandcognitivestylearetheprerequisitesfortheemergenceofhumorousutterances.Thispapershouldstartwiththepragmaticnatureofhumorousutterancesandthenanalyzetheroleofhumorousutterancesinthelightofexistingresearchresults.Withtherapiddevelopmentofeconomiclevel,people’sdailyliferhythmspeedsup,boringdailyworkmakespeople’sdesireandneedforrelaxationincreasedaybyday.Atthistime,humorcanofteneasepeople’sworkpressureandgivepeoplerelaxationandpleasure.Sohumorgraduallyoccupiesanimportantpositioninpeople'slife.Asawayofcommunication,verbalhumorhasbeenintegratedintoourlifefromvariousfields,suchascultureandlife.Sincethestudyofverbalhumorhasbeencarriedoutfromtheperspectivesoflinguisticsandpragmatics,manyvaluabletheorieshave

beenproposed.Alotofscholarshavestudiedonhumorousliterature,butthereislittleresearchontheculturalcharacteristicsofhumor.ThecomparativestudybetweenverbalhumorinAmericantalkshowConanO’BrienandChinesetalkshowRoastisarelativelynewresearchdirection.Thepurposeofthispaperistofurtherexploretheinfluenceofsocialandculturalfactorsonverbalhumorbycomparingtheverbalhumorinthesetwotalkshows,sothatpeoplecandeeplyunderstandthemeaningofverbalhumorTakingtheAmericantalkshowConanO’BrienandtheChinesetalkshowRoastasthesampleofcomparativestudy,wecompareandanalyzetheformationandmeaningofhumorousdialoguesinacomparativeform.ThepurposeistounderstandthedifferenttrendsofhumorinEnglishandChinese,whichcanhelpbetterunderstandthemeaningofverbalhumorindifferentsituations,languagesandcultures,sothattheycanbetteruseverbalhumortorelievepressureandatmosphere.Theresearchcontentinthisthesisconsistsofthreeparts.First,introducetheoriginationanddevelopmentofhumorinChinaandthewest.Secondly,compareandanalyzetheirsimilaritiesanddifferencesinthelinguisticmaterials,whicharerandomlyselectedfromConanO’BrienandRoast.Finally,findoutthereasonsfortheirdifferencesfromthreeaspects:socialbackground,thinkingmodeandvalues.Keywords:verbal;humor;talkshow摘要对幽默言语研究可以归纳为以下几个方面：在紧张生活中的使用幽默，在不同的环境中使用不同的幽默主题，在不同的主题中使用不同的幽默技巧。而交际主体、语境、认知方式是幽默言语产生的前提条件，本文应结合已有的研究成果，从幽默言语的语用本质入手，分析幽默言语的作用。随着经济水平的快速发展，人们的日常生活节奏加快，枯燥的日常工作使得人们对于放松的渴望与需要与日俱增，而这个时候，幽默往往能够舒缓人们的工作压力，给人以轻松和愉悦。所以幽默逐渐在人们生活中占据了重要的地位。言语幽默作为交际方式的一种，已经从文化、生活等各个领域融入到我们的生活之中。因为言语幽默的研究已经从语言学、语用学等多个角度展开，所以他们提出了许多有价值的理论。参考了很多研究关于幽默的文献，但是其中对于幽默的文化特性研究过少，用美国脱口秀《柯南秀》和中国脱口秀《吐槽大会》其中的言语幽默的例子进行比较研究对象目前属于一个比较新颖的研究方向。本篇论文目的在于通过对比这两部中西方脱口秀节目中的言语幽默，进一步探讨社会文化的因素对于言语幽默所产生的影响，从而使人们可以深刻地理解言语幽默的含义。以美国脱口秀《柯南秀》和中国脱口秀《吐槽大会》作为对比研究的样本，运用比较的形式对其中幽默对话的产生与理解来进行对比分析，目的是了解英汉幽默的不同走向，即在不同的情景、语言和文化中人们能够更好地理解幽默所蕴含的意义，从而能够让他们更好地运用语言幽默来缓解压力和气氛。本论文中所研究内容包三个部分。第一，介绍中西方幽默文化的产生和发展。第二，从《柯南秀》和《吐槽大会》中提取出言语幽默的对话，并进行分类、比较和分析，找出其相同点和不同点。最后，找出中西方言语幽默的原因，主要从以下三方面分析，即社会背景、思维模式和价值观。关键词：言语；幽默；脱口秀I.INTRODUCTIONLanguagehumor,alsoknownasverbalhumor,isthehumorexpressedby“words”.Comparedwithsituationalhumor,thiskindofhumorhasamuchbroaderrangeofactivities.Manypeoplebelievethatverbalhumorisalmostsynonymouswith“humor”.Thisisnotonlyrelatedtotheinteractionbetweenlanguageandwritinginmanycomedyperformances,butalsotothefactthatmostofthehumorpeopleshowisinwrittenform.Infact,thereismuchmorehumorinlanguagethansituationalhumor.Firstly,languagecannotonlycorrespondtotheexpressionofsituationalhumor,butalsototheexpressionofsituationalcomedy.Verbalhumorisshowninthefilmassituationalhumor,whichiscalledverbalhumorwhenheappearsinthenovel.Secondly,languagecanalsomakefunofitsownmaterialsandcreatealotofhumor.Theusual“wittywords”areoneofthesekindsoflanguagehumor.Wecanalsogetaweaksenseofhumorfromit,butwecan’tfindasituationalbasis.Languageitselfisfullofcontradictorymovementandgamemechanism.Itcancreatehumorindependentlywithoutthecomedyofthesituationorthehumorofthesituation,eventhoughthecreatorisstillhuman.Verbalhumorcanbedividedintotwocategories:thehumoroflanguageexpressionandthehumoroflanguagecreation.Intheformer,thelanguageisjustatoolforcreatingsituationsthatmakepeoplelaugh.Thelatter,whoselanguageis“reversed”bycomedians,isusedtocreatemanyinterestingwords,sothatlanguageisnolongerjustatoolofexpression,butasourceoflaughter.InordertobetterreflectthemanifestationofverbalhumorinChinaandthewest,IwillgiveanexampleoftheverbalhumorusedinthetwotalkshowsofConanShowandRoasttocomparethedifferencesbetweenChineseandWesterncultures,ideasandvalues.TheoriginoftalkshowscanbetracedbacktocoffeebarsinEnglandinthe18thcentury,wherepeoplediscussedvarioussocialissues.Sincethe1980s,talkshowhasbecomeafashion,anditsinfluenceonsocietycannotbeunderestimated.Inrecentyears,domestictalkshowshavealsoemergedoneafteranother.FromtheearlieroneZhouLiboshowtotoday’sRoast,theyaredeeplylovedbypeople.ConanShowischaracterizedbytheuseofvariousfunnyelements,starinterviews,musicalityandlong-actingcomedyperformances.TheRoastistoinvitesomefriendswhothinkthestarsarethemaincoffee,andthemaincafe,totalkaboutthemaincoffeeintheformoftalkshow.Bothofthemgivefullplaytoverbalhumor.Ⅱ.LITERATUREREVEIEWThispartwillstartwiththeoriginanddevelopmentofChineseandWesternhumortointroducetherelevantcontentofverbalhumorinPartThree.2.1OriginationofHumorinChinaandtheWestHumorisacharacteristic(habitualorrelativelytemporary)stateoffeeling.Itisaloanword,means“Humor”inEnglish.AnancientGreekdoctor,Hippocratesbelievedthathumanbodilyfluidswerecomposedmainlyofseveralsubstances,butindifferentproportions,mainlyblood,mucusandbile.Johnson,theBritishhumanistdramatist,wasanenablerofthewidespreaduseofhumor.Histwoworks,IndividualDifferencesandMan’sDiversity,arebothknownfortheirhumor.InhisrepresentativesatiricalcomedyVolpenet,hischaracterwasdefinedaccordingtotemperamentinthesocialfunctionofliteratureandartatthattime,andhishumortheorywasalsowidelyused.ItwasLinYutangwhofirstintroducedthewordintoChina.Thisisawordtranslatedphoneticallyandfreely,anditiswellexpressed.Theword“humor”firstappearedinQuyuan’sNineChaptersofHuaisha,whichmeans‘quietandquiet’,butnowreferstothetransliterationof‘Humor’inEnglish.Generallyspeaking,aperson’shumorabilityisdirectlyproportionaltohisEQ.Humorcanbedividedintobroadsenseandnarrowsense.ItisoftenusedinWesternlanguages,includingvulgarjokes.Onadeeperlevel,humorisdifferentfromcynicism,sarcasmandridicule,butitalsohassomethingincommon:allofthesestyleshaveelementoflaughter.However,laughteroriginallyhasdifferentkindsofbitterlaughter,wildlaughter,lightlaughterandsillylaughter,anddifferentattitudestowardslaughter.Laughtermayinvolvedifferentemotions.Itmaybepain,tenderness,contempt,compassion,orevenawholephilosophyofmind.Ofcourse,thebesthumorexpresses“thebrillianceandintellectualrichnessofthesoul”,soitisthemostcomplexofallstylesandisakindofwisdomthatresonatesemotionallyinthehumanmind,andit’salogicalwayofprocessingandchangingreality.Wecansaywithouthesitationthathumorisaphilosophybecausehumororcomedyhasbeenextendedtothefieldofphilosophicalstudy.Themaincharacteristicsofhumorarewit,self-mockery,etc.Itcanoftenbringunexpectedsurprisestopeople.Forexample,itcaneliminatehostility,reduceargumentsandpreventcontradictionsbetweenpeoplefromescalating.Otherssayhumoralsoinspirescourageandproductivity.AcompanyinColoradohasconfirmedthatthenumberofpeopletakinghumorclasseshasincreasedby15%inafewmonths,whilethenumberofpeopletakingtimeoffhasfallenbyhalf.Theexperimentshowedthatpeoplewithorwithoutasenseofhumordifferinanumberofwaysthataffectmoodandproductivity.2.2DevelopmentofHumorinChinaandtheWestSincetheMay4thmovement,LinYutang,leaderofthenewculturemovement,togetherwithLuXun,,hasbeenengagedinthepolitical,ideologicalandculturalstruggleagainstimperialismandfeudalismbymeansofhumor.Hehasexploredthetheoryofhumorinjuniorhighschool,andcreatedahigh-pitched,wittyandsarcastic‘silkstyle’prose.LinYutanghimselfisalsoknownasa‘masterofhumor’.Theword“humor”originatedinancientGreekmedicine.Itwasbelievedthattherewereseveralmajorclassesoffluidsinhumanbodytocontroltheirhealthandmood,namelyblood,yellowbile,andblackbile.Excessblackbileinthebodycausesdepression.Sowhenpeoplelaughmore,theirdepressionwoulddisappear.In1924,LinYutangtransformedtheword“humour”into“humor”inEnglish.“Humour”inEnglishcanalsobewrittenas“humor”,butthetwowordsaredifferent.Inaddition,inthewesterncountries,theword“humor”doesnotalwaysmeanfun.“Humour”(orHumeur)isaFrenchtermforanexpressionofemotionwithouthumor,unlikewhatitmeansinChina.JohnHadfield,ananatomistatCambridgeUniversity,believesthatalthoughhumanshavebeguntograspthemechanismsofangeranddepression,thereisstillalimitedunderstandingoflaughter.WhywelaughwhenweseepoliticiansbelchingonTVisstillamystery.Ⅲ.COMPARATIVEANALYSESOFENGLISHANDCHINESEVERBALHUMORBycomparingthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternverbalhumor,thereasonsforthedifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternverbalhumorcanbefoundinthispart.3.1SimilaritiesofEnglishandChineseVerbalHumorfromtheTwoShowsTherearesomesimilaritiesbetweenChineseandWesterntalkshowsfromtheaspectsoftechniquesandfunctions,andtheircorrespondingeffectsofverbalhumorusedinChineseandWesterntalkshows.3.1.1TechniquesofVerbalHumorFirstofall,self-confidenceisthepremiseoftalkshow.Ahostoftalkshowshouldhavestrongself-confidence.TakingthehostsofKeNanxiuandTucaoassemblyasanexample,ConanandZhangShaoganghavestrongself-confidence.Theyneverappearstagefrightinhostingtheprogram,theycanfaceallkindsofsituationscalmly,includingthe“sudden”situationatthescene.Moreover,talkshowistoexpresstheirviewsandideas,iftheydonotbelieveinthemselves,howcantheaudienceagreewiththem?Secondly,weshouldalsobegoodatusingexpressivelanguage,sometimeshumorouswordsofhostsandguests,coupledwithsomeexaggeratedexpressivelanguageoftalkshowperformers,whichcanoftenachievebetterresultsfortheperformanceandenabletheaudiencetobetteraccepttheperformers’views.Finally,bodylanguageisalsoimportant.Bodylanguageismoreauthenticandcredible.Fortalkshows,bodymovementsareasilentlanguage.Throughaperson’sbodymovements,wecanunderstandhisideology,emotionalchangesandsoon.Bodylanguageisoftenmoreauthenticthanvoicelanguageinthewholeprocessofaspeech,fromthespeaker’sappearancetotheendofaspeechtotheendofathank-youspeech.Usually,intalkshows,theaudiencenotonlylistens,butalsowatchesyourspeech.Themessageyouconveythroughbodymovementswillalsodirectlyaffecttheeffectofyourspeech.Therefore,asaspeaker,besidesthewordsinhismouth,heshouldalsousebodylanguagetoconveymoreandmoreabundantinformation,sothattheperformanceandspeechcomplementeachotherandmakethespeechlivelyandlively.ThereasonwhyMr.Conan,thehostofConanShow,canachievesuchagoodhumorouseffectandislovedbytheaudienceisthathisactionandexpressionareveryvivid.TheperformanceinTucaoconferencealsousedrichbodylanguagetomaketheperformancebetter.SoIthinktheskillsinChineseandWesterntalkshowsarebasicallythesame.3.1.2FunctionsofVerbalHumor“Humor”referstoexternalharmonyandinternaldignity.Itisnotvulgarorfrivolous.Itisimplicit,philosophicalandwitty.Itisakindof“ridiculous”spiritualphenomenonwithresorttoreason.Itisthecrystallizationofthethoughts,knowledge,experienceandwisdomoflanguageusers.“Verbalhumor”isoftenusedinradioandtelevisionprograms,andthehostcanusehumorouslanguagetoresolveit.Embarrassingsituationsandexpressingheavytopicsenabletheaudiencetogettheirheartsinarelaxedatmosphere.Becauseoftheparticularityoftalkshows,humorplaysanimportantroleintalkshows.TalkshowsaredifferentfromTVentertainmentprograms,whichrequirethehostnottorecite,butmainlyrelyonthehost’son-the-spotplay.Talkshowisdifferentfromnews.Evenifitisatopicofcurrentaffairsandpolitics,itneedstobeexpressedinotherways,whichrequiresthehost’shumorousandwittylanguagetoattracttheaudience.Andverbalhumorisofgreatsignificancetohumanbeings.Firstofall,ahumorouspersonwillworksmoothly.Peoplewillfeelhishumorintheinteractionwithhim,whichaffectseveryone’smentalityandmakeseveryonefullofenthusiasmforwork.Peoplewithnaturalhumorwillberespectedandlovedbyothers.Ahumorouscolleaguewillmaketheworkingatmospheremorepleasantandharmonious.Andthewholeworkingenvironmentwillbemorecomfortable,andtheworkingefficiencywillnaturallybeveryhigh.Secondly,humorouspeoplehavebettertasteinlife.Forexample,theycanfindhappinessinthesimplelife,eveniffromthebasicfood,theywillhavetheirownwayoffeelinghappiness.Lifeisnotalwaysfullofthrillingandexcitingthings.Buthumorouspeoplealwayscantastefuninplainlife--inviteafewfriendstochat,orlistentomusicorwritesomethingonapieceofpaper,whichmakestheirlifecolorful.Third,humorouspeoplearemorelikelytoattracttheoppositesex.Inaheterosexualrelationship,manypeoplefirstlookattheappearanceoftheotherparty,thenconsiderotheraspects,suchasworkorfinancialresources.Buttherealattractiontopeopleispersonalcharm.Andhumoristypicaloneofit.Henceahumorousperson,speakingwithhumor,canmakeothersrelaxandeasetheuncomfortablesituations.Ofcourse,themostimportantthingforahumorouspersonistopresenthishumorousmindandsoul.Therefore,nomatterwhatdifficultiesareencountered,ahumorouspersonwilloptimisticallyfacelife.Ifeveryonehasahumoroussoulintheirlimitedcourseoflife,justlikehavingafragrantflower,weallwillmakeourlifemoresweet,elegantandcomfortable.3.2DifferencesofEnglishandChineseVerbalHumorfromtheTwoShowsTherearesomedifferencesbetweenChineseandWesterntalkshowsfromtheaspectsoftechniquesandfunctionsandtheircorrespondingeffectsofverbalhumorusedinChineseandWesterntalkshows.3.2.1TopicsofVerbalHumorTalkshowshows,eachissuemusthaveacertaintheme,theprogramoftenstartsaroundthetheme.However,ifyouwatchtalkshowsregularly,youwillfindthatthethemesofChineseandWesterntalkshowsareoftendifferent.TakeConanO’Brienasanexample,thethemeofConanO’Brienisbasicallytooarbitrary,coveringawiderange--economy,policy,cultureandlife.Inrecentyears,thethemeoftalkshowsinChinaisoftenfixedinthescopeof“makingaudiencelaugh”.TakethethemesoftheRoastasanexample,mostlyaboutsomeembarrassedmemoriesoftheguests,orsomemistakesmadeinsomehumorouslanguageConanO’Brienwillfocusonthethemeofthisissuetocommunicatewithguestsoraudiences,usingsomehumorouslanguage,sothatwecanbetteraccept.Forexample,mostofConan’stopicswillstartwithhispartnerJordan.Thethemeofthelatestprogramis“TourItaly”.ConanandJordanenjoyItaliantouristattractions,enjoylocalcuisineandItalianculture.Ofcourse,mostofthemareexpressedintheformofhumorouslanguage.Sometimestheysatirizeeachothertoachievetheeffectoftheprogram.TheRoastisakindof“processing”afterthevarious“slotpoints”ofguests.ThemainshowofthepreviousprogramwasZhangJike,whowasatabletennisplayer.TheguestsandthehostsbegantolaughattheaudiencefromZhangJike’slatestperformanceandhis“tornsportswear”.3.2.2PresentationofVerbalHumorTherearealsomanydifferencesintheformsofverbalhumorbetweenChinaandtheWest.TakeAmericanhumorasanexample,itsformsarediverse.Manyaspects,suchasliteraryworks,moviesandtelevision,cannotbeseparatedfromtheelementsofhumor.Themostappropriatewaytouseitistalkshows.AmericansenseofhumorislikeCoca-Cola,whichismorelifelike,directandeasytounderstand,soitalsoshowsthatthereisnodepth,althoughitalwaysmakespeoplelaugh.LikeoneissueofConanO’Brien,thehostConansaid,“Abreadwalks,thenitfeelshungry,andeatshimself.”Itmadethewholeaudiencelaugh.BecauseWesternersaremoreopenandmorecasualabouttheexpressionofhumor,inConanO’Brien,thehostactsascasuallyasathome,interactingwithguestsandaudiencesonthespot,justlikeacasualmeal.It’snotaboutbeinginthemiddleofaprogramthatmakesyouaregularperson.InChina,verbalhumorismanifestedinavarietyofways.Crosstalk,sketches,talkshowsandotherformsofexpressionwillshowChineseverbalhumorincisivelyandvividly,butIthinkthestyleofliveperformanceisstilldifferentfromthatoftheWest.Roastassemblyasanexample,theformofliveperformancesisrelativelysimple.OnlytheTucaocanbetaskedonthesceneguests,andtheinteractionbetweenspectatorsisveryfew.Mostofthemaremainlypreparedbyactors,andplaylessonthespot.Althoughtheprogramworkswell,italwaysfeelslikeit’snotenough.3.3ReasonsforDifferencesinEnglishandChineseVerbalHumorfromtheTwoShowsThroughcomparativeanalysisofChineseandWesternsocialbackgrounds,people’sthinkingmethodsandvalues,wecanfindoutthedifferencesbetweenthem.3.3.1DifferencesinSocialBackgroundItisanindisputablefactthattherearedifferentculturalbackgroundsbetweencountries.Andthesevariousculturalbackgroundsareinfluencedbysomefactors.Amongthesefactors,socialeconomyplaysthemostimportantrole.Inreallife,economicdevelopmentcannotonlyimprovepeople’slivingconditions,butalsoaffectpeople’soutlookonlifeandvalues,andevenpromotethedevelopmentofacountry.Justlikethewesterncountries,beforetheindustrialrevolution,theirlevelofdevelopmentwasmuchlowerthanthatofChina,especiallyinfeudalsociety.Atthattime,China’seconomydevelopedrapidly,inwhichitcorrespondinglypromotedthedevelopmentofculturalindustryandproducedvariousgreatculturalachievements.Underthecircumstancesofsocialdevelopmentatthattime,therulingclassbegantofocusonculturaldominationandregardeditasanimportanttoolofdomination.ChinesepeoplebegantothinkthatChinaistheworld’sculturalcentre,anddidnotpayattentiontoitseconomicdevelopment.Gradually,Chinabegantodeclineinideologyandculture.However,differentfromChina,thewesterncountries,afterthebaptismoftheindustrialrevolution,havebeenrisingintheworld,evensurpassingChina.Gradually,Chinabegantofarbehindthewesterncountriesineconomyandculture.UndertheeffectoftherapiddevelopmentofsocialeconomyinWesterncountries,thethoughtsandculturalconceptsofwesterncountrieshaveundergoneearth-shakingchanges.Atthattime,Chinawasinfluencedbythelong-termfeudalideologyandtheculturalinvasionbroughtbyforeignaggression,whichmadetheculturaldevelopmentandvaluesofChinapresentaseriousbackwardsituation.ThemainreasonforthedifferenceofculturalbackgroundandvaluesbetweenChinaandtheWestisthedifferenceofsocialandeconomicdevelopmentbetweenthesetwocountries.Verbalhumoristheproductofsocialdevelopment.Asearlyasthe19thcentury,verbalhumorwaswidelyusedinperformances,conversations,speechesandotherformsofexpressioninWesterncountries.BecauseofthebackwardsocialandeconomicsituationinChinaatthattime,theChinesepeoplewereonlybusywiththeirlivelihoodsandknewlittleaboutverbalhumor.3.3.2DifferencesinThinkingModelThewayofthinkingisparticularlyimportantforacountry.However,itisnotinnate,whichisinfluencedbysocialenvironmentandtraditionalculture.InChina,ithasagreatinfluenceonpeople’sreligiousbelief.What’smore,thisinfluencehaslastedfromancienttimestothepresent,andcan’tbechangedoreliminatedinashorttime.Fromtheabovepointofview,itiseasytofindthattheyallfocusonunderstanding.ItisbecausethatChinesepeopletendtobemoreimplicitintheirdailycommunication,ratherthanbeingasdirectaswesterners.Therefore,theexpressionofverbalhumorisnotasstraightforwardasWesterners,oftenwithsomemeaningfulwordstoexpresstheirviews,letpeoplethinkcarefullybeforetheyknowthemeaningofverbalhumor.Onthecontrary,westernersprefertosolveproblemsdirectlyandexpressclearlywhattheywanttosay.ThisisbecausethewesterncountriesadheretoAristotle’sstrictformallogicandrationalism.That’swhywesternersdon’tunderstandimplicitnesswhenexpressingverbalhumor.Inaword,thewayofthinkingisoneoftheimportantreasonsforthedifferencesbetweenChineseandwesternculturalvalues.3.3.3DifferencesinValuesWhatwesterners’valueispersonalstruggleandpersonalachievement.Theyarefullofconfidenceinthemselves,especiallywhentheywin,theywillcelebrateenthusiasticallytoshowtheirsuccess.Onthecontrary,Chinesepeopleadvocatemodestyandteamwork.Theybelievethatindividualvictoriesarenotrealvictories,butteamvictoriesarerealones.Thisisthedifferencebetweenexplicitandimplicit.Westernersliketoshowittoothersandthenletothersaffirmthemselves.Theytakeitforgrantedthatexistenceisperceivedandobscurityisnevertheirstyle.Chinesepeopleadvocateintroversionandreserve,andtheywillbeconsideredarrogantandunrulyiftheyareslightlyaheadoftime.Chineseliketodothingsmodestlyandwaitforbeingdiscoveredbyothers.Westernerscherishpersonalfreedomverymuch.Theyliketoliveintheirownwayandarereluctanttoberestricted,whileChinesepeoplecareaboutcollectivism.Theythinkpeopleshouldsubordinateindividualintereststothatofthecollective.What’smore?Peopleshouldsharethegoodandthebad,worktogetherandkeeppacewitheachother.ThiscanbeexplainedbythenamesofChineseandWesterners.Thefamilynamerepresentsthefamily,thegroup,andthegivennamerepresentstheindividual.Chinesepeoplehavefamilynamesfirst,followedbytheirgivennames,whilewesternershavegivennamesfirstandfamilynameslast.ThisindicatedthatChinesepeopleputgroupbeforeindividualandfocusongroupeffectratherthanpersonaleffect,whilewesternersdotheoppositeThesevaluesabovearealsoreflectedinthehabitofChineseexpression.Chinesehumorismoreimplicit,thinkingaboutother’sfeeling,andwouldliketoexpressinapolitewaythateveryonecanaccept.Butwesternersoftendonotthinksomuch.Theydonotpaymuchattentiontowhethertheyareacceptableornot.Sometimestheyhurtotherpeople’sfeeling.Ⅳ.CONCLUSIONHumoristhesourceofhumanlanguagevitality.Itnotonlyenrichesthelanguageitself,butalsogreatlyenhancesthepowerofillocution.Verbalhumorhasobjectivity,universality,communicativenessandpracticability.Itistheeffectthatpeopleachievecertaincommunicativeintentionsthrou