关联理论和概念合成理论对言语幽默解读认知机制的阐释
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摘要
根据Sperber & Wilson (1986/1995)的关联理论,言语幽默是一种明示推理交际,在这明示推理交际过程中说话人会产生一个既有信息意图又有交际意图的言语刺激,听话人从说话人的明示行为推理出说话人产生这样一个言语刺激的意图。
Fauconnier (1997)的概念合成理论认为概念合成是人类基本的认知运作过程。这种概念合成能力发生在感知、理解和记忆的所有层面上。言语幽默的理解过程中进行了概念合成。在言语幽默解读过程中,幽默话语的解读者在在线意义构建时将储存在大脑里的体验世界知识,其中包括社会文化知识和百科知识,和输入话语信息整合起来产生新显结构,由新显结构引起出乎意料的可笑。正如Fauconnier所说,“所有的思维形式都是创造性的,这是因为它们会产生新的联系和构造,并由此产生新的意义和新的概念”(Fauconnier,1997:149)。
关联理论中的最佳关联原则是讲话人得以制造幽默效果和听话人理解幽默效果的认知基础,而概念合成理论提供的分析手段更加能够展现幽默解读时语义的动态创生过程。
本文试图应用关联理论和概念合成理论来阐释那些本身并不存在乖讹/失谐现象但仍然使接受者捧腹大笑的言语幽默的解读认知机制,因为在言语幽默解读过程中,在线意义构建产生的新显结构引起了出乎意料的可笑。本文应用这样一个假设:言语幽默的成功解读不仅依赖于关联和推理,同时也依赖于概念合成和新显结构。
本文通过一些个案研究阐释了解读言语幽默的认知机制,这样我们对言语幽默有了更好的理解,同时我们认识到两大认知语用推理理论----关联理论和概念合成理论对解读言语幽默具有很大的阐释力。
Verbal humor is a kind of Ostensive-Inferential communication in terms of the Relevance Theory proposed by Sperber and Wilson (1986/1995), in the process of which the speaker produces a certain language stimulus with the aim of fulfilling an informative intention as well as a communicative intention, and the hearer or the audience is to infer his/her intention in producing such a language stimulus from the ostensive behavior of the speaker.
According to the Conceptual Blending Theory proposed by Fauconnier (1997), conceptual blending is a fundamental cognitive ability taking place at all levels of perception, of understanding and of memory, including comprehension of verbal humors. During the process of verbal humor interpretations the interpreter of humor utterance can blend the embodied world knowledge stored in the brain, including social, cultural knowledge and encyclopedic knowledge,and the input utterance information(contextual assumptions), which result in the emergent structure during the on-line meaning construction. According to Fauconnier (1997: 149), all forms of thought are creative in the sense that they produce new links, new configurations, and correspondingly, new meaning and novel conceptualization.
The optimal relevance principle of the relevance theory is the cognitive base for the speaker to achieve and listeners to comprehend humorous effects. The analyzing ways provided by the conceptual blending theory can better disclose the on-line meaning construction and meaning creation during the process of verbal humor interpretations.
This thesis probes into the cognitive mechanisms involved in the process of the interpretations of those verbal humors which do not have incongruity but still make the recipients laugh by adopting the Relevance Theory and the Conceptual Blending Theory which can explain the unexpected fun resulting from the emergent structure during the on-line meaning construction. We hold the assumption that the successful interpretation of verbal humor is decided not only by relevance and inference, but also by conceptual blending and the emergent structure.
This thesis makes some case studies of verbal humor to elucidate the cognitive
Fauconnier (1997)的概念合成理论认为概念合成是人类基本的认知运作过程。这种概念合成能力发生在感知、理解和记忆的所有层面上。言语幽默的理解过程中进行了概念合成。在言语幽默解读过程中,幽默话语的解读者在在线意义构建时将储存在大脑里的体验世界知识,其中包括社会文化知识和百科知识,和输入话语信息整合起来产生新显结构,由新显结构引起出乎意料的可笑。正如Fauconnier所说,“所有的思维形式都是创造性的,这是因为它们会产生新的联系和构造,并由此产生新的意义和新的概念”(Fauconnier,1997:149)。
关联理论中的最佳关联原则是讲话人得以制造幽默效果和听话人理解幽默效果的认知基础,而概念合成理论提供的分析手段更加能够展现幽默解读时语义的动态创生过程。
本文试图应用关联理论和概念合成理论来阐释那些本身并不存在乖讹/失谐现象但仍然使接受者捧腹大笑的言语幽默的解读认知机制,因为在言语幽默解读过程中,在线意义构建产生的新显结构引起了出乎意料的可笑。本文应用这样一个假设:言语幽默的成功解读不仅依赖于关联和推理,同时也依赖于概念合成和新显结构。
本文通过一些个案研究阐释了解读言语幽默的认知机制,这样我们对言语幽默有了更好的理解,同时我们认识到两大认知语用推理理论----关联理论和概念合成理论对解读言语幽默具有很大的阐释力。
Verbal humor is a kind of Ostensive-Inferential communication in terms of the Relevance Theory proposed by Sperber and Wilson (1986/1995), in the process of which the speaker produces a certain language stimulus with the aim of fulfilling an informative intention as well as a communicative intention, and the hearer or the audience is to infer his/her intention in producing such a language stimulus from the ostensive behavior of the speaker.
According to the Conceptual Blending Theory proposed by Fauconnier (1997), conceptual blending is a fundamental cognitive ability taking place at all levels of perception, of understanding and of memory, including comprehension of verbal humors. During the process of verbal humor interpretations the interpreter of humor utterance can blend the embodied world knowledge stored in the brain, including social, cultural knowledge and encyclopedic knowledge,and the input utterance information(contextual assumptions), which result in the emergent structure during the on-line meaning construction. According to Fauconnier (1997: 149), all forms of thought are creative in the sense that they produce new links, new configurations, and correspondingly, new meaning and novel conceptualization.
The optimal relevance principle of the relevance theory is the cognitive base for the speaker to achieve and listeners to comprehend humorous effects. The analyzing ways provided by the conceptual blending theory can better disclose the on-line meaning construction and meaning creation during the process of verbal humor interpretations.
This thesis probes into the cognitive mechanisms involved in the process of the interpretations of those verbal humors which do not have incongruity but still make the recipients laugh by adopting the Relevance Theory and the Conceptual Blending Theory which can explain the unexpected fun resulting from the emergent structure during the on-line meaning construction. We hold the assumption that the successful interpretation of verbal humor is decided not only by relevance and inference, but also by conceptual blending and the emergent structure.
This thesis makes some case studies of verbal humor to elucidate the cognitive
引文
[1] Palmer, Jerry. Taking Humor Seriously. London and New York: Routledge,1994, 1-1
[2] Xu, Lixin. A Study on Humorous Discourse. Kaifeng: Henan University Press, 2003, 13-271
[3] Apte, Mahadev L. Humor and Laughter: An Anthropological Approach. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1985, 132-133
[4] Attardo, Salvatore. Linguistic Theories of Humor. Berlin New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1994, 6-6
[5] McGhee, Paul E. Humor: its origin and development. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman, 1979, 5-5
[6] Humphrey, Edward, ed. Encyclopedia International. Vol.9. House Plants, Jersey City: Lexicon Publications, 1982, 39-39
[7] Lin, Yutang. The Importance of Living. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 1998, 79-79
[8] Freud, Sigmund. Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious. (Ed.) by Angela Richards. London: Penguin Books, 1976, 24-25
[9] Berger,Arthur Asa. An Anatomy of Humor. New Brunwick (USA) and London (UK):Transaction Publisher, 1993, 30-31
[10] Xu,Dong. Miscilaneous Thoughts on Humor. Shanghai: Shanghai Social Sciences Academy Press,1991, 38-38
[11]Lin, Yutang.On Humor. Anthology of Lin Yutang’s Works. Vol.2. Comp.Minggao Zhang and Qiao Fan. Beijing:China Radio and TV Press,1990, 83-83
[12] Nash, Walter. The Language of Humor. London: Longman, 1985, 1-1
[13] Aron Smuts. HUMOR [The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy], http:// www. iep. utm. Edu/h/humor.htm, 2006
[14] Ritchie David. Frame-shifting in Humor and Irony, Metaphor and Symbol, 2005, 20(4): 275-294
[15] Coulson, Seana. Semantic leaps: Frame-shifting and conceptual blending in meaning construction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001, 49-49
[16] Veatch Thomas. A Theory of Humor. HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research, 1998, 31-32
[17] Wang, Zhaopei & Liu, Shiying. Yanyu Youmo Xiaoguo Chansheng de Lilun Tianjiao. Xinan Minzu Daxue Xuebao, 2004, (11): 47-49
[18] Pepicello, W. J. & Green, Thomas A. The Language of Riddles. Ohio State University, 1984, 50-60
[19] Chiaro, Delia. The Language of Jokes: Analyzing Verbal Play. London & New York: Routledge, 1992, 45-50
[20] Norrick, Neal, R. Conversational Joking: Humor in Everyday Talk. Bloomington, Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1993, 18-22
[21] Raskin, Victor. Semantic Mechanisms of Humor. Dordrecht: D. Reidel, 1985, 15-20
[22] Attardo, Salvatore & Raskin, Victor. Script theory: Joke similarity and joke representational model. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 1991, 4 (3): 293-347.
[23] Attardo, Salvatore. Linguistic Theories of Humor. Berlin New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1994, 6-6
[24] Norrick, Neal R. Issues in conversational joking. Journal of Pragmatics, 2003, 35 (9): 1333-1359
[25] Attardo, Salvatore. The semantic foundations of cognitive theories of humor. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 1997, 10 (4): 395-420.
[26] Fauconnier, G. & Turner, Mark. Principles of Conceptual Integration. In (Ed.) Jean Pierre Koening, Discourse and Cognition. Stanford: CSLI Publications, 1998, 65-75
[27] Fauconnier, G. & Turner, Mark. The Way We Think. New York: Basic Books, 2002, 310-320
[28] Giora, Rachel. On Our Mind: Salience, Context and Figurative Language. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003, 1-125
[29] Clark, H.H. Using Language. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1996, 50-55
[30] Sperber, D. & D. Wilson. Relevance: Communication and Cognition. Oxford, Blackwell, 1986/1995, 20-170
[31] Kotthoff, Helga. Responding to irony in different contexts: cognition and conversation. Journal of Pragmatics, 2003, 35(9): 1387-1411
[32] Liu, Zhengguang. Fauconnier de Gainian Hecheng Lilun: Chanshi yu Zhiyi. Foreign Languages and Their Teaching, 2002, (1) : 8-12
[33] Liu, Zhengguang & Liu, Runqing. N+N Gainian Hecheng Mingci de Renzhi Fasheng Jizhi. Journal of Foreign Languages, 2004, (1): 26-32
[34] Dedopulos, Tim (Ed.) The Ultimate Jokes Book.Carlton Books, Bristol, 1998, 224-225
[35] Yus, Francisco. Humor and the search for relevance. Journal of Pragmatics, 2003, 35(9): 1295-1331
[36] Zhang, Tinghui. Nannü Youmo. Beijing: Changcheng Publishing House, 2003, 140-200
[37] Wang, Yong .You Guanlian Lilun Kan Yanyu Youmo.Foreign Language Education, 2001, 20 (1): 23-27
[38] Tu, Jing. Youmo de Guanlian Lilun Chanshi. Journal of Sichuan International Studies University, 2003, (5): 92-94
[39] Liu, Naishi. Guanlian Lilun Shijiao zhong de Youmo Guai’e yu Xiaojie.Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages, 2005, 28 (1): 16-23
[40]Fauconnier, G. Mappings in Thought and Language. Cambridge: CUP, 1997, 149-151
[41] Wang, Wenbin & Lin, Bo. Yingyu Youmo Yanyu de Renzhi Yuyong Tanjiu. Journal of Foreign Languages, 2003, (4): 32-38
[42] Xu Xiaoping. Xinzhi Kongjian Yanyi Zuijia Guanlian Yuanze. Foreign Language Research, 2005, (3): 11-17
[43] Cheng Enhong.Yinyu Youmo Jijin. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 1996,62-62
[44] Navon, David. The seemingly appropriate but virtually inappropriate: Notes on the characteristics of jokes. Poetics,1988 (17): 207—219
[45] He Wenzhong. Lun Huayu Jiaoji Zhong De Youmo Yuanze. Foreign Language Education, 2003, 24 (4):11-16
[46] You Xiaoling. Gainian Hecheng Lilun Dui Yingyu Youmo Huayu De Jieshili. Journal of Chuzhou University, 2005, 7 (3):49-52
[47] Bergen, Benjamin & Kim, Binsted. Embodied Grammar and Humor ,http://www2.hawaii.edu/~bergen/papers/CogLingHumorBergenBinsted.pdf,2005
[2] Xu, Lixin. A Study on Humorous Discourse. Kaifeng: Henan University Press, 2003, 13-271
[3] Apte, Mahadev L. Humor and Laughter: An Anthropological Approach. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1985, 132-133
[4] Attardo, Salvatore. Linguistic Theories of Humor. Berlin New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1994, 6-6
[5] McGhee, Paul E. Humor: its origin and development. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman, 1979, 5-5
[6] Humphrey, Edward, ed. Encyclopedia International. Vol.9. House Plants, Jersey City: Lexicon Publications, 1982, 39-39
[7] Lin, Yutang. The Importance of Living. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 1998, 79-79
[8] Freud, Sigmund. Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious. (Ed.) by Angela Richards. London: Penguin Books, 1976, 24-25
[9] Berger,Arthur Asa. An Anatomy of Humor. New Brunwick (USA) and London (UK):Transaction Publisher, 1993, 30-31
[10] Xu,Dong. Miscilaneous Thoughts on Humor. Shanghai: Shanghai Social Sciences Academy Press,1991, 38-38
[11]Lin, Yutang.On Humor. Anthology of Lin Yutang’s Works. Vol.2. Comp.Minggao Zhang and Qiao Fan. Beijing:China Radio and TV Press,1990, 83-83
[12] Nash, Walter. The Language of Humor. London: Longman, 1985, 1-1
[13] Aron Smuts. HUMOR [The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy], http:// www. iep. utm. Edu/h/humor.htm, 2006
[14] Ritchie David. Frame-shifting in Humor and Irony, Metaphor and Symbol, 2005, 20(4): 275-294
[15] Coulson, Seana. Semantic leaps: Frame-shifting and conceptual blending in meaning construction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001, 49-49
[16] Veatch Thomas. A Theory of Humor. HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research, 1998, 31-32
[17] Wang, Zhaopei & Liu, Shiying. Yanyu Youmo Xiaoguo Chansheng de Lilun Tianjiao. Xinan Minzu Daxue Xuebao, 2004, (11): 47-49
[18] Pepicello, W. J. & Green, Thomas A. The Language of Riddles. Ohio State University, 1984, 50-60
[19] Chiaro, Delia. The Language of Jokes: Analyzing Verbal Play. London & New York: Routledge, 1992, 45-50
[20] Norrick, Neal, R. Conversational Joking: Humor in Everyday Talk. Bloomington, Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1993, 18-22
[21] Raskin, Victor. Semantic Mechanisms of Humor. Dordrecht: D. Reidel, 1985, 15-20
[22] Attardo, Salvatore & Raskin, Victor. Script theory: Joke similarity and joke representational model. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 1991, 4 (3): 293-347.
[23] Attardo, Salvatore. Linguistic Theories of Humor. Berlin New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1994, 6-6
[24] Norrick, Neal R. Issues in conversational joking. Journal of Pragmatics, 2003, 35 (9): 1333-1359
[25] Attardo, Salvatore. The semantic foundations of cognitive theories of humor. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 1997, 10 (4): 395-420.
[26] Fauconnier, G. & Turner, Mark. Principles of Conceptual Integration. In (Ed.) Jean Pierre Koening, Discourse and Cognition. Stanford: CSLI Publications, 1998, 65-75
[27] Fauconnier, G. & Turner, Mark. The Way We Think. New York: Basic Books, 2002, 310-320
[28] Giora, Rachel. On Our Mind: Salience, Context and Figurative Language. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003, 1-125
[29] Clark, H.H. Using Language. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1996, 50-55
[30] Sperber, D. & D. Wilson. Relevance: Communication and Cognition. Oxford, Blackwell, 1986/1995, 20-170
[31] Kotthoff, Helga. Responding to irony in different contexts: cognition and conversation. Journal of Pragmatics, 2003, 35(9): 1387-1411
[32] Liu, Zhengguang. Fauconnier de Gainian Hecheng Lilun: Chanshi yu Zhiyi. Foreign Languages and Their Teaching, 2002, (1) : 8-12
[33] Liu, Zhengguang & Liu, Runqing. N+N Gainian Hecheng Mingci de Renzhi Fasheng Jizhi. Journal of Foreign Languages, 2004, (1): 26-32
[34] Dedopulos, Tim (Ed.) The Ultimate Jokes Book.Carlton Books, Bristol, 1998, 224-225
[35] Yus, Francisco. Humor and the search for relevance. Journal of Pragmatics, 2003, 35(9): 1295-1331
[36] Zhang, Tinghui. Nannü Youmo. Beijing: Changcheng Publishing House, 2003, 140-200
[37] Wang, Yong .You Guanlian Lilun Kan Yanyu Youmo.Foreign Language Education, 2001, 20 (1): 23-27
[38] Tu, Jing. Youmo de Guanlian Lilun Chanshi. Journal of Sichuan International Studies University, 2003, (5): 92-94
[39] Liu, Naishi. Guanlian Lilun Shijiao zhong de Youmo Guai’e yu Xiaojie.Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages, 2005, 28 (1): 16-23
[40]Fauconnier, G. Mappings in Thought and Language. Cambridge: CUP, 1997, 149-151
[41] Wang, Wenbin & Lin, Bo. Yingyu Youmo Yanyu de Renzhi Yuyong Tanjiu. Journal of Foreign Languages, 2003, (4): 32-38
[42] Xu Xiaoping. Xinzhi Kongjian Yanyi Zuijia Guanlian Yuanze. Foreign Language Research, 2005, (3): 11-17
[43] Cheng Enhong.Yinyu Youmo Jijin. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 1996,62-62
[44] Navon, David. The seemingly appropriate but virtually inappropriate: Notes on the characteristics of jokes. Poetics,1988 (17): 207—219
[45] He Wenzhong. Lun Huayu Jiaoji Zhong De Youmo Yuanze. Foreign Language Education, 2003, 24 (4):11-16
[46] You Xiaoling. Gainian Hecheng Lilun Dui Yingyu Youmo Huayu De Jieshili. Journal of Chuzhou University, 2005, 7 (3):49-52
[47] Bergen, Benjamin & Kim, Binsted. Embodied Grammar and Humor ,http://www2.hawaii.edu/~bergen/papers/CogLingHumorBergenBinsted.pdf,2005