Culture Versus Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Culture Versus Environment - Essay Example Rituals designed to appease a multitude of gods thought to control various aspects of the environment were replaced by monotheism and atheism. Favorable environments enabled the discovery of new technologies and freed mankind from having to concentrate on survival. This resulted in greater supplies of food and other resources enabling the growth of larger and less homogeneous settlements with productivity further increased by specialized division of labor. Thus while environment did not directly affect cultural values, it created a milieu where that portion of mankind who could benefit from more favorable environments not only had a greater sense of their ability to control their own environment but also a sense of empowerment where they felt they could and should impose their culture on those less empowered and presumed inferior. Diamond’s Theory and the Spanish ConquistadoresNot only did Diamond theorize there must be the suitable environment for technology improvements to o ccur, he also contended the surrounding environment must be able to facilitate the exchange of technological improvements so that there is the widespread advancement of civilization. He argued Europe/Asia are oriented on an east/west axis meaning the adjoining continents are very wide on the same latitude (east/west) Therefore they have similar vegetation and climate so that the innovation of agriculture and animal domestication could easily spread from the Middle East along this corridor with little adaptation required east.

Watershed moments of American history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Watershed moments of American history - Essay Example Watershed moments are those moments which heralded a strong influence on the history and social attitudes of the people and changed the perception of people.The American history is fraught with such watershed moments,but in the 20th century so many events happened and it is difficult to decide which moments could be called as watershed.The following paragraphs would describe three events and justify them as watershed moments.The most important of these moments is the perhaps the attack on the World trade centre on 9/11. Following the horrific events of that day, the local, national, and international relations changed forever to a very great extent. The attack of 9/11 had a wide ranging effect on the US foreign policy and weakened the relationship between the US and the Islamic states. The attack reframed existing policy in such a way that it was now considered quite just and fair to take violent and aggressive action against rogue nations. The US considered this attack as a threat t o its sovereignty so the period that followed after the attack witness a revival in the cold war and snide policies which were last seen in the World War II. The world saw a new era of 'War against terrorism' which was lead by the US and which resulted in two major wars. Thus it is very clear that the aftermath of the 9/11 made a drastic impact on the whole world and it would not be wrong to call this attack a watershed moment of the 20th century. (Dudziak). The second such event which created such an upheaval, the likes of which cannot be found in any other event is the nuclear bombing on the Nagasaki and Hiroshima. It was the August of the year 1945 in which the world saw the first use of the nuclear weapons ever. The result was only destruction and devastation of the bombed cities however its consequences were more than that. The prowess of the US was witnessed which elevated it to the title of the greatest super-power of the world. The United Nations was also formed soon after the bombing to maintain global peace. The bombings became the watershed moments in the US history as it changed the way the country was seen by other nations. Another example of the watershed moments, though somewhat different is seen is the 1965 Act of Immigration and Nationality. This act is also known as a 'Demographic Revolution'. The act put an end to the quota system, and even the xenophobia which was being promoted in the Americans. The Act was actually a declaration of equality and an end of prevailing prejudice. This erased the sense of exclusion which was felt by the Asians from the side of Americans and resulted in a huge number of Asians ushering into the US territory. The act changed the social attitude of the Americans towards the Asians and proved to be a watershed movement in the US history. Section Two, Answer to Question 3: The Civil rights movement was campaign intended to free the Americans from the grip of ethnic discrimination. This was a movement which demanded the recognition of the black Afro-Americans and an end to the racist policies. The Civil Rights movement began when a black woman 'Rosa Parks' who is often called as the mother of the 'Civil rights movement' refused to give her seat to a white American. But it was not only the Afro-Americans who were involved in the movement, thousands of people of all ethnic groups living in America participated in this Civil rights movements and the liberation movement till the 1970s in the long run. These included students, political leaders, people from religious organizations and even some white liberals; in short the 'liberation' movement was not just the efforts of blacks but the combined struggle against the bigotry and racial discrimination of all the ethnic groups living in America. Previously a very strong and intimidating attitude was adopted by the Americans towards the blacks. They were looked down upon, often became a subject of taunting and were commonly referred

The Vigilance Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Vigilance Project - Essay Example Being in a group, an individual feels as integral part of a team which enhances his or her self-worth. 4. Realistic is conflict â€Å"based on scarce resources†; symbolic conflict is conflict â€Å"based on values and beliefs†. Realist conflicts take place between groups over scarce resources in a competitive environment. Symbolic conflicts occur due to different perspectives regarding values and ideas which give rise to conflicts in goal persuasion. 5. The leadership paradox is best stated as â€Å"The fact that teams usually need leaders, but the very presence of a leader threatens the autonomy of a team†. Instead of making a team more productive, a leader may end up being a hindrance if he overuses his power (Thomson, 2004, p.309). 6. The three types of team coaching include â€Å"ability, coordination, motivation†. Motivation enhances team commitment, coordination helps people to work together, and educational coaching increases skills and abilities of team members (Levi, 2010, p.178). 7. Teams that are underbounded â€Å"Have many external ties, but cannot bring its members together†; in contrast, teams that are overbounded â€Å"have high loyalty but an inability to integrate with others†. Overbounded teams are highly cohesive and so members can work in more coordinated manner than underbounded teams (Hackman, 2011, p.79). 11. According to the empirical research on convergent and divergent thinking, â€Å"Groups are better than individuals at divergent thinking; individuals are better than groups at convergent thinking†. This is because in the latter effort is to find single solution to a problem while in the former effort is to find multiple solutions to a problems which can be more effective in a group (Salkind, 2005, p.309). 12. The key threats to creativity do not include â€Å"social striving†. Social striving means individuals can exhibit maximum performance when working as part of a group, and this can enhance creativity (Shiraev & Levy,

Shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Shakespeare - Essay Example Shakespeare wrote the second series of history plays at the peak of his career, roughly around 1595-1599, covering the history from around 1398-1420. Although the events he writes about occurred around two centuries before his time, but Shakespeare expected his audience to be familiar with the characters and events he was describing. The rise and fall of kings and the battles between the houses were woven into the cultural fabric of England and formed and integral part of country's patriotic legends and national mythology. The specific details of important historical events have obscured with the passage of time and thus, the heroes and battles of an event are to a degree, cloaked in myth. The plays innovatively mix history and comedy, moving from lofty scenes of kings and battles to base scenes showing ruffians engaging in robberies and drinking. The strength of the plays is its remarkable richness, a variety of textures and a fascinatingly ambiguous take on history as well as on political motivation. Shakespeare drew on a number of sources for writing his history plays as he did in almost all of his work Since it is not possible to know Shakespeare's beliefs, attitude and the methodology he used in writing his plays, we can only hypothesize on the basis of his textual evidence regarding his authorial intentions and the underlying didactic message found in the second tetralogy

Impact of Television Violence on Children Essay Example for Free

Impact of Television Violence on Children Essay These days, we are seeing an increasing amount of violence on television, and this is having a negative impact on children’s behaviour. At present, television plays an important role in everyone’s lives, especially in children’s lives. Television has become a member of almost every single family on our planet. And not just an ordinary member, but a very important one, because the time spent next to it exceeds the amount of time spent together with any other family member. Gone are those days, where children used to watch only ‘Tom and Jerry’, instead they want to watch ‘Power Rangers’, ‘Chota Bheem’, etc. Instead of playing together people prefer to watch an episode from a thriller. The base of the tomorrow’s society – are children today. And on the way they develop depends how are world is going to look like tomorrow. Contemporary parents work a lot, but when they come back home they are not eager to spend time with their child, the consequences of this fact are the following: kids are given to themselves and watch everything they want or TV plays a role of a babysitter. Therefore children learn moral principles from the television, where by the age of 16 they observe 100,000 violent acts and 33,000 murders. Violence on television causes children and teenagers to become less caring, to lose their inhibitions, to become less sensitive, and also may cause violent and aggressive behaviour. In a study on the connection between violence and television done with 1,565 children over a six-year period in London, William Belson, a British psychologist, found that every time a child saw someone being shot or killed on television they became less caring towards other people. William Belson also discovered that every time a child viewed this violence on television, they lost a fragment of their inhibitions towards others. In addition to William Belsons study, other studies did by many scientists and doctors show that seeing violence on television causes children to become less sensitive to the pain of others. Many people believe that children who watch violent television programs exhibit more aggressive behaviour than, that exhibited by children who do not. According to the results of many studies and reports, violence on television can lead to aggressive behaviour in children. Also, when television was introduced into a community of children for the first time, researchers observed a rise in the level of physical and verbal aggression among these children.

Intelligence Essay Example for Free

Intelligence Essay Intelligence quotient, or IQ, is the defined as the ratio of mental age to chronological age. The movie, I Am Sam, raises an important question; does an individual’s IQ have an affect on whether they can be a good parent? Many theories have been developed to better understand and measure intelligence. The Single Factor Theories, Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory, and Gardner’s Theory, along with Baumbrind’s theory on parenting styles can all be used to analyze the characters in I Am Sam. The movie questions the relevance of IQ score and its impact on the ability to parent. If a person has a high IQ does that mean they are a good parent, and if a person has a low IQ does that mean they are a bad parent? The Single Factor Intelligence Theories determine IQ through standardized tests. The first intelligence test was developed by Binet in 1905, and determined IQ as being a person’s mental age divided by their chronological age multiplied by 100. Over the next few years the test was modified by others. In 1937, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test was created. This test stated that 2/3 of all children, ages 8-18, score between 85 115. This test claimed that a child that scores 130 or above, is a gifted child, but a score of 70 and below indicates the child is retarded. Later, David Wechsler created a more modern test, and which has become more commonly used today. The Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC IV) is arranged by ten different areas of problems to be solved, starting with the easiest and working towards the more difficult. It calculates the score with a verbal and non verbal scale. These intelligence tests show a direct correlation between IQ score and school performance. They are designed to measure what you know, but abilities in areas such as reading and creativity can not be separated from known facts, and can provide an incomplete picture of a person’s mental capabilities. Also, these tests can be economically biased and do not take into effect the person’s home environment or stress levels on the day of the test. The character Sam, from I Am Sam, has low intelligence according to the Single Factor Theories. He is in his mid-thirties, but has the IQ of a seven year old child. He also has been deemed mentally retarded as per court records. Sam struggles to raise Lucy, his daughter, after she is abandoned immediately after birth by her mother and left with him. When he first brought Lucy home, Sam did not know he had to feed a baby every few hours, nor did he know how to change her diaper. During Lucy’s first year of school, Sam was able to help her with her homework and reading, but as Lucy grew older, Sam began to struggle. It became more difficult for him because his reading capability is of a low level, so when Lucy brought home reading assignments, he was unable to read at her level eventually. Sam’s low IQ correlates to the fact that he can not help Lucy with her homework past that of first or second grade level. Sam works at Starbucks as a bus boy and is paid not much more than minimum wage, therefore he struggles financially and only can afford to live in a very small one-bedroom apartment. He cannot afford the things Lucy requires for school, such a shoes and clothes. Lucy is taken out of Sam’s care by Child Protective Services because they feel that Sam is unfit parent because of his low IQ and he will hinder Lucy’s learning capabilities. According to the Single Factor Intelligence Theory, Sam is not intelligent. Rita, Sam’s lawyer in the movie, is considered to be intelligent according the Single Factor Theories. To become a lawyer it takes many years of schooling and the ability to speak ‘intelligently’. As a partner in her law firm, it shows years of dedication, hard work, and motivation. She is able to afford to live in a large beautiful home and drive an expensive car. She has been successful life because she has normal intelligence and has a higher IQ. According to Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence, Sam is not intelligent. He lacks componential intelligence, because he is unable to think abstractly as he has difficulty thinking concretely. Sam struggles to interpret information effectively, he scores low on an IQ test and has the IQ of a seven year old. Sam does show some signs of experiential intelligence, but those are quite limited. When Lucy is taken away from Sam, the length he goes to see her shows his creativity. He rents a new apartment close to the neighborhood her foster family resides in, and becomes employed in a dog walking business so he is able to see her. Sam lso flies paper airplanes near her so she is aware that he is nearby and still watching over her. He also has the creative ability to make origami, in which he constructs a wall in his apartment towards the end of the movie. Although Sam has a difficult time expressing his thoughts in his words, he often attempts to give his opinions and insight. Sam tells Rita she must leave her husband, and even though he does not completely tell her why, he clearly sees that Rita’s home life is not good and offers her his insight. His words may be limited but his thoughts are clear. Sam does not however react well to new stimuli. Lucy persuades him to try a different diner for breakfast instead of going to their weekly place of IHOP. When Sam places his order with the waitress, he insists on ordering pancakes French style (the order he places at IHOP each week). When the waitress explains they do not serve that kind of pancakes and attempts to coerce him into ordering something from their menu, Sam refuses and creates a scene. He was reluctant to try the diner to begin with. Sam does not show signs of contextual intelligence. He does not have ‘street smarts’ which is shown when he is solicited by a prostitute, and is completely unaware of her meaning. The police arrest him because they believe him to be trying to buy the prostitute’s services, and he tries to tell the police he did not know in which he truly does not. His lack of street smarts is also evident when Lucy tricks him during one of his supervised visits. She tells Sam that they were given permission to go to the park unsupervised, but this was not true and Lucy was just trying to run away together with Sam. He believes her and keeps Lucy out really late into the night. Sam gets into trouble for taking her and breaking the visitation rules. Based on the three components of Sternberg’s Theory, Rita is intelligent. She is high in componential intelligence. She is a partner in her law firm and has a lot of education. She demonstrates experiential intelligence as she is able to synthesize information. Being a lawyer, she must able to gather information from various areas and put it together to help the case she is presenting. She is able to manipulate the truth with this ability without lying. Her contextual intelligence is high and this is represented in her personal life. She is able to adapt to her environment. Her marriage is falling apart because her husband is never home and is cheating. She avoids the situation by trying to ignore and pay little attention to it. She is able to maximize her strengths by being a powerful lawyer as she minimizes her weakness of being lonely. Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences states that all have multiple intelligences and some have strengths in one area over another. It lists seven different types of intelligence. The first type is Logical / Mathematical intelligence which is the ability in logical problem solving. Next is Musical intelligence, this is the ability to appreciate music. Spatial intelligence is part of the making of and appreciation of various forms of art, such as sculptures or video games. Bodily kinesthetic is the ability to use one’s body in a skillful way. Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to perceive other peoples and understand them, the ability to read people. Intrapersonal intelligence is the understanding of yourself, your emotions and strengths. The last is Naturalist Intelligence, which is the ability to recognize various types of plants and animals, and even understand the weather patterns. According to Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Sam is intelligent. Even though Sam does not display intelligences in most of the areas, he does display musical and spatial intelligence. Musical intelligence is shown when he relates life and events to The Beatles. For example, Lucy (Lucy Diamond) is named after The Beatles song â€Å"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds†. He relates many experiences, especially when under stress, to John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Paul McCartney. Sam’s neighbor in his old apartment building played the piano and he also notes that she plays well and is able to play a little himself. He shows spatial intelligence when he created the room full of origami and stacked them on top of each other to create walls. Rita is also intelligent according to Gardner. She displays logical and interpersonal intelligences. She is a problem solver. She has to think logically about cases and determine what will get her the outcome she desires from the judge or jury. She is able to determine an outcome in advance and know how to manipulate it. She also represents interpersonal intelligence as a lawyer. She has to understand her clients (i. e. Sam), the judge (or jury), and any other individuals involved in her case (i. e. Child Protective Services). She has to be able to read them to figure out what kind of approach and tactic to use in order to win. Diana Baumbrind, in 1972, developed a theory which identified fours aspects of family functioning and parenting styles. The four aspects of family functioning are: warmth or nurturing; clarity and consistency; maturity demands; and communication between parent and child. Baumbrind’s Parenting Style Theory suggests that there are various types of parenting styles and identified four: authoritative; authoritarian; permissive indulgent; and permissive indifferent. Parenting style is a set of attitudes toward the child that a parent transmits to the child to create an emotional climate surrounding parent-child exchanges. Authoritative parents display a warm, accepting attitude toward their children while maintaining firm expectations of and restrictions on childrens behavior. Open communication between parent and child is facilitated within this emotional climate. Long-term outcomes for children and adolescents of authoritative parents are more favorable compared to outcomes for children of authoritarian or permissive parents. The authoritarian parenting style is characterized by a harsh, rigid emotional climate combined with high demands and little communication. Permissive Indulgent parents display warmth and acceptance toward their children but do not place demands or restrictions on childrens behavior. Permissive indifferent parents do not display any warmth or control with little communication, and places low demands on small children but very high demands on older children. According to Baumbrind, Sam is a permissive indulgent parent. He is not mature mentally himself, therefore he has low maturity demands of Lucy. He cannot grasp maturity beyond his own level. Sam is also low in his control over Lucy, because he has little control of himself and his own actions at times. Sam cannot illustrate his thoughts into words and therefore can not clearly communicate rules or expectations. Lucy becomes more of a parent to Sam, than Sam is to Lucy. He is also low in effective communication because he cannot express himself with words effectively, and he is not able to have deep thoughtful conversations when he himself does not understand. Sam is high in his nurturance and warmth. He clearly loves Lucy, and this can be seen with his constant hugging and holding her. He also nightly reads a bedtime story to her, takes her to the park, and goes to any length he can to gain custody of her back. Even though children of permissive indulgent parents can become less independent and take little responsibility, this does not make Sam a bad parent. Rita has an authoritarian style of parenting. She is low in her warmth and communication because she constantly is yelling at her son, Willy, and even when he gets upset and when Lucy hugs Rita, she does not pay any attention to his reaction. Willy also ignores her back when she tells him that it is time for bed, but he continues to ride his scooter around. She is high in her control as she is constantly telling Willy what to do and that he should listen to her. She tells him she hates him at the moment and to get in the car when he will not do as she says. She is high in her maturity demands also, as she expects Willy to be able to handle the fact that both she and his father work a lot and do not spend much time with him. In fact he is still just a child that needs his parents for stability and guidance. Rita is not a good parent according to Baumbrind. Therefore, when looked at collectively, a person does not need to be intelligent to be a good parent. Intelligence may or may not relate to parenting styles. Sam is not considered intelligent according to the Single Factor Theories and Sternberg; however his parenting style is not the most negative as defined by Baumbrind. Rita is intelligent, but is not a good parent. Her parenting style is the most negative. Even with a lower IQ, Sam’s is considered to be the better parent. The movie, I Am Sam, shows the difficulty people have separating intellect from other areas of people’s lives, such as parenting. In retrospect to the movie, we cannot conclude that the two are related, a person does not need to be intelligent to be a good parent, and having a high IQ does not always make a good parent.

The Humor In Friends

The Humor In Friends Friends is the famous sitcom in the United States which was played at the NBC television since the 1990s. After entering the Chinese film market, The TV sitcom also have given Chinas TV viewers a new feeling, and attracted many fans of it. As one of the most popular sitcoms in the United States, Friends has been successfully completed 10 seasons. And more than 60 countries have its loyal audience. But, when the film was playing, I fount that most of the people seemed by no means to had laughed as might as perhaps had been anticipated in canned laughter. To explore the reason is people are unable to understand the humor of it. So they dont laugh. Therefore, this essay attempts to explore humor of Friends through the use of relevant theory and research. Definition and Classification of Humor Humor derived from the Latin whose original meaning is body fluid. And the extensive use of humorous is attribute to the British playwright whose name is Ben Jonson. The Every Man in His Humor which is created by him is remarkable for humor. Humor is a form of languages which through the art of processing and it is artistic language. Definition of Humor French writer named Degebola had given a definition of humor: Humor is an element in peoples laugh. Humor is what moves us. Humor is a smile in the eyes of wise man. This is a happy idea of an unsophisticated person. In fact, it is very hard to give a definition of humor for it belongs to a genius and inspiration. Humor will use the glows of wisdom to rout of the dark of life, and create the beaming smile. Lenin had said that: Humor is a beautiful, healthy quality. Maybe this is why some people have sense of humor as a manifestation of a persons maturity. So humor is the great wisdom, which is the ridicule and naughty after apperceive life. And this will be my definition of humor. Common Classification of Humor From the form of points, humor mainly including these types as followed: Transform Humor means to agree with this point firstly, and then worsened, and point out the different point of view. This humor can make both sides of this antagonism freed from the confrontation, and create a relaxed atmosphere. Lets take an example: Huxley actively supported and promoted Darwins theory of evolution, for which he had been cursed as Darwins bulldog by the church at that time. A debate, when Huxley went into the meeting, the religious leaders and some people who against the theory of evolution were shouting: Be careful, Darwins bulldog comes again! Huxley wasnt angry, and then he said to the detractors contemptuously: Yes, you are right. But the hounds are the most fearsome things of thieves! As a result, the attackers got much unhappiness, but Huxley and his supporters kept calm and happy. The character of Transform Humor is the objection after agreement, and it clarify their own point of view unexpectedly with the purpose to enable readers to understand thats witty sense of humor. Self-mockery Humor means that others tease you intentionally or unintentionally to send you into a dilemma, and then you can use the Self-mockery Humor to disengage yourself from adversity decently. Rockefeller who was the U.S. oil magnate was a little bald. Once at a public occasion, one of his opponents in a sarcastic tone said to him: Sir, you have made combing into an art form, because you have made an arrangement for every hair of your head! With a wry smile, Rockefeller said: In the past years, they are just a number. But now they both have their own names. Everybody got into laugh, and Rockefeller was also able to escape the predicament quickly. A real sense of humor is inseparable from self-involvement, which gives the humor to others, but also to themselves. People who lack of self-confidence can not humor himself. Therefore, the Self-mockery Humor is more need for self-confidence. Distortion Humor means the listener dont understand the meaning of each other, but apprehend from another aspect intentionally. And bring a sense of humor to make people laugh. Lets take an example to explain. Teacher: I hope all of students parents will come to attend on the parent-teacher meeting this Friday. Student: Excuse me, sir. Which should we call to take part in, farther or mother? Teacher: Its not important. Ask the person who is the head of a household to come. Student: That had to be me. The object that the teacher pointed was parents. But the student interpreted it as member of family. So, of course, he included himself. Distortion Humor is often expressed in the form of pun, similar sound and ambiguity. Sophistry Humor. Hegel once discussed sophistry like this: Sophistry usually means to make a false truth very nice, which like the real thing. Sophistry Humor means to make humor in a sophistic way. Of course, it should make sophistry emotional and extreme. Because it is the only way to make sophistry integrates with humor. Emotionality means to inject joking and ridicule factors into Sophistry. Extreme can make a person know it is false immediately, which avoid deceptive and damaging. Sophistry Humor is not the same as Sophistry Logic. Sophistry Humor let you see the flaws deliberately, and realize the humor in it. For example: The teacher discovered that Peter was sleeping in the class. Then she asked: Why do you sleep at class, Peter? Peter: Im not sleeping. Teacher: Why do you close your eyes? Peter: Teacher, I was reciting the concept. Teacher: Why do you nod you head all the time? Peter: Because your class is very nice, sir. Teacher: Why do you drool? Peter: Because it is full of relish in your class. Peter was sleeping in the class, but he refused to acknowledge. The words that he answered the teacher were all false, which like Hegel said: It is very nice, and like the real thing. The Humor Used in Friends Universal Humor means the way of humor which make different cognitive environment of readers understand easily. For example: Phoebe: Yeah. We dont speak. Shes like this high-powered ¼Ã…’driven career type. Chandler: What does she do? Phoebe: Shes a waitress. (Season 1:2) In this dialog the waitress does not like her twin sister clearly. First, the description of her sister makes the audience think of a high occupation immediately. But as the dialogue progresses, the audience know she is a waitress. Two kinds of script opposition (high / low status) make them have to understand the text again, and this processing has also got more contextual effects. Cultural Humor. Such humorous use the elements of knowledge which should be understood under a particular cultural context. In sitcom, it is often to use some movie stars or the name of a classic novel to get humorous effects. Therefore, the focus of such a translation is that we must notice whether the audience can understand the original knowledge and do some necessary adjustments before translation. Or it must result in failure. For example: Monica: Oh wait ¼Ã…’you know what ¼Ã…’I got it ¼Ã…’I got it ¼Ã…’pretend like you just woke up ¼Ã…’okay ¼Ã…’that will throw her off. Be sleepy. Rachel: Yes ¼Ã…’and grumpy. Chandler: What are you ¼Ã…’stop naming dwarves! ¼Ã‹â€ Season3:4 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is well-known story in the West. Sleepy and Grumpy are two of the small dwarfs names. Chandlers reply gives an additional contextual effect to the recipients. But in China, the more familiar calling is the first dwarf, the second dwarf, and the third And the Chinese audiences are unable to obtain the names of the dwarfs. The translation make interpreter pay more efforts, but received little of the contextual effects. So it is failure. Verbal Humor. Language humor (or named pun) is a word game to strive to achieve a humorous effect. When the two scripts appear in a scene simultaneously, they may be overlap or completely overlap, but the meaning must be opposed in certain degree. In translation, due to the coincidence of language, puns can also be reflected perfectly in the translated version by the way of literal translation. For example: 1)Joey: AH ¼Ã…’now Rachel ¼Ã…’these ah ¼Ã…’these little women. Rachel: Yeah. Joey: How little are they? I mean ¼Ã…’are they like scary little? (Season 3:13) Joy is going to read Little women which is recommended by Rachel. But he still comprehends in wrong way for his little reading. 2)Phoebe: Well ¼Ã…’I-I wasnt hopping mad ¼Ã…’you know. Frank: You hopped a little bit. (Season 3:5) Hop means light jumping. But the meaning of the text is very angry. This translation is very successful. However, such a language is rare and more of the status as flowed: 3) Phoebe: Oh. (They start kissing again) Ross :Wait ¼Ã…’wait ¼Ã…’wait. Phoebe: What? Ross: My foot is stuck in the pocket. Phoebe: What? Ross: No ¼Ã…’I cant get it out. Phoebe: Well ¼Ã…’thats not something a girl wants to hear. Ross: No ¼Ã…’come on dont start. (They start kissing again) Ouch! Phoebe: What? Ross: Stupid balls are in the way. (Holds up two balls)(Season 3:6) In this event, the translators can adjust at all levels to make the translation as similar as original interpretation. Humor Translation Theories Through the comparison of humor used in common environment and Friends, we know that humor can roughly be divided into the following two kinds of humor theory. General Theory of Verbal Humor The General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH) proposed by Victor Raskin and Salvatore Attardo in 1991 (an extension of the semantic script theory of humour, SSTH which Raskin proposed in 1985) identifies a semantic model capable of expressing incongruities between semantic scripts in verbal humor; this has been seen as an important recent development in the theory of laughter. The GTVH is one of the most mature theories which research the humor of language from linguistic humor. GYVH proposed the humor mechanism which is mad up by script oppo-sition, logical mechanism, situatio, target, narrativestrategy and language. Oppo-sition can be interpreted as overlapping and opposition of two or more of the script. Logical mechanism would mean that only works in a joke. Distorted and joking logic means the logical mechanism of combine two or more scripts. Situatio is the various props of joke: people, events and things. Target means the laughing-stock in humor. Narrativestrategy indicates that any sense of humor will adopt some sort of narrative techniques, such as general narration, dialogue, puzzles and so on. Language contains all the needed information and specific wording the text of the oral language of the text. Attardo think that the most important element of knowledge is that the inconsistent script which has determined the specific choices of other elements. So he point out that any humorous text must contain this factor. He also pointed out that when two humorous compare, the levels higher, the same less. (Attardo, 1994:183) So it is also a tool to compare the similarity of humorous. Relevant Theory of Humor Translation Relevance theory is used mainly to understand the problem and describe discourse.In the view of its founders Sperber and Wilson, the context in discourse comprehension is a very important factor. They suggest that it is necessary to understand the words in context. And its only need to activate in certain aspects of the context, but not all. The building of context doesnt progress in the bound of mutual knowledge for understanding the discourse, but try their best to build their own context to become communion. When people affiliating with each other, they continue to correspond and compromise, and be in accord at last. Relevance theory suggests that here are generally three situations about complementarity and expansion for interlocutors to cognize context: The first is encyclopedic knowledge in context, which the listeners add some necessary encyclopedic knowledge to expand their understanding context in their existing cognitive context. The second is context of knowledge. It means that the listeners can transfer related information from the short-term memory which provided by above text to expand their understanding of the context. The last is situational knowledge in context. It means that the listener must call the relevant information from the surrounding scene to expand their understanding of the context. When translating the universal humor, its important for readers to gain more contextual effects through the process of seeking the opposite script to pay extra effort. When translating the cultural humor, the translator should pay attention to that if the readers knowledge can understand the elements in the text. When translating the verbal humor, the translator can do some flexible adjustments within the allowable range. Analysis of Humor in Friends dialogues Through the above descriptions and argumentations between common humor and the humor in Friends, the following we will make a detailed analysis of the humorous dialogues in Friends. There are a large number of humorous dialogues in Friends. But not all these dialogues can be used in this paper. So, the humorous dialogue needs to be created in accordance with factors or the reasons for creating humor. Those that flout three maxims were chosen to be explained in details. Humor Produced by the Deliberate Flout of the Maxim of Quality By the maxim of quality, it means that in a dialogue we all make our contribution to one thing that is true or say things that are true. To keep to this maxim, we simultaneously observe two sub-maxims: we do not say what we believe to be false, and we do not say anything we lack adequate evidence. Joey: What are you talking about? Keep it! Phoebe: Its not mine, I didnt earn it. If I kept it, it would be like stealing. Rachel: Yeah, but if you spent it, it would be like shopping! Phoebe: Okay. Okay, lets say I bought a really great pair of shoes. Do you know what Id hear, with every step I took? Not-mine. Not-mine. Not-mine. And even if I was happy, okay, and, and skipping-Not-not-mine, not-not-mine, not-not-mine, not-not-mineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(Friends, 1994) This dialogue appears in this scene that Phoebe find there is 500 extra dollars appeared in her account. And every one advises her to keep the money, but she is unwilling. She wants to use them to buy something. She believes that if she used the money to buy shoes, shoes would blame her. Of course, she knows shoes can say nothing. She is saying something untrue and is thus flouting the maxim of Quality. At the same time, humor is produced by the shoes which are personified as a person having a voice. Her implied message is I should not keep the extra money. And I would feel guilty if I kept and used it. 2)Ross: Yeah, uhà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and then I figured after you win, we could all go out to the balcony and see a night rainbow with gremlins dancing on top of it! Ross: You know what, Im sure your wish is gonna come true, but, you guys-just in case, maybe a genie will come out if we rub this lamp! (Friends, 1999) Ross said that these two sentences, meaning that compare with his friends words someone see a night rainbow with gremlins dancing on top of It, the words a genie will come out if we rub this lamp is more convinced, to show he does not believe his friends would win. The humor here is expressed through the use of metaphor. Ross knows that it is hardly happen for the phenomenon what he said, so he is flouting the maxim of quality deliberately. The implicature that results is It is impossible for you to win. 3) Ross: If I hadnt let you talk me to go into the airport in the first place, I wouldnt have put my fist through the wall. Chandler: You put your fist through the wall? Ross: No. I miss it and hit the door. But it opened really hard. (Friends, 1997) Ross fails to persuade his girlfriend to stay with him. He says he put his fist through the wall to show how upset and angry he is. But, what Ross said is doubted by Chandler because Chandler knows Ross is too timid to put his fist through the wall. Last, Ross admits he just put his fist on the door. Here, the untrue words which said by Ross on purpose and so it flout the maxim of quality. This kind of humor is founded on hyperbole largely. Humor Produced by the Deliberate Flout of the Maxim of Relevance The maxim of relevance means that we make all of contribution relevant to the exchange in a dialogue. 1 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °Ross: So, I just finished this fascinating book. By the year 2030, therell be computers that can carry out the same amount of functions as an actual human brain. So theoretically you could download tour thoughts and memories into this computer and and and live forever as a machine. Chandler: And I just realized I could sleep with my eyes open. (Friends, 1995) Although Ross and Chandler are good friends, they are worried about different things due to their differences in character. When Ross is talking about high-tech, Chandler talks about sleeping with eye open in response. His reaction has nothing to do with the subject of Ross. Therefore, he is flouting the maxim of Relation. It is easy for audience to understand his sense of humor. That the subtext is: Im not interested in your topic. 2 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °Ross: I can ask her to live with me. Chandler: Are you serious? Ross: Why not? Chandler: Because youve only known her for six weeks. Ive got a carton of milk in my fridge, and Ive had a longer relationship with. Ross: Look, guys, I love her, you know? (Friends, 2001) Chandler: And I love the milk! But I wont ask some British girl to move in with me! Ross wants to ask his British Girlfriend to live with him. But Chandler disagrees. He thinks it is too short for them to live together. And this is reasonable. Later, he refers to the milk which is in his fridge. Chandler compares the time that he keeps the milk in fridge with the time that Ross knows his girlfriend. It is clear that there are no comparable kinds. Obviously, the thing said by Chandler is irrelevant to the matter of Ross. Thus humor is produced by his flouting the maxim of Relevance. Phoebe: Oh, hey, Mon, do you still have your like old blouses and dresses from high school? Monica: Yeah, I think I have some around here somewhere. Why? Phoebe: Well, its just that maternity clothes are so expensive. (Friends, 2003) In this conversation, when Phoebe is asked why she talks about Monicas dresses from high school, she answers maternity clothes are expensive which does not seem to answer the question. But in fact, she is suggesting that the blouses and dresses of Monica are big enough for a pregnant woman. Thus humor is produced by her flouting the maxim of Relevance deliberately. Humor Produced by the Deliberate Flout of the Maxim of Manner By the maxim of manner, it is meant that in a dialogue we all try to be perspicuous. In line with this maxim, there are four sub-maxims: 1) we try to avoid obscurity, 2) we try to avoid ambiguity, 3) we try to be brief, and 4) we try to be orderly. Phoebe: Ooh! Oh! (She starts to pluck at the air just in front of Ross.) Ross: No, no dont! Stop cleansing my aura! No, just leave my aura alone, okay? Phoebe: Fine! Be murky! (Friends, 1996) In this conversation, Phoebe tries to catch Rosss attention by the way of plucking the air in front of Ross. But Ross feels annoying, and he would like leaving alone. So he said: Stop cleansing my aura! Just leave my aura alone. Moreover, Phoebe doesnt use unhappy to describe the air around Ross directly. She uses murky. Here, both Ross and Phoebe use obscure expression and thus flout the maxim of Manner. But the humorous effect they create and the implicature of their utterance are obvious and accepted by audience. Emily: What did you decide? Does your uncle Nathan get an invitation or not? Ross: Oh, God! Nobody likes him. And hes so cheap. I mean hed never fly to London in a million yearsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Yeah, invite him. (Friends, 1997) Ross and Emily are deciding attendees for their wedding. When Emily and Ross discuss whether tell Ross uncle to attend the wedding, Ross does not answer yes or no briefly and directly. Instead, he says a lot of weak points of his uncle in the first place, but finally he decides to invite him so quickly. Therefore, it is clear that Ross intentionally express in a long way which create a sense of humor in the way of flouting the maxim of Manner. Chandler: Now it seems like all of a sudden, so much is happening. Joey: I know. Ross is getting married. Chandler: Phoebes making people. Joey: Everybodys doing stuff. Chandler: And we just sit here. I meant if I died, the only people know would be that I was here only by the ass print on the chair! (Friends, 1997) Chandler and Joey have a conversation talking about their recent life. Compared with the friends who are in dealing with some major events, they are wasting their lives. Chandler says these words to create a funny effect, and that is we just sit hereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦if I died, the only people know would be t hat I was here only by the ass print on the chair. This sentence could hardly be humorous if he just says directly and briefly we just sit here without doing things meaningful. Therefore, Chandler produces humor by the way of flouting the maxim of Manner. Conclusion This paper discusses some humorous conversations in the U.S. sitcom Friends. Humorous conversation delivers the meaning of a conversation situation in this case. Therefore, this paper, furthermore, is possible to explore the deeper meanings which are implied or hidden in humor. To some extents, this paper can help audiences better understand the method for humor, as well as the expression of humor, in particular, to improve their ability of understanding and using humor of American verbal because the humor in Friends is humor of unique American style. However, the researches in this field have not reached a mature stage, which are quite deficiency and lack of authority both in China and abroad. Because of the differences between different cultures, people in non-English speaking countries do not fully understand the English sense of humor sometimes. Friends is a classical and typical American sitcom which is full of strong elements of American culture. The way of Studying and discussing American culture is a great help for English learners to understand American humor. Therefore, a further study of humor in Friends can possibly make certain contributions for cross-cultural communication. Humorous language, as the main form to express humor, is popular in our daily life. It comes from our daily life while to some degree it goes beyond life reality. Humor is such a pervasive human phenomenon, observable in many aspects of life that it has been studied from a multi-disciplinary viewpoint, including fields like linguistics, rhetoric, aesthetics, philosophy, sociology, and etc. From this essay, detailed and Pragmatic Analysis of Verbal Humor in Friends can help English learners to better improve their ability of understanding and the appreciation of the nature of American humor. At the same time, it is illuminating for them to apply humor skill to mediate interpersonal relationships. References English Language Humor Appreciation. Mao Guirong. Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Publishing House, 1993. Friends (File). Bright, Kevin (Director). 1994-2004. Pragmatic Analysis of Humor in FRIENDS. Chen Jin. South China Agricultural University, 2006. English Linguistics. Ling Zhenghua. Hunan Peoples Publishing House, 2006. The American Way of Comedy. Inga Walte. 2000. Linguistic Humor. Hu Fanchou. Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Publishing House, 1987.