Abstract:Humor is a pervasive phenomenon and an indispensable seasoning in our daily life. It not only makes us feel the charm of language, but also plays an important role in relaxation and the improvement of the interpersonal relationships in social activities. At the same time, in the process of learning English, we often come across English humors. It is, however, sometimes difficult for us to totally understand them. Thus knowing what causes humor or what amuses people can help us know both English humor and English culture better. 

　　　Humor has attracted the attention and interest of scholars from many fields. The researches can range from traditional fields such as psychology, physiology and philosophy to broader ones such as anthropology, pedagogy etc. However, the researches made on the humorous language from a linguistics point of view are comparatively limited in sum. To study English humor, we have to begin with studying language itself. This paper focuses on studying English humor from lexical, grammatical, pragmatic perspective and so on, which can lead to a more comprehensive and careful understanding of the production of English humor.

　　　This paper is composed of five chapters. They are organized as follows: Chapter l is an introductory chapter, which presents the background, significance and purpose of this study as well as the layout of the paper. Chapter2 is a review of other’s researches, which includes the general definition of humor, the types, features, functions of humor, theories on humor and approaches to humor. Chapter3 is the main body of the paper. It makes a comprehensive analysis of how English humor produces from four different points including ambiguity, rhetorical devices, cohesion and pragmatics. These four points are respectively divided into several parts. Chapter4 illustrates the influences of cultural context on the production and perception of humor. Chapter5 is the conclusion of this thesis and it concludes the thesis by summarizing the key ideas of the thesis, pinpointing their possible and feasible contributions to the linguistic humor studies; it figures out the limitations of the study and a broader discussion of the significance of humor studies in many aspects for future study.

　　　In a word, linguistic analysis has interpretative power to account for the mechanism of humor production, which illuminates Chinese English learners understanding humor.

Keywords: humor, linguistics, ambiguity, pragmatics, cultural context

摘要:幽默是我们日常生活中常见的一种语言形式，也是一道必不可少的调味品。幽默在让我们看到语言的魅力的同时，对于放松自己，调节人际关系也有很大的作用。同样, 英语学习者在学习过程中也会常常遇到英语幽默。但是, 在理解英语幽默时不可避免地会遇到一些困难。因此, 了解英语幽默是怎样产生的, 是什么逗乐人们的可以帮助我们更好地理解英语幽默, 更好地学习英语以及英美国家的文化。

　　　一直以来幽默引起了许多领域中的学者的关注和兴趣, 对幽默的研究已经从心理学、生理学和哲学等传统研究领域扩展到更加广阔的领域和新兴学科中。然而, 从语言学的角度对英语幽默进行研究并不是很多。研究英语幽默就不能不从英语语言的本身去着手。本文着重从词汇, 语法, 语篇等多角度, 全面、仔细地研究了英语幽默的产生。

　　　全文共分五章。第一章简要介绍了研究的背景、意义、目的以及全文的结构。第二章主要是回顾前人的研究, 包括幽默的定义、种类、特点、作用以及语言家们对幽默的研究理论、方法。第三章是全文的主要部分。这一部分从四个不同的角度研究了英语幽默的产生, 包括歧义、修辞、语篇连贯、语用学。同时, 这四部分又分别从几个更加详细的角度来论述。第四章介绍幽默产生的语境因素, 主要是文化语境因素对幽默的产生和理解所起的作用和意义。第五章结语, 总结了本文的主旨, 提出从语言学角度对幽默研究的意义, 同时指出目前研究存在的缺陷和日后研究的主要侧重点。

　　　总之, 从语言学角度对于幽默产生的机制和幽默的理解具有很强的阐释力, 该研究对中国广大英语学习者理解幽默也有一定的启发和指导意义。

关键词：幽默；语言学；歧义；语用学；文化语境