Abstract

Humor，as an art, is the essence of human language, which embodies human beings' wisdom and taste. It can not only bring great fun to people, but also resolve conflicts among people. Consequently, the research on humor has become one of the most important issues in language study. This paper attempts to explore the mechanisms of humor through the American sitcom Friends with the help of Grice's cooperative principle. The Cooperative Principle consists of four maxims: the Maxim of Quantity, the Maxim of Quality, the Maxim of Relation and the Maxim of Manner. In this thesis, the author analyzes the humorous examples in Friends and draws a conclusion: violating any maxim of the Cooperative Principle can cause the generation of humor.

Key words:  humor, sitcom, Cooperative Principle, flouting, Friends

摘 要

     幽默是人类语言的精华，是一门艺术，体现了人类的智慧和情趣。它既可以带给人们极大的乐趣，同时也是化解人与人之间矛盾的重要手段。因此对幽默的研究成为言语研究的重要课题之一。
本文试图以美国著名情景喜剧《老友记》为例，以格莱斯的合作原则为理论框架，探究幽默的潜在机制。合作原则包含四个准则:量的准则，质的准则，相关准则以及方式准则。在这篇文章中，作者结合《老友记》中的情节实例，对违反合作原则制造出的幽默现象进行分析，从而得出结论：违反合作原则中的任一准则都可引起幽默的产生。

关键词： 幽默；情景喜剧；合作原则；违反；《老友记》

1、Introduction
    In our daily life, humor plays an important role. On the one hand, humor has become one of the most attractive characteristics a successful person must own and it represents a kind of human being's ability. A person with a little joke can easily eliminate an unpleasant conflict, and break the tense atmosphere. He also can bring laughter and happiness to people, which makes him welcome. Many great famous people, such as American presidents Abraham Lincoln and John Fitzgerald Kennedy, demonstrate their sense of humor in job and life. On the other hand, in terms of social function, humor can also influence people's life and amuse people. It can improve people's relationship and promote the social harmony. Apart from these, the studies on humor are helpful to English learners, which can help them learn English well and know more about English. They help create a relaxing learning environment to attract learners' attention and stimulate learners' interest. So more importance is supposed to be attached to humor studies.