Euphemistic dysphemisms and dysphemistic euphemisms as means to convey irony and banter

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-75
Author(s):  
Adeline Terry
Keyword(s):  
Big Bang ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Sex And The City ◽  
Cooperative Principle ◽  
Big Bang Theory ◽  
Tv Shows ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The City

This article aims to determine whether euphemistic dysphemisms and dysphemistic euphemisms, two concepts defined by Allan and Burridge (1991, 2006), can convey irony and banter, which are defined, among other linguists, by Leech (1983, 2014\). He argues that irony and banter are ‘second-order strategies rooted in violations of the CP [Cooperative Principle] or the PP Politeness Principle], and working in contrary directions’ (Leech, 2014: 100). There are many similarities in the definitions of X-phemisms and those of irony and banter: in the cases of irony and euphemistic dysphemisms, an apparently polite utterance is not interpreted as such, whereas in the cases of banter and dysphemistic euphemisms, an apparently impolite utterance is not. I use examples from American TV shows ( House, M.D., Sex and the City, How I met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Grey’s Anatomy) to describe the underlying mechanisms of the functioning of these four devices. The results of the study show that dysphemistic euphemisms can convey banter but that euphemistic dysphemisms cannot convey irony, though they can sometimes convey banter.

scholarly journals Similar Yet Different: the Structure of Social Networks of Characters in Seinfeld, Friends, How I met Your Mother, and The Big Bang Theory

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-80
Author(s):  
Ana Lúcia Cetertich Bazzan
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Situation Comedies ◽  
Big Bang Theory ◽  
Tv Shows ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
Shed Light

Networktheoryhasbeenusedtoanalyzestructuresofnarrativesinworksoffiction.Indeed,previous works have shed light on issues related to role detection, for instance. However, few comparative works exist that deal with TV shows. Since these shows are very popular, there are several Internet forums that suggest how similar some of them are, mostly by comparing roles or importance of core characters. Is this popular intuition backed by an objective, numerical analysis using tools from network theory? The goal of this paper is to compare four situation comedies (Seinfeld, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, and The Big Bang Theory) that share a lot in common since their characters are friends living in similar, urban, environments, struggling with their daily lives, careers, and so on. Using tools for analyzing social networks, these shows were compared, showing that their structures and the roles of the core characters are fundamentally different. The only measure that proved to be similar among the four shows is entropy of their graphs, especially when computed over the degree distribution.

A swift and simple refutation of the Kalam cosmological argument?

1999 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
WILLIAM LANE CRAIG
Keyword(s):  
Big Bang ◽  
Cosmological Argument ◽  
Convincing Argument ◽  
Realist Position ◽  
Big Bang Theory ◽  
Simple Demonstration ◽  
Kalam Cosmological Argument ◽  
John Taylor ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

John Taylor complains that the Kalam cosmological argument gives the appearance of being a swift and simple demonstration of the existence of a Creator of the universe, whereas in fact a convincing argument involving the premiss that the universe began to exist is very difficult to achieve. But Taylor's proffered defeaters of the premisses of the philosophical arguments for the beginning of the universe are themselves typically undercut due to Taylor's inadvertence to alternatives open to the defender of the Kalam arguments. With respect to empirical confirmation of the universe's beginning Taylor is forced into an anti-realist position on the Big Bang theory, but without sufficient warrant for singling out the theory as non-realistic. Therefore, despite the virtue of simplicity of form, the Kalam cosmological argument has not been defeated by Taylor's all too swift refutation.

scholarly journals Luz, Câmera... Ciência: Abordando as Ciências e suas relações através do filme "Interestelar" e da série "The Big Bang Theory"

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitor Martins Menezes ◽  
Aline Orvalho Pereira ◽  
Giuliana Coutinho Vitiello ◽  
Celi Rodrigues Chaves Dominguez
Keyword(s):  
Big Bang ◽  
Big Bang Theory ◽  
The Big Bang

scholarly journals The Use of Idioms and Wordplay in The Big Bang Theory Sitcom

Tertium ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lendita Kryeziu
Keyword(s):  
Age Groups ◽  
Pop Culture ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Vast Number ◽  
Big Bang Theory ◽  
Public Speakers ◽  
The Big Bang

Language is a powerful communication tool. A skilful person uses words and manipulates them for different purposes; be that for persuading clients in buying different products or joining a congregation; soothing aggravated patients and consoling people who lost their loved ones. Language is used for teaching, informing, entertaining and making people laugh. Many public speakers, teachers, politicians and leaders use humour for breaking the ice and engaging the audience into listening. Moreover, nowadays a vast number of sitcoms are popular among different age groups based on the topics, genre and the audience’s field of interest. One such series which has caught the interest of a broader audience on Netflix is The Big Bang Theory. The usage of idioms, wordplays, puns, rhyming structures, pop culture language and scientific jargon, permeated with humour, are widely spread into the characters’ daily conversations through entire episodes. From the linguistic point of view, the corpus of The Big Bang Theory episodes will be thoroughly analysed for finding the relevance of using idioms, wordplays, puns and other structures in transmitting humorous messages to the audience.

scholarly journals PRAGMATIC PERSPECTIVES OF VERBAL HUMOR IN AN AMERICAN SITCOM

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 49-55
Author(s):  
Siti Sarah Fitriani ◽  
Chairina Nasir ◽  
Farrah Fajrianti Fonna
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Pragmatic Approach ◽  
Illocutionary Acts ◽  
Illocutionary Act ◽  
Big Bang Theory ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Way ◽  
Descriptive Qualitative ◽  
Cooperative Principles

Purpose of the study: This study aimed at finding out the types of illocutionary acts which create humor effect in the sitcom The Big Bang Theory Episode The Thespian Catalyst (S04E14). Methodology: A descriptive qualitative study with the pragmatic approach of illocutionary acts suggested by Searle (1975) was undertaken by observing the utterances spoken by all the characters in the sitcom. Main findings: The results of the study showed that there were four types of illocutionary acts found in the sitcom; assertive, directive, commissive, and expressive. Those illocutionary acts also flouted the maxim of Cooperative Principles, i.e. quality and relevance. In conclusion, it can be known that the humor that occurred in the sitcom is the result of the way the characters conveyed illocutionary acts that also have flouted the maxim as in the Cooperative Principles. Applications of this study: This study is expected to be a reference for other studies in the field of pragmatics particularly in illocutionary acts. Novelty/Originality of this study:This current study, however, would discuss The Big Bang Theory sitcom by using the Illocutionary Act framework proposed by Searle (1975).

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