Pressuppostions In Verbal Humor-A Pragmatic Approach To Chinese Short Commedies

As one of the uniquely human characteristics, verbal humor is a performative pragmatic accomplishment permeating all aspects of human life. For this reason, studies of verbal humor have covered a wide range of topics from humorous advertisements, to literary works such as novels and comedies, to public speeches, talk shows, and popular sitcoms such as Friends and Growing Pains. The current research focuses on verbal humor in Chinese short comedies, a special genre of Chinese art, from the pragmatic perspective, which differs from the majority of previous pragmatic studies in that it adopts a data-driven approach with a micro-analysis of presuppositions in verbal humor.Based on an overview covering the most prominent arguments and theories pertaining to humor and presupposition, the present study begins with a brief introduction of Chinese short comedies, and then reexamines the features of presupposition-triggers in verbal humor according to the selected short comedies, proposing that presuppositions could be embedded in any part of an utterance, which is followed by an inquiry into the presupposition-based incongruities. It is observed from the data that due to their incongruities with the actual situation revealed afterwards, or the authentic intention of the speaker, or the general knowledge about the world, presuppositions can be cancelled or preserved in specific circumstances. In addition, the interlocutors sometimes unconsciously or purposefully form false presuppositions which contradict those of their conversational partners. Underlie these behavioral patterns are the special ends held by the humor producers, as well as the peculiar attributes of mankind, such as the vagueness of their languages, their ignorance of the world and their ways of thinking.This presuppositional analysis of humor not only serves as another endeavor toward a deeper understanding of the nature and properties of presupposition, but also provides a fresh perspective for the inquiry into the inner structure of verbal humor, especially the intrinsic mechanism of the miscellaneous incongruities, as well as the techniques employed in Chinese short comedies.