In this paper, I will analyze the animated sitcom Family Guy in terms of three linguistic features and how they relate to creating humor. The sitcom is an example of (scripted) authentic English language. The paper is divided into five sections. After this introduction, I will provide relevant theoretical background knowledge. I will start by reminding the reader of the concept of pragmatics and then introduce three pragmatic theories. First, I will present Speech Act Theory with its differentiation of the locutionary act, the illocutionary act and perlocutionary act as well as the differentiation between direct and indirect speech acts. Second, I will depict the Cooperative Principle with its four maxims (quantity, quality, relation and manner), the four types of non-observance of these maxims (flouting, violating, opting out and infringing) and the notion of implicature. Third, I will introduce the concept of politeness including positive and negative face and the idea of face-threatening acts that need to be compensated by politeness strategies.
In section three, I will present Family Guy and its characters and state why using a sitcom is beneficial for my analysis. In section four, I will present and analyze eleven excerpts from various episodes in terms of the creation of humor based on pragmatic features. I will end this paper with a conclusion, in which I will present thirteen ‘humor formulas’ that I was able to deduce from the analysis.
Table of contents
1 Introduction
2 Theoretical background
2.1 Speech Act Theory (SAT)
2.2 The Cooperative Principle (CP)
2.3 Brown and Levinson’s model of politeness
3 Language material
4 Analysis
5 Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines the linguistic features within the animated sitcom Family Guy to determine how pragmatic principles contribute to the creation of humor. The research investigates how characters utilize or subvert linguistic norms to generate comedic effects, specifically focusing on the intersection of discourse and social interaction.
- Speech Act Theory and its role in character interaction.
- The Cooperative Principle, specifically the non-observance of conversational maxims.
- Brown and Levinson’s model of politeness and face-threatening acts.
- Pragmatic analysis of selected scenes from the sitcom Family Guy.
- The identification of humor formulas based on pragmatic failures and successes.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1 Speech Act Theory (SAT)
Whenever a person produces an utterance, he or she does so with a certain intention. This intention could be something as basic as apologizing or thanking (cf. Grundy 2000: 49; Ishihara & Cohen 2010: 6). In other words, people perform actions or social functions by producing utterances (cf. Bieswanger & Becker 2010: 160; Strauss & Feiz 2014: 230). These so-called speech acts are studied in Speech Act Theory (SAT), which was introduced by Austin (see 1962) and later further developed by Searle (see Searle 1999a and Searle 1999b). Strauss & Feiz (2014: 231) note that “[e]ssentially, any utterance in discourse is a speech act […].” This claim is in line with Grundy’s (2000: 61) statement that “[…] all uses of language are performative.”
According to SAT, every utterance can be analyzed in terms of three related acts: the locutionary act, the illocutionary act, and the perlocutionary act. The locutionary act refers to the production of understandable language with determinate sense, propositional content or information; this is the literal meaning or the surface level (semantic meaning). However, people often do not say exactly what they mean. Thus, the illocutionary act is the intention or function behind the utterance; it is what the utterance is supposed to do (pragmatic meaning). The perlocutionary act is the effect on the addressee or addressees (cf. Bieswanger & Becker 2010: 161; Grundy 2000: 51, 55; Strauss & Feiz 2014: 230, 233). The illocutionary act is the actual speech act of an utterance (cf. Strauss & Feiz 2014: 233).
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Provides an overview of the research scope, outlining the use of pragmatic theories to analyze humor within the sitcom Family Guy.
2 Theoretical background: Establishes the foundation of the paper by defining pragmatics and detailing Speech Act Theory, the Cooperative Principle, and politeness models.
3 Language material: Introduces the primary source, the animated sitcom Family Guy, and explains why it serves as a suitable subject for discourse analysis.
4 Analysis: Applies the theoretical concepts to eleven specific excerpts from the show to examine the mechanisms of pragmatic-based humor.
5 Conclusion: Synthesizes the analytical findings by formalizing 'humor formulas' that explain how pragmatic violations create comedy.
Keywords
Pragmatics, Speech Act Theory, Cooperative Principle, Politeness, Implicature, Humor, Family Guy, Sitcom, Discourse Analysis, Maxims, Face-Threatening Acts, Locutionary Act, Illocutionary Act, Perlocutionary Act, Non-observance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper explores the relationship between linguistic pragmatic features—such as speech acts, conversational maxims, and politeness strategies—and the creation of humor in the animated sitcom Family Guy.
What are the central theoretical frameworks used?
The author utilizes Austin and Searle's Speech Act Theory, Grice’s Cooperative Principle (including the maxims of quantity, quality, relation, and manner), and Brown and Levinson’s model of politeness.
What is the main research goal?
The goal is to demonstrate how pragmatic phenomena, such as the flouting or violating of conversational norms, contribute to humorous situations and to distill these observations into a set of distinct 'humor formulas'.
Which scientific method is applied?
The paper employs a qualitative comedic discourse analysis, selecting specific scenes from various episodes to identify and explain how pragmatic features function in a fictional, scripted context.
What is covered in the main section of the paper?
The analysis section evaluates eleven distinct scenes, looking at how character interactions, misunderstandings, and intentional deviations from linguistic norms result in comedy for the viewer.
Which keywords best describe this study?
Key terms include pragmatics, Speech Act Theory, Cooperative Principle, conversational implicature, and politeness strategies, all analyzed within the context of televised comedy discourse.
How does the author define the humor in Family Guy?
The author characterizes much of the show's humor as dark, inappropriate, and shocking, noting that it often relies on characters lacking social awareness or misinterpreting the intentions of others.
What is the significance of the identified 'humor formulas'?
These formulas provide a structured way to categorize and explain why certain interactions are perceived as funny, such as an unexpected perlocution or an obvious violation of a Gricean maxim.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Dennis King (Autor:in), 2017, The Relevance of Pragmatic Features for the Creation of Humor in the Television Series "Family Guy", München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/414068
