An Analysis of Humorous Utterances in Young Sheldon Based on Relevance Theory

Abstract

Humor reflects the wisdom of the speaker and their positive attitudes towards life. The study of cognitive mechanisms of language humor is an important research topic in the field of cognitive linguistics. Relevance Theory holds that understanding humor is a cognitive process of seeking relevance and it is conducive to making a reasonable illustration of the general rules of how humor can be understood. Based on Relevance Theory, this study analyzes the humorous utterances in the American sitcom Young Sheldon (season 4) by employing a qualitative research method, aiming to explore the cognitive mechanism of humor generation. The findings indicate that: (1) Humor tends to be generated when there is an implicature caused by rhetoric in ostensive information; (2) The inconsistency between maximal relevance and optimal relevance generates a humorous effect; (3) Humor is likely to be created when a contextual effect is insufficient, especially between an adult and a child. To further explore detailed cognitive steps in humor generation, more research combined with other cognitive theories can be conducted in the future.