A brief analysis of the rhetorical devices in
American situation comedies -- A case study of The Big Bang Theory
Time: 29/05/13 ID: 王小亚 1015010302 Abstrast: Rhetorical devices are widely used in American dramas, especially in The
Big Bang Theory, a well-known American sit-com (situation comedy). The comedy 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 irony, 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
Ⅰ. Introduction
1.1 A brief introduction about The Big Bang Theory 1.2 A brief introduction about the main characters
1.3 Language features of the dialogues in The Big Bang Theory Ⅱ. Literature review
2.1 Previous studies on American sit-coms
2.2 Previous studies on the linguistic features of The Big Bang Theory Ⅲ. Methodology
Ⅳ. Typical rhetorical expressions in The Big Bang Theory 4.1 Irony 4.2 Euphemism 4.3 Metaphor 4.4 Repetition Ⅴ. Conclusion
I. Introduction:
1.1 A brief introduction about The Big Bang Theory
A sit-com, a shortened 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 situation 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 waitress. 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 life. He is a mysophobia, and he is afraid of being disturbed. Sheldon’s 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.
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 master’s degree in Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Rajesh is also their best friend. He is an astronomer who 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 characteristic is totally different from the four physical scientists.
These people always gather together at Sheldon’s apartment, and their lives are full of laughter.
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美剧台词中的修辞学分析--以《生活大爆炸》为例
