美剧台词中的修辞学分析--以《生活大爆炸》为例

1、A brief analysis of the rhetorical devices in American situation comedies- A case study of The Big Bang TheoryTime: 29/05/13 ID: 王小亚 1015010302Abstrast: Rhetorical devices are widely used in American dramas, especially in The Big Bang Theory, a well-known American sit-com (situation comedy). The com

2、edy focuses on “science talent”, and it is full of dialogues with thousands of science words. The diction and sentence variety of difficult dialogues contribute to the humorous plots in the comedy. This paper aims at analyzing the rhetorical devices frequently used in The Big Bang Theory, such as ir

3、ony, metaphor, euphemism, repetition, rhetorical questions and so on, in order to find out the reasons for the humorous factors in this comedy.Key words: The Big Bang Theory, rhetorical devices, American sit-coms, humor摘 要：修辞手法广泛应用于美国情景喜剧中，且在著名美剧生活大爆炸中尤为常见，生活大爆炸以“科学天才”为话题，其对话中包含无数科学名词，该剧对话中的词语和句型多样性

4、丰富了剧情的幽默色彩。本论文旨在通过分析该剧中常用的修辞手法，如反讽、隐喻、委婉、反复等，分析出生活大爆炸幽默因素背后的原因。关键词：生活大爆炸；修辞手法；美剧；幽默. Introduction1.1 A brief introduction about The Big Bang Theory1.2 A brief introduction about the main characters1.3 Language features of the dialogues in The Big Bang Theory. Literature review2.1 Previous studies on

5、 American sit-coms2.2 Previous studies on the linguistic features of The Big Bang Theory. Methodology. Typical rhetorical expressions in The Big Bang Theory4.1 Irony 4.2 Euphemism4.3 Metaphor4.4 Repetition. ConclusionI. Introduction:1.1 A brief introduction about The Big Bang TheoryA sit-com, a shor

6、tened word of situation comedy, is a genre of comedy which has a storyline and ongoing characters in, essentially, a comedic drama. The situation is usually that of a family, workplace, or a group of friends. The Big Bang Theory is one of the most popular American dramas around the world. It is a si

7、tuation comedy made by CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System). There are six seasons and 142 weekly episodes in total, and all of them have achieved high audience rating, not only in the USA, but also in other countries in the world. This comedy describes the daily life of four scientists and one waitre

8、ss. They live on the same floor in an apartment block and they are neighbors with close relationship.1.2 A brief introduction about the main characters The main character, Sheldon, is a talented physical scientist, whose IQ is as high as 187. However, this science genius is not so smart in his daily

9、 life. He is a mysophobia, and he is afraid of being disturbed. Sheldons dorm mate, Leonard, is also a brilliant physical scientist. Both of them have extreme high IQ and poor EQ. They can easily explain the science theories in their own research filed, but hardly know how to communicate with others

10、. Another important character is Howard, and he is one of the best friends of these two bookworms. Howard regards himself as a perfect combination of wisdom and appearance, and he has a masters degree in Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Rajesh is also their best friend. He is an astronomer who

11、 comes from India. He is so shy that he does not dare to talk to a girl without the help of alcohol. The main female character in this comedy is a simple girl named Penny. She dreams to be a famous actress, but can only be a waitress in a fast food restaurant. Penny is brave and outgoing, and her ch

12、aracteristic is totally different from the four physical scientists. These people always gather together at Sheldons apartment, and their lives are full of laughter.1.3 Language features of the dialogues in The Big Bang TheoryThere are many dialogues in this comedy. The four scientists words are com

13、plex and difficult to understand. Because of their special position, their dialogues are full of science words. Sheldon speaks logically and directly. Leonards words are always reasonable but ambiguous. Howard talks about dirty words frequently, while Rajesh speak in Indian English. With regards to

14、penny, as a waitress, she uses simple words and informal sentences all the time. Their dialogues are humorous and vivid. Every five minutes the audience will be cheered up by their funny words. They use irony, repetition, metaphor and so on to mock and satirize against each other. . Literature revie

15、w2.1 Previous studies on American sit-comsSituation comedy id considered as “the most well-informed artistic form to audience of contemporary American and the world” (David Mare, 1984).Mu Bing (慕冰，2010) has mentioned that，American sit-coms are found almost exclusively on television as one of its dom

16、inant narrative forms which possess some of their own features: First, as one of the closet forms of art to our life, sit-coms pursue not only the realness of art, but the authentically of life. So sit-coms usually consist of recurring characters in a common environment such as a home or workplace a

17、nd its contents are closely related to peoples everyday life.Second, most American sit-coms are generally half-hour programs in which the story is written to run a total of 22 minutes in length, leaving 8 minutes for commercial. American sit-coms typically have long season runs of more episodes due

18、to the way they are produced.Third, sit-coms usually include laugh tracks. A laugh track, also known as laughter soundtrack, laughter track, LFN (laughter from nowhere), canned laughter or laughing audience, is a pre-record effect inserted into most sit-coms not taped in front of a live audience. Th

19、e laugh track is generally added in post-productionthat is, during editing after the show is taped. Laugh tracks have the same effect with studio audiences, with the purpose of telling the audience when it is time to laugh. 2.2 Previous studies on the linguistic features of The Big Bang TheoryBeing

20、so successful and popular, The Big Bang Theory has won the audiences favor. As a result, studies and researches are carried out in many ways from various perspectives by many researchers.Xu Liyan (徐丽艳，2010) has written a paper, in which Euphemism is explored to figure out the effectiveness in sitcom

21、s. She pointed out that many euphemisms are adapted in this sit-com, and this rhetorical device has played an important role in building humorous atmosphere. Besides, Gao Hui (高辉，2010) has studied this sit-com from the perspective of pragmatic theory in order to find out humor, and he explained the

22、power of language cooperative principle in his paper.At the same time, Zhang Dongbin (张东宾，2011) has studied the contractive analysis of humor in sit-coms Friends and The Big Bang Theory from the perspective of grammatical metaphor. He compares the two successful sit-coms with each other and finds ou

23、t that grammatical metaphors are widely used in the dialogues of these two comedies.Zhang Xue (张雪，2012) has written a paper in which she focuses on the study on metaphors in The Big Big Bang Theory from the cognitive perspective, which has contributed to the study of the linguistic features in this

24、sit-com.In addition, some scholars have adapted the relevance theory to explore verbal humor in this sit-com, as well as the linguistic humor, cultural humor and universal humor, so as to have a better understanding on the linguistic beauty of the dialogues. . MethodologyAll of the dialogues in this

25、 term paper are collected from the famous sit-com The big Bang Theory. Firstly, I chose some episodes which are full of funny dialogues, and then I watched these episodes as well as the subtitles carefully, in order to find the most representative examples for this research. Because of the special p

26、ositions and personal preferences of the main characters, there are plenty of words and phrases which come from various science theories, computer games, Western culture and history, etc. therefore, a functional dictionary is really useful and necessary. At the same time, resulting from culture diff

27、erence, some of the dialogues are difficult for us Chinese people to understand. In order to have a better understanding of every sentence, I also surfed on the internet to look into the symbolic meaning of some complicated words and vernacular language.Many English learners and scholars have studie

28、d the linguistic features, choice of words, sentence structures of the dialogues in American situation comedies. Nevertheless, few of them have managed to analyze the rhetorical devices in sit-coms, especially in The Big Bang Theory. Therefore, I focus on the analysis of typical rhetorical devices u

29、sed in this sit-com, and try to find out the linguistic reasons for the popularity of the successful TV series. Typical rhetorical expressions in The Big Bang TheoryRhetorical devices have been widely used in poetry, novel, drama, lyrics and so on, which can strengthen the meaning and enhance the fe

30、eling as well as leaving a unforgettable impression to the reader. Nowadays, the terms that have been used for centuries to describe figurative language in traditional writings can also be applied to everyday language and even to American sit-coms. In this term paper, I will focus on the typical rhe

31、torical expressions used in The Big Bang Theory. I will specifically illustrate the use of irony, euphemism, metaphor, parallelism, hyperbole, repetition and rhetorical questions. 4.1 IronyMu Bin (慕宾，2012) pointed out that, in irony the transfer is to the opposite meaning within a semantically linke

32、d set. Thus ironically, “bad” means “good”. The use of irony is primarily to convey to the audience an incongruity that is often used as a tool of humor in order to deprecate or ridicule an idea or course of action. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an irony is a figure of speech in which

33、the intended meaning is the opposite of that expressed by the words used; usually talking the form of sarcasm or ridicule in which laudatory expressions are used to imply condemnation or contempt. Example 1, Episode 2, Season 1(Penny has asked Leonard to help her move the furniture into her house. L

34、eonard and Sheldon are now standing on the first floor with the large furniture and discussing how to bring it up to Pennys home.)Leonard: We will just bring it up by ourselves.Sheldon: I hardly think so. Well do not have a dolly, or lifting belts or any measurable upper- body strength.Leonard: We d

35、o not need strengthwe are physicists. We are the intellectual descendents of Archimedes. Give me a fulcrum and a lever and I can move the Earth. (Leonard is trying to bring the furniture up by himself, but the furniture is too heavy to move.)Leonard: Just a matter ofI don not have, I do not have thi

36、s.Sheldon: Archimedes would be so proud.Leonard: Do you have any ideas?Sheldon: Yes. But they all involve a green lantern and a power ring.In this dialogue, we can easily see that Sheldons words is an irony. Leonard is short and weak, and definitely he could not bring the furniture up by himself. In

37、 order to enhance his confidence, he quoted Archimedess saying. Now that he could not move the furniture with the help of Archimedess famous motto, how could Archimedes be proud of himself? Besides, when Leonard asked Sheldon for help, Sheldon answered that he needed a green lantern and a power ring

38、. Both the green lantern and the power ring are magic tools in comic books, therefore, this sentences means that Sheldon really has a low EQ and he is totally childish.4.2 EuphemismThe word “euphemism” is derived from a Greek word, which means “good/pleasant speech” or “to speak with good words or i

39、n a pleasant manner”. According to Meaman (1990: 1), euphemism means substituting an inoffensive or pleasant term for a more explicit, offensive one, thereby veneering the truth by using kind words. It has some other meanings, for example, comfortable words, gilded words, cosmetic words, mild expres

40、sion, prudish phrase, delicate term, language of deceit, the defense of the indefensible and so on. In this sit-com, Sheldon is always critical and direct. He likes to talk about science theories with his friends. However, other people are reluctant to talk about that with him. Therefore, they usual

41、ly use euphemism to avoid their unwillingness directly.Here are two examples:Example 2, Episode 23, Season 2(It is two oclock in the morning. Sheldon is knocking Leonards door and tries to wake him up.)Sheldon：Leonard? Leonard? Leonard?Leonard: Sheldon, it is two oclock in the morning.Example 3, Epi

42、sode 23, Season 2(Sheldon wants to go to the North Pole to do a research. He knocks the presidents door at two oclock in the morning in order to get the presidents agreement. He tells Leonard about that and says that the president has agreed to his proposal.)Leonard: He offered to send you to the No

43、rth Pole?Sheldon: Yes. In fact he was quite enthusiastic. He said,” Frankly, if I could send you tonight, I would.”In these two dialogues, Sheldon knocks Leonards door at two oclock in the morning. It is evidentially to see that Leonard is disturbed by Sheldon. He informs Sheldon the time because he

44、 wants to emphasis that it is time to sleep now. Nevertheless, he does not want to hurt Sheldon, and he uses euphemism here. Also, the president, instead of letting Sheldon leave, tells Sheldon that he wants to sent him to the North Pole at present when he is disturbed by his knocking.4.3 MetaphorMu

45、 Bin (慕宾，2012) has mentioned that, a metaphor makes a comparison between two unlike elements, and this comparison is implied rather than directly stated. According to Lu Xu (吕煦，2004)，the word “metaphor” is derived from a Greek word “metaphorn”, which means “a transfer of a meaning”. It is a figure o

46、f speech containing an implied comparison, in which a word or phrase ordinarily and primarily used of one thing is applied to another.” (Websters New World Dictionary). People always regard a metaphor as a form to express their feelings and behavior. In another words, a metaphor, to some degree, ref

47、lects the human beings mode of thinking. To be more specific, it shows the inner world or the inner need of people. In this sit-coms, metaphors are frequently used to express their true feelings and can always cheer up the audience.Here is an example:Example 4( Episode 23, Season 2)(Sheldon wants to

48、 use the freezer at Pennys workplace, and he is asking for Pennys help.)Sheldon: But to elaborate, I am going to Arctic Circle with Leonard, Wolowitz and Koothrappali.Penny: You are all going?Sheldon：Yes. Penny: For three months?Sheldon: Yes.Penny: Excuse me. (Then, Penny walks towards Leonard)Sheld

49、on: Is that a yes or no on that freezer? That woman has the attention span of a gnat.In this dialogue, Sheldon compares Pennys attention into the attention span of a gnat. That is to say, he does not think Penny can concentrate on their present topic. Penny cares about Leonards leaving, and after re

50、alizing that Leonard is going to Arctic Circle for three months, she leaves Sheldon along and do to Leonard. This metaphor vividly expresses Sheldons opinion on Penny. Sheldon wants to know if Penny would like to offer a help. To him, Pennys brain is as small as a gnat and she can not pay attention

51、to his words. 4.4 RepetitionRepetition is a simple repeating of words or sentences with no particular placement of the words in order to provide emphasis. In Grolier Academic Encyclopedia, repetition is illustrated as the repeating of any element in an utterance, including sounda word or phrase, a p

52、attern of accents or an arrangement of lines. It can be expressed in various ways. There are different kinds of repetition, for example, repetition of words, repetition of syntax, and repetition of phonology and so on.Here are two typical examples:Example 5(Sheldon is Knocking Pennys door)Sheldon: P

53、enny?Sheldon: Penny?Sheldon: Penny?Example 6(Sheldon is Knocking Pennys door，and Penny is imitating his behavior.)Sheldon: Penny?Penny: Sheldon?Sheldon: Penny?Penny: Sheldon?Sheldon: Penny?Penny: Sheldon?This dialogue is regarded as the most representative dialogue of Sheldon. Every time when he knocks other peoples door, he will repeat other peoples name for three times. This str