Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Rationale

1.2 Research Methods

1.3 Outline

1.4 Research Findings

Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.1 Definition of Humor

2.2 A Brief History of Humor and Humor Studies in the West

2.3 Humor and Humor Studies in Chinese History

2.4 Theories of Humor

Chapter 3 An Approach to Humor Based on Contextual Dimensions

3.1 A Review of Context in Humor

3.2 New Development:Contextual Dimensions as the Framework of the Study

3.3 Role of Context in Interactive Humor

Chapter 4 A Study of Humor in an English Language Situation Comedy—"Friends”

4.1 Introduction and Selection Criteria

4.2 A Linguistic Analysis of Humor

Chapter 5 A Study of Humor in a Chinese Language Situation Comedy—《我爱我家》

5.1 Introduction and Selection Criteria

5.2 A Linguistic Analysis of Humor

Chapter 6 Comparisons and Discussions

6.1 Frequency of Humor

6.2 Type of Humor(Context)

6.3 A Statistical Analysis

6.4 Summary and Significance of Findings

Chapter 7 Conclusion

7.1 Summary of the Findings

7.2 Limitations of the Research

7.3 Some Thoughts on Future Research

Bibliography

Appendix A Analytical Statistics of"Friends”—Episode 3-24

Appendix B Analytical Statistics of"I Love My Family”—Episode 3-24