The Analysis of Humor in the Film Never Say Die Based on Cooperative Principle

Abstract

In recent years, the research about humor is increasingly explored from various perspectives. This paper mainly analyzes how actor's lines violate the cooperative principle to produce humor in the film Never Say Die by applying the cooperative principle and its four maxims. According to the Grice's principle of cooperation, the two parties should abide by certain rules in communication. Otherwise it will result in unexpected effects. The main characters in Never Say Die violate the maxim of quantity, quality, relation and manner in Grice's cooperative principle, causing a strongly humorous effect. Through the combination of film and theoretical knowledge, students can improve their interest in English learning and broaden their learning ways. Therefore, in our daily life and language teaching we should pay more attention to the cultivation of communicative competence. In addition, we must combine the context, cooperative principle and its four maxims to understand connotative meaning.