《跨文化交际中英汉言语幽默对比探究（英文）》（论文）

跨文化交际中英汉言语幽默对比研究摘要：言语幽默分为两种，其一是通过语言表达而来的幽默，其二是通过语言创造而来的幽默。作为语言的一种特殊表达方式，亦作为语言的一种文化载体，言语幽默体现出人们的生活态度与生活观念，同时是人类智慧的结晶。虽然言语幽默与文化的联系日益密切、跨文化交际高速发展，但其中对言语幽默的研究并不多。且在如今中西跨文化交际频繁的大环境下，英汉言语幽默也就成为了两种语言和文化的重要组成部分。本文首先研究在跨文化交际中言语幽默的特点和功能，并概括出英汉言语幽默文化的异同，随后提出了一些能够缩小言语幽默理解差距的跨文化交际策略。本论文研究意在领会英汉言语幽默的异同点，以及其产生的主要原因，从而促进中国与欧美国家的跨文化交际。关键词：言语幽默文化差异跨文化交际AContrastiveStudyofEnglishandChineseVerbalHumorinCross-culturalCommunicationChapterOneIntroduction1.1ObjectivesandMethodologyofResearchNowadays,peoplerealizethatlanguageplaysakeyrolethroughtheirowninfluenceontheculturemadeinagivenlanguage.(LinYutang35)4Itisgenerallyacceptedthathumorisaparticularcategoryoflanguage,anditisapparentthatthemoisturegeneratedinEnglish-speakingculturesorChinesecultureischaracterizedbyaspecialobject.Ifonewishestoenjoyaspecificpieceofhumor,heorshenotonlytoacquirethelanguageofhumorousflair,buthaveadvantageoffamiliaritywiththehiddenfunnyofthespecificlanguage.ContrastiveAnalysis(CA)isconsideredasoneoftheessentialsubdivisionsoflinguisticsreferringtoaninter-linguisticmethodwhenresearchinglinguistics.AndthisdissertationwilluseCAasatool.Peoplehaveembracedaremarkabledevelopmentofit,andithasgraduallybecomeanewmethodoflanguageresearch.Contrastanalysis,justastheword“contrastive”hints,toagreaterextent,paysattentiononthedifferencesbetweentwolanguagesratherthanthesimilarities.Thismeansthatitdealswiththesubstantialnatureofacertainlanguage.Thus,ContrastiveAnalysisismainlyappliedintheresearch,andthisthesisalsoemploysobservationalmethod,dataselectionanddataanalysistocollecttheinformationdirectlyrelatedtoEnglishandChineseverbalhumorintwosituationaljokes.SignificanceandValueofResearchHumorouslanguage,anirreplaceablepartofpeople’slife,bringslaughteraswellaspleasuretopeople,andenlightenspeople’slivesinallalmosteveryculture.However,fewpeopleareinterestedinthediversereactionsofpeopleofvariousracesandculturestothesameverbalhumor,andfewevenattributethedifferentinteractionsintotheculturalroots.ThecomparativelycontrastivestudyemphasisonthesocialculturaldifferenceswhichhaveinfluencesoncomprehendingEnglishtoagreaterextentthanChinesehumorouslanguage.However,goingbacktothedefinitionoflanguage,itisasystemthatmadeofblindsoundsymbolsappliedtohumancommunication.Itremindspeopleofthebestapplicationoflanguageforhumancommunication.Hence,itishighlyunlikelyforonewhoisstudyingaforeignlanguagetounderstandanexotichumorouslanguagewithoutsomeunderstandingaboutitsculture.(Kramsch81)3Inreallife,therearemanyuniversalitiesofverbalhumor.Basedontheanalysisofcommunicationandrelatedresearchathomeandabroad,verbalhumorhasgreatresearchpotentialinthisfield.Hence,thisdissertationwillfocusmoreonthedifferencesbetweenChineseaswellasEnglishverbalhumor,andwilltrytofindoutthecausetothedifferencessoastoimproveaforeignlanguagelearners’understandingtospecificlanguage,andmakethemeasiertoappreciatethesehumors.Again,theaimofthisdissertationistoprovidepeopleabetterunderstandingtowardsChineseaswellasAmericanculture.Andcommunicatorsshalldevotethemselvestomakepeoplefromdifferentcountriesandracessharelaughterandentertainment,shortenpersonaldistance,buildabridgeofethnicfriendship,andpromoteinterculturalexchanges.ItisalsohopedthatChinesehumorwillbeappliedappropriatelyandwidelyinpracticebyincorporatingthemeritsofEnglishhumor.1.3LiteratureReviewSomescholarsviewhumorasaculturalvehiclethatembodiedcivilizationandwisdom,whichalsoisawaytoapproachtheworld.Andverbalhumoriscloselyassociatedwithculturalhumor.Alongwiththerapiddevelopmentofthecross-culturalcommunication,linguistshavebeeninterestedinthestudyofhumorfrommanylinguisticanglessincethe1980s.OneofmanygenerallydiscussedhumortheoriesincludesRaskin’sSemanticScriptTheoryofHumor.Thistheoryusesthecontradictionsofthescriptastobetterunderstandingtheverbalhumor.AttardoandRaskin’sGeneralTheoryofVerbalHumorcanexplaintheunderstandingoflonghumorousdiscourse.AttardoexplicatesthehumorthatfloutstheGrice’scooperativeprinciples.(1990-1993)2Meanwhile,aimingtoexaminetheproductionofhumor,Hacherusesthespeechact.FormerChineseresearchershavestudiedhumorbasedonthesetheoriesdiscussedabove.Forinstance,HuFanzhouwroteaninfluentialbook,HumorLinguistics,whoexaminedhumorfromalinguisticsperspective.(190)8ChenXiaoying’sbook,theSecretofHumor,examinedtheskillsaswellthenationalityofhumortoagreatextent.(98)6TanDarenexploreshumorandverbalhumorseparately.(164)14LiuNaishidiscussesthegraph-theoreticalapproachofverbalhumor.(20)12LvGuangdanmainlymakesresearchestowardstheunderstandingandappreciationofEnglishhumor.(14)13Aboveresearchersdevotedthemselvestothedevelopmentofverbalhumor.Today,therearemoreandmoreculturalexchangesbetweenwesterncountriesandChina.Inthe21stcentury,culturalintercoursesbetweenChinaandwesterncountriesarehappeningeverywhereatanysecond.Thismeansthatitisessentialtounderstandthedifferencesintermsofverbalhumoritself,andculturalsignificance.Consequently,exploringtheculturalcausesofthesedifferencesandtrytoshortenthegapbetweentheunderstandingofverbalhumorincross-culturalcommunicationarequiteimportant.TheaimofthisdissertationistoanalyzetheresemblancesanddifferencesinEnglishandChineseverbalhumor,thentrytofindouttheculturalreasonsforthesedifferences.Bydoingthis,cross-culturalcommunicationbetweenChinaandotherEnglish-speakingcountriescouldbeeffectivelypromoted.

ChapterTwoAnOverviewofVerbalHumor2.1DefinitionofVerbalHumorVerbalhumorisaveryattractivelanguagephenomenonwithspecialpragmaticfunctions.Moreimportantly,verbalhumorhasspecialfeaturesandfunctions,sointhissectiontheauthortalksaboutthecharacteristicsofverbalhumorfromalinguisticpointofview,aswellasthecommunicativefunctionandculturalfunction.2.2FeaturesofVerbalHumorTherearenumerousmethodstocreatethesenseofhumor.Butlanguageistheclearestandmostusedskillforcreatinghumor.What’smore,researchersshouldfocusonboththefeaturesaswellasthecharactersofhumorouswhilestudyingthefeaturesofverbalhumor.Themainfocusofthisthesiswillbefeaturedinhumorousremarksintheaspectoflinguistics.Anditissayingthatthesefeaturesarenotonlyexpressedinuniqueorgorgeousrhetoric,butareappliedindailyconversation.Goodspeakersandwritersbringpeoplenewtypesofverbalhumorcontinually.Andthelinguisticnatureofverbalhumorisexplainedfromvariousanglesincludingphonologicalfeaturesandlexicalfeatures.2.2.1PhonologicalFeaturesPhonologically,itiseasytocreateverbalhumor,astherearemanyhomonymsthatrefertotwowordswhohavethesamepronunciation,buttheyhavedifferentspellingsandmeanings,suchaspairandpare,deeranddear,wrightandwrite,etc.Therearemoreexamplesbelow.[1]Mum:“Mylittledaughterhasarrangedalittlepieceforthepiano.”Guest:“Good.It'sabouttimewehadalittlepeace.”(吕光旦19-20)13Theuseofthehomophones“peace”and“piece”,theguestmeansthegirlmadenoisinessandtheyneedsomequietness.Thecontainingallusionscanbeexpressedeasilyandhearerscanacceptitwell.Apartfromhomophones,therearemanynamesakes,whichmeanthatthewordsarespokenandwrittenthesameexceptfordifferentmeanings.Forexample,“bear”means“putupwithsomethingorsomebodyunpleasant”asaverbanditalsomeansakindofmammalwhenitisanoun.Itiseasytoproducehumorthroughsuchlinguisticphenomenon.Itistruethateverylanguagehasitsownvarietiesanddialects,anditispronounceddistinctivelyindifferentgeographicalregions.Forinstance,inChineselanguage,therearemanydialectsandlocalethniclanguagealloverthecountry.Eachofthemvariesconsiderablyinpronunciation.Naturally,thedifferencesofthesepronunciationordialectscancreateverbalhumorwhencertainarticulationsoundsunfamiliartomostpeople.Sometimespeoplemispronounceit,whichgraduallybecomesasignificantpartofverbalhumor.HereisanexampleofanewlyimmigratedEnglishteacherteachinganEnglishlessontoAustralianadults.[2]Sheputsomeobjectsonthetableandaskedsomeofherstudentstogivehertherulerandthekeysandetc.ThenshetoldanItalianstudent“givemethekeys.”Themanwassurprisedandperplexed.Thentheteacherrepeated,“Givemethekeys.”ThentheItaliankissedher.(吕光旦123)132.2.2LexicalFeaturesMostofverbalhumorsarecreatedfromlexicalapproaches.Polysemymeansthatonewordcanhavemorethanoneexplanation.Languageisconstantlychanginganddeveloping,andsoisthemeaningofwords.Agreatnumberofphrasesandidiomscanbefoundindifferentmeaningsinvariouscontexts.Thisissayingthattheycanbeunderstoodastheliteralmeaningorthefigurativemeaning.Differentlanguagesspellincomparably.AndthespellingoftheEnglishlanguageiscomposedoftwenty-sixletters,andthesequenceofthelettersinwordsisquiteessential.EveryEnglishwordhasitsowninflection,whileChinesewordsdonot.[1]白云:我白云大小也是个名人，走啦！黑土:你白云算什么名人，那就是个人名！(小品《小崔说事》)Theaboveverbalhumoristheconversionofthesequenceofthewords,andinChineseitalsoproduceshumorouseffects.“人名”isjustanamewhile“名人”meansthedistinguishedpeople.Asimpleconversionofthesequenceofthecharactersgivesdifferentmeaningstothewords.ThoughthegreatcontrastbetweenthesetwowordsmakesBaiYundisappointed,butthefunnyeffectsareachievedfromit.2.3FunctionsofVerbalHumorMostoftheresearchersconsentthatthefunctionsofverbalhumorareasuniversalasverbalhumoritself.BothEnglishandChineseverbalhumorhascommunicativefunctionsandculturalfunctions.2.3.1CommunicativeFunctionVerbalhumor,ifusedproperly,canbeusedformoreeffectivecommunicationinaspecificsituation.(1)CriticizingothersNooneiswillingtoacceptcriticismeasily.Maysomepeopleeventakeitwithhostilityandprecautions;orothersmayfeelnervousandfrightenedwhenfacingcriticism;ortheymayregretandloseconfidence.Takingadvantageofverbalhumorincriticismwillmakethereceiverreadilyacceptthecriticism.Forinstance,Lincriticizedthelengthyspeechesinanotherwayandsavedthedignityofthereceiverbyusingthehumorousremarks.LinTutangattendedagraduationceremonyinTaipeianditwas11:30p.m.Andhesaidthat“ladiesandgentlemen,thespeechesofgentlemenshouldbelikethewomendress,theshorterthebetter”.(李继荣31)11(2)EnhancingInterpersonalRelationshipHumorisaninfluentialtoolinsettinguptheharmoniousandgratifyingrelationshipbetweenpeople.Thismeansthathumorcouldsmooththeinterpersonalrelationship.Differentpeopleapproachdifferentthingswithdifferentideas.Andwhenone’sthoughtsarenotinconformitywiththeothers’,somefrictionorcontradictionsmaytakeplace.Forinstance,MaoZedongmadetherelationshipbetweenarmyandpeoplemoreharmonious.[1]OnceChairmanMaoledsoldierstoliveinTianJianwanatthebeginningoftheWarofLiberation.ChairmanMaoandothercomradeslivedtogetherinasmallcavedwelling,thelandladysaidthatthecavedwellingwastoosmallandtheplacewastoosmall.I’msorryforleadingcadre.ChairmanMaoansweredthatourtroopsweretoomany;ourpeopleweretoomany.Iwassorryforyou.Thelandladyandthesoldiersalllaughed.(李继荣27)11(3)SavingFaceFunctionEveryoneisauniquememberofsociety,andpeoplecancommunicateinthepresenceofothersaswellasbysocialmedia.Verbalhumor,isoftenusedtosavethespeakerandhearer’sdignity,andisoneofthespecialwaysofcommunication.[1]Ajudgewasinterrogatingathief.Judge:Whatdidyoudo?Thief:Iwenttotheshopmuchearlier.Judge:So,youdidn’tbreakthelaw.Whendidyougototheshop?Thief:Iwenttotheshopbeforeitopened.(陈艳超207)7Inthisexample,thethieffeltawkwardtoexpresshisadmissionofguilt.Thereisnodenyingthatthethiefistryingtofindhimselfadecentwaytoexplainhisbehavior,soheusesverbalhumortothejudge,ratherthanansweringdirectly.Therefore,verbalhumorcanalsomakesurethehearer’sfaceissaved.2.3.2CulturalFunctionVerbalhumorcanbetransmittedasacarrierofculture.Andverbaldisplayofhumorshowsthattheeveryoneisamemberofaculturalsociety.Whentalkingwithhumor,peoplecangainlaughterandculturalknowledge.[1]甲乙两人没有文采，却经常不懂装懂，卖弄知识。一天，两人同时参加一个聚会，甲说：“孔子是大圣人，大善人，所以子孙中出了不少名人，比如多谋善断的孔明。”乙接着说到，“依我看，恶有恶报的事情也很多，比如秦始皇，他焚书坑儒，所以他的子孙中就出了个遗臭万年的秦桧。”(黄钦德130)9TheculturalfunctionfulfilledbyChineseverbalhumoristhesameastheEnglishverbalhumor.Thismeansthattheroleofverbalhumorisuniversal.Justlikethekindofverbalhumormentionedabove,theverbalhumortellsthereadersthatfourfamouspeopleinChinesehistory.Hence,byappreciatingverbalhumor,peoplecangainknowledgeaboutWesternandChineseculture.

ChapterThreeSimilaritiesandDifferencesBetweenEnglishandChineseVerbalHumor3.1SimilaritiesofEnglishandChineseVerbalHumorinLanguageGenerationMechanismIncross-culturalcommunication,therearesomesimilartechniquesincreatingverbalhumorinbothChineseandEnglish.Verbalhumoristhehumorexpressedorcreatedbylanguage.AmbiguityisoneofthemainapproachestoproducehumoreffectinbothEnglishandChinesehumor,anditisalsoanessentialsourceofhumorininterculturalcommunication.Anditwillbeanalyzedinfollowingaspects.Phoneticambiguitymeansthatonepronunciationcouldbecomprehendedinvariousways,eveninawrongoranincongruousway.Agreatnumberofverbalhumorsarebasedonthefactthattherearepossibilitiestointerpretitindifferentways.ItisverycommontousesoundambiguityastheauthormentionedinChapterTwo.ThereareaprofoundnumberofhomophonesinbothChineseaswellasEnglish.Therefore,itisnotdifficulttorecreateverbalhumorthroughphonemicambiguity.Phraseologyincludesphonetics,syntaxandpragmatics,whichareallvariantsofthelanguagesystem.Metaphorisawidespreadmethodsoastomakelanguagevivid.Andaskillfuluseofmetaphorcouldmakereadersassociatewiththeauthor’sfeelings.Meanwhile,hyperbolecouldalsocreatesuspenseorrendertheatmospherejustlikemetaphor.Peoplecanalsomakeverbalhumormoreimpressivebyusingthat.3.2DifferencesbetweenEnglishandChineseVerbalHumorinCross-cultureCommunicationItisundeniablethattheexpressionofverbalhumorinChineseandEnglishisdifferent.Incross-culturalcommunication,therearesomedifferentaspectsofverbalhumor.Thereisabigdifferenceinthetopicandcontentofhumor,evenintargetsandstylesofjokes.What’smore,bothEnglishandChinesearewillingtochoosedifferentsituationstousevariousverbalhumor.VerbalhumorisubiquitousinEnglishorChinese,frompoliticsandreligion,familyandsociallife.Forinstance,inEnglishculture,theyneverfeelawkwardwhentalkingaboutsexisafavoritetopicformanyEnglishspeakers.ButChinesecultureisbroadlyfamousasreticentandconnotative.Moreover,it’simpoliteforChinesetotalkaboutsex.Anditisnotagoodideatodiscusssexinvirtuallyallpublicplaces.

ChapterFourStrategiesofAppreciationandUnderstandingofExoticVerbalHumorinCross-culturalCommunication4.1MasteringLinguisticFeaturesofEnglishandChineseItissayingthatEnglishandChinesebelongtodifferentlanguageclassificationandhaveuniquecharacteristics.Differentpeoplecreatevariousverbalhumorindifferentlanguages.Thismeansthatpeoplemayneedtomastersomebasicknowledgeaboutthelanguagesoastoenjoyverbalhumorofotherculture.Englishisformedwithlettersandbelongstothephonemicsystemmadeupofalphabets.Onthecontrary,theformofChinesecharacter,eventhesoundandmeaningareseepedintothecharacter,moreoverChineseusuallydoesnothavesomanyvarietiesofinfection,butrichinmeaning.Intermsofthesentences,thatofChinesearenotstrictlycompletewithoutthestandardelements.Peoplejustneedtomakesurethatthemeaningscanmakesense.ButinEnglish,itputgreatstressontheintegrityandcompleteness.Limitedbystandard,Chineseisquitedifferentfromwesternpeople.4.2AppreciatingDifferentCulturalConnotationsLinguisticknowledgeisnotenoughtounderstandanotherlanguage,andtheunderstandingisasignificantpartoftheculturalconnotationsandinteractiveoccasion.Threesignificantpartsofacertainlanguageculture,whichareidioms,proverbsandsayings,arenoteasyforforeignerstocomprehend,especiallyusingtheidiomscorrectly.Aswithanyidiom,themeaningofaChineseidiomcannotcomefromthemeaningofeachwordalone,whichisthesameastheEnglishidioms.Atthesametime,agreatnumberofEnglishallusionsinvolveeventsorcharactersfromthejewelrycassetteofEnglishliterature.Itcanbeasubstantialobstacleincross-culturalcommunicationthatoneonlyunderstandssomepiecesoftheseculturalconnotations.Culturalcustomissometimesinvisible,whichhasdifferentattitudestowardstheinterpersonalrelationship.Inordertocommunicatesmoothly,communicatorsmustmasterthedifferentaspectsoflanguageknowledgeandvariousculturebackground.Onlyinthiscasecanthehumorouseffectbeeffectivelycommunicatedtotheothers.4.3AbandoningPreconceptionsandDevelopingEmpathyEthnocentrismexistsinalmosteveryculture,andtheattitudeofpeopletowardsethnocentrismwillinfluencethecommunicationbetweenpeople,involvingthecontempt,speed,contentandtoneofspeakers.Therearetwowaysthatethnocentrismcandeterminethecomprehendingofverbalhumor.Firstly,ifoneisethnocentricandunwillingtoacceptorlearnaboutanotherculture,heorshewillfailtoenjoytheverbalhumor.Secondly,theethnocentrismisalsoembodiedinthecontentoftheverbalhumor.Inmoresubtleways,ethnocentrismmayresultintheseparationfromthedominantcultures,orthealienationofgroups.Inaword,whenappreciatingaverbalhumor,theaudienceshouldtakeanobjectiveattitudeandtrytoovercometheirownsenseofnationalsuperiorityandgetridofthesenseofnationalsuperiorityofothercountries.Theabilitytoformemotionalresonanceiscalledempathy.Anditcanalsobeunderstoodasto“putoneselfinanother’sshoes”.AsSamovarconcluded,empathyisaprofoundtraitthattoformeffectivecross-culturalcommunication.(256)5Inordertobecomeasuccessfulcross-culturalcommunicator,empathyisessential.Andonehastobesensitivetovaluesaswellascustoms.Hence,developingempathycanbeappliedtoenjoyverbalhumorbyimagingyourselfasasocietymemberoftheotherculture,andunderstandingofverbalhumoriseasier.“Empathycanbeadvancedifpeopleresistthetendencytointerprettheother’sverbalandnon-verbalactionsfromtheir