| Author: | Wu, Qing Qing Beryl |
| Title: | Adaptation based-analysis of verbal humor in how I met your mother |
| Degree: | M.A. |
| Year: | 2014 |
| Subject: | English wit and humor Oral communication Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | Department of English |
| Pages: | 53 pages |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Scholars in different disciplines have conducted their research on humor from different perspectives and have proposed their own theories. However, these previous approaches only touch on partial aspects of the verbal humor as a complex topic. This thesis, based on the previous studies of humor, attempts to analyze verbal humor in the popular TV sitcom How I Met Your Mother in the light of Verschueren's Adaptation Theory. By studying verbal humor from the four investigation angles, namely contextual correlates of adaptability, structural objects of adaptability, the dynamics of adaptability and the salience of adaptation process, the thesis aims to explore the feasibility of employing Adaptation theory into studying generation mechanism of verbal humor and demonstrate the strong interpretative power of Adaptation Theory in interpreting linguistic phenomena. Empirical research will be conducted in a qualitative manner with the assistance of quantitative methods where needed. Data collection provides corpus for discussion and case study based on a taxonomy is adopted to facilitate understanding. By studying verbal humor from the four investigation angles, the thesis concludes that adaptability can be the trigger mechanism of verbal humor as it creates incongruity in the process of the utterer and interpreter adapting to their own contexts. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b27758473.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 794.45 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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