文档介绍：A STUDY OF PRAGMATIC PRESUPPOSITION’S
CANCELLATION-TRIGGERED HUMOR IN
AMERICAN EDY FRIENDS

By
Chen Erkang

Under the supervision of
Prof. Zhu Yue

A thesis
Submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts to the School of Foreign Studies
Anhui University

April 2009
Acknowledgements

I want to extend my heart-felt gratitude toward those who have given me
guidance and help in the making of this thesis.
First and foremost I would like to express my greatest thanks to my supervisor,
Professor Zhu Yue, who has not only given me instructive guidance and advice but
also encouraged and challenged me through the thesis process. Without his insightful
guidance, patient encouragement and strict instructions, the present thesis would
never have been possible.
I will also express my thanks to other faculty members in the School of Foreign
Studies for their diligent work, from which I have benefited a lot. They are Professor
Zhou Fangzhu, Dr. Hu Jian, Dr. Zhu Xiaomei, Professor Zhang Ming and Professor
Chen Zhengfa. Their great lectures help broaden my academic vision.
I am also deeply indebted to all the scholars whose works I have read and
consulted.
Appreciation should be given to my parents, friends, and especially to my
girlfriend Qian Yeqin, who have always supported me heartily and considerately, and
given me steady encouragement and help in plishing this thesis.

i
Abstract

Humor, as a way munication, exists almost everywhere in our daily lives.
Abundant in content and forms, humor plays an important role in everyday life. Since
1950s, with rapid advancement of pragmatic theories, linguists have been studying
humor from the perspective of linguistics. Most scholars have tried to explain the
mechanism of humor generation by applying relevance theory as well as the theory of
conver