| Acknowledgements | 第1-7页 |
| Abstract | 第7-9页 |
| 摘要 | 第9-10页 |
| CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION | 第10-14页 |
| ·DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF HUMOR | 第10-11页 |
| ·DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HUMOR AND JOKES | 第11-12页 |
| ·RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE THESIS | 第12-13页 |
| ·THE ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS | 第13-14页 |
| CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW | 第14-21页 |
| ·AN OVERVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES | 第14页 |
| ·CLASSICAL THEORIES OF HUMOR RESEARCH | 第14-17页 |
| ·The Superiority Theory | 第15页 |
| ·The Release Theory | 第15-16页 |
| ·The Incongruity Theory | 第16-17页 |
| ·MODERN LINGUISTIC HUMOR THEORIES | 第17-18页 |
| ·The Semantic Script Theory of Humor (SSTH) | 第17-18页 |
| ·The General Theory of Verbal Humor | 第18页 |
| ·THE PRAGMATIC STUDIES OF HUMOR | 第18-21页 |
| CHAPTER THREE LAUGHTER-MAKING MECHANISM | 第21-32页 |
| ·THE CAUSES FOR HUMOR PRODUCTION | 第21-30页 |
| ·Incongruity | 第21-24页 |
| ·The Cognitive Context | 第24-26页 |
| ·Cultural Factors | 第26-28页 |
| ·Gender and Age | 第28-30页 |
| ·SUMMARY | 第30-32页 |
| CHAPTER FOUR THE PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF VERBAL HUMOR | 第32-53页 |
| ·HUMOR CREATED BY FLOUTING THE COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE | 第32-37页 |
| ·A Brief Review of Cooperative Principle | 第32-33页 |
| ·Humor Created by Flouting of the Maxims | 第33-37页 |
| ·HUMOR CREATED BY FLOUTING THE SPEECH ACT THEORY | 第37-38页 |
| ·Theoretic Review of Speech Act Theory | 第37页 |
| ·Sample Analysis | 第37-38页 |
| ·HUMOR CREATED BY FLOUTING THE RELEVANCE THEORY | 第38-41页 |
| ·A Brief Introduction of Relevance Theory | 第38-40页 |
| ·Sample Analysis | 第40-41页 |
| ·HUMOR CREATED BY FLOUTING THE POLITENESS PRINCIPLE | 第41-44页 |
| ·The Maxims of Politeness Principle | 第41-42页 |
| ·Humor Created by Abiding the Politeness Principle | 第42-43页 |
| ·Humor Created by Violating the Politeness Principle | 第43-44页 |
| ·HUMOR CREATED BY FLOUTING THE PRESUPPOSITION | 第44-45页 |
| ·HUMOR CREATED BY DELIBERATED MISINTERPRETATION AND MISUNDERSTANDING | 第45-52页 |
| ·The Difference Between Deliberated Misinterpretation and Misunderstanding | 第46-48页 |
| ·Trigger Conditions for Deliberate Misinterpretation | 第48-49页 |
| ·Operational Mechanisms of Deliberate Misinterpretation | 第49-52页 |
| ·SUMMARY | 第52-53页 |
| CHAPTER FIVE THE PRAGMATIC FUNCTIONS OF VERBAL HUMOR | 第53-57页 |
| ·ACTIVATING ATMOSPHERE | 第53页 |
| ·ALLEVIATING CONFLICT | 第53-54页 |
| ·ATTACKING AND COUNTER-ATTACKING | 第54-55页 |
| ·FACE-SAVING | 第55-57页 |
| CHAPTER SIX CONCLUSION | 第57-60页 |
| ·GENERAL SUMMARY | 第57-58页 |
| ·LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE STUDY | 第58-60页 |
| BIBLIOGRAPHY | 第60-62页 |
