Linguistic Theories of Humor, 2nd Edition

6 Script-based Theories

6.0.1 Introduction

This chapter deals with the theories of humor proposed within the framework of generative grammar. Within generative grammar, in the late seventies an interest arose towards contextual semantics (pragmatics). A number of theories set out to analyze, among other things, the way in which the lexicon is organized and represented. Since one of the most important tools of these theories is the notion of “script,” they are often referred to as “script theories.” This chapter deals with the script theory of humor proposed by Raskin (1985a) in some detail and with some of its follow-ups. As usual, not much previous knowledge is assumed; the reader not familiar with the mechanics of script theory, or the ...