Interpretation of Humor between Chinese and Americans from the Angle of Culture in Friends

Abstract

Humor is a kind of language art that permeates every corner of people’s life. It can relieve pressure, regulate atmosphere and it is an important tool for interpersonal communication. However, due to different cultures, interpretation of humor between Chinese and Americans has their own characteristics. In recent years, researches on humor have mainly been done from the psychological and sociological perspectives. In the guidance of Nida’s classification of culture, this thesis makes a contrastive study of interpretation of humor between Chinese and Americans by analyzing the fragments of humor in Friends. It aims at helping to interpret different humors between Chinese and Americans, thus promoting cultural exchanges and interpersonal communication.