Analysis of Humor in the Dialogues of The Big Bang Theory

邢平愚

Part One Introduction

In 1967，Herbert Paul Grice first proposed the notion of “Cooperative Principle”.He claimed that both parts should stick to a series of principles in order to achieve successful communication.（He Ziran，Chen Xinren，2004）.But sometimes，people violate them and there comes the conversational implicature，which is the origin of humor.People have done researches discussing the relationship between “Cooperative Principle” and humor，and it is necessary to see how humor is produced and by this analysis，new light will be shed upon the application of this principle in real life.This thesis is going to analyze dialogues in The Big Bang Theory by using the “Cooperative Principle” to show how humor is achieved.

Part Two Theoretical Framework

Four maxims are as follows：

Quantity

1.Make your contribution as informative as is required （for the current purposes of the exchange）.

2.Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.

Quality

Try to make your contribution one that is true.

1.Do not say what you believe to be false.

2.Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

Relation

Be relevant.

Manner

Be perspicuous.

1.Avoid obscurity of expression.

2.Avoid ambiguity.

3.Be brief.

4.Be orderly.

Part Three Case Analysis

Example 1

Leonard： I should probably give you a heads-up about his mother.

Penny： What about her？

Leonard： Shes a delightful woman.You' 11 love her.

Analysis：This dialogue took place when Penny was persuaded by Lenard to apologize to Howard at his home.Since Lenard knows very well that Howards mother is loud and annoying，in case Penny changes her mind，he only gives her a little message.Thus，when Penny finds out，she takes it with a big surprise and then comes the humorous effect.

Example 2

Penny： How come you didnt go in to work today？

Sheldon： Im taking a sabbatical because I wont kowtow to mediocre minds.

Analysis： When Penny asked why Sheldon didnt go to work，Sheldon didnt tell her directly that he was fired.By giving false information，Sheldon violates the maxim of quality.However，it helps to build his lofty image，and leads people to laugh.

Example 3

Lenard： Well，what did she mean by that？ Was that just a generic platitude or was that a subtle bid for attention？

Sheldon： You know why this hamburger surpasses the Big Boy？ This is a single-decker，whereas the Big Boy is a double-decker.This has a much more satisfying meat-to-bun-to-condiment ratio.

Analysis： Lenard isnt sure about what Penny has said： whether she is comforting him for politeness or she is drawing his attention in an undetectable way.So he turns to Sheldon for help who doesnt answer directly，but gives an answer that has nothing to do with the question at all.It reflects Sheldons decision of not discussing problems in Lenards affection life.

Example 4

Lenard： Can you tell Im perspiring a little？

Sheldon： No.The dark crescent-shaped patterns under you arms conceal it nicely.

Analysis： On the first date with Penny，Lenard is so nervous that his sweat has soaked out.He asks Sheldon whether he can tell hes been sweating.Though he has noticed the marks made by sweating Sheldon says he cant see it because the “dark patterns conceal it nicely”.His answer not only violates the maxim of manner，but also the maxim of quality.

Part Four Conclusion

Under the guidance of the theories，this thesis analyzes the conversational implicature and the humor it brings about so as to help audiences to better understand the inner world of characters and the humor.It also helps English learners to get a better grasp of the Cooperative Principle.However，due to the limitation of time and resources，examples and the corpus might not be adequate.Thus for further researches，more pragmatic theories can be applied to analyze literature works and TV programs.

Reference：

[1]何自然， 陳新仁.當代語用學[M].北京：外語教學與研究出版社，2004.