Abstract: Chinese and American sitcoms contain abundance verbal humor, which reflects the differences between the two countries. This study aims at better distinguishing Chinese and American verbal humor, providing research supports for the correct using skills and principles. Basing on the typical Chinese and American sitcoms, Friends and Love Apartment, this study will conduct a comparative research on the features of the verbal humor of the two countries by listing masses of representative cases; state similarities and differences from humor topics, humor styles and humor rhetorics. The cultural factors to generate Chinese and American verbal humor diversities will also be discussed.

Key words: verbal humor; comparative research; friends; Love Apartment

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction1

2. Literature Review...2

  2.1 Humor

    2.1.1 Definition of Humor

    2.2.2 Classification of Humor

2.2 Verbal Humor 

    2.2.1 Three Traditional Humor Studies

    2.2.2 Modern linguistic studies on humor

  2.3 Sitcoms

    2.3.1 Brief Introduction to Friends

2.3.2 Brief Introduction to Love Apartment

3. Comparison of Verbal Humor in Friends and Love Apartment5

3.3.1 Humor Styles

3.3.2 Humor Topics

  3.3.3 Humor Rhetorics

4. A Comparative Analysis of Verbal Humor in Chinese and English Sitcoms7

4.1 Similarities and Differences in Humor Styles

4.2 Similarities and Differences in Humor Topics

4.3 Similarities and Differences in Irony

4.4 Cultural Source of Differences in Chinese and English Humor

5. Conclusion12

Bibliography.13

Acknowledgements..14