ChapterOneIntroductionIthaslongbeenmyinteresttoreadjokesandtowatchcartoonsandcomedies.Ialsolovetotelljokestomyfriends,classmatesandeventomyteachersandparents.Ontheonehand,Ilikebringinglaughtertopeoplearoundmeespeciallywhentheyareinfaceoftrouble,depressionordespair.Ibelievethathumorandlaughterarethebestmedicine.Ontheotherhand,ifweareentertainedbythesamething,thedistancebetweenuswillbeshortened.Ibelievethathumorandlaughterhaveakindofmagicpowerwhichcanbridgethegapamongpeopleanddrawpeoplecloser.Beingahumorlover,thefavorofwatchingsitcomswillalsogivemeachancetounderstandandlearnmore.Thisisthemotivation,howeversimpleitmightbe,forwritingthisthesis.AsanEnglishmajorandaloverofsituationcomedy,Istronglyholdtheviewthatsitcomisoneofthebesttranslatorofhumor.What’smore,FriendsandMyOwnSwordsmanareverypopularandbothofthemaregoodatusingtalkstomakehumors.Notonlytheyhavesomethingincommon,butalsotheyreflecteddifferenthumor.Therefore,Ihaveagreatinteresttodothisresearchaboutthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenthetwositcoms.Thethesisconsistsoffivechapters.Chapteroneisthemotivationforwritingthisthesisandintroduction;Chaptertwocomparesthedefinition,originanddevelopmentofhumorinEnglishandChinese.Fromthecomparisonsandcontrasts,thenatureofhumorcanberevealed.ThenextpartofchaptertwoisaliteraturereviewofthestudyonhumorandadescriptionofsitcomandFriendsandMyOwnSwordsman;ChapterthreeattemptstoexaminethewordplayhumorinFriendandMyOwnSwordsman.Theoriesandexampleswillbeexploitedtoillustratehowhumorisproducedandwhatmakeshumorlaughable;Chapterfourfocusesontheanalysisofhumorproducedbyrhetoric.Itcontainsmetaphor,pun,parodyandirony;Chapterfiveisasummaryandconclusion.ChapterTwoGeneralReflectionontheStudyofHumor2.1OriginanddevelopmentofEnglishandChinesehumorTheterm“humor”isderivedfromtheLatinwordfor“liquid”,“fluid”or“moisture”(EncyclopediaAmerica,14:563).Astimewentby,itgraduallylostitsoriginalsenseandcametobeusedinitspresentsense.However,astoitsaccuratedefinition,noagreementhasbeenreached.Differentpeoplehavedifferentviews,andthusproducedifferentunderstandings.Aristotledefinedhumorintermsofincongruity;SigmundFreudheldthattheenjoymentofhumordependedonthereleaseofsuppressedtendenciesinhumorbehavior(EncyclopediaInternational:9).Eveninsomeauthoritativedictionaries,definitionsofhumorarenotentirelythesame.InOxfordAdvancedLearner’sDictionaryofCurrentEnglish,“humor”isdefinedas:“capacitytocauseorfeelamusement”;inMerriamWebster’sCollegiateDictionary，itisdefinedas:A:thatqualitywhichappealstoasenseoftheludicrousorabsurdlyincongruous.B:thementalfacultyofdiscovering,expressingorappreciatingtheludicrousorabsurdlyincongruous.C:somethingthatisdesignedtobecomicaloramusing.Theproblemsinvolvedindefininghumoraresuchthatseveralscholarshavedoubtedthatanall-embracingdefinitionofhumorcouldbeformulated(seeAttardo1994).Howeverdifferenttheabove-mentioneddefinitionsofhumorare,wecanstillfindsomethingincommon:theoccurrenceofahumorousactpresupposessomeessentialfactors.Ontheonehand,theremustbehumanparticipants,whoarecapableofproducinglaughter.Ontheotherhand,somethingmusthappen,orrather,theremustbeafunnystimulus,whichcanamusepeople.2.1.1OriginanddevelopmentofEnglishhumorFromthedefinitionofhumor,wemayfindthatattheverybeginninghumorreferstofourliquids,fluidsormoistures,theyareblood,phlegm,yellowbileorcholerandblackbileormelancholy.These...