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Message board > Humour (Brits, Yanks and Irony)
Humour (Brits, Yanks and Irony)
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almaz
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Humour (Brits, Yanks and Irony)
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Someone recently mentioned the problem of humour not always travelling very well on this forum with the use of irony, for example, sometimes being met with, at best, seeming blank stares and at worst, outright hostility. I just read an old Guardian interview with Simon ( �Shaun Of The Dead �) Pegg, which has slightly challenged my long-held belief that only Brits could �do � irony properly. Pegg says that, contrary to common belief on this side of the pond, Americans do not undergo irony bypasses at an early age � they simply have a different approach to it. Mind you, he does quote something which sums up the difference beautifully for me. This is an exchange that took place between two of his friends, one British (B) and the other American (A):
B: "I had to go to my grandad �s funeral last week." A: "Sorry to hear that." B: "Don �t be. It was the first time he ever paid for the drinks." A: "I see." I laughed like a drain at this, but who else sees it as funny?
( this is the link to the original article) |
7 Jun 2012
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alexcure
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Well, the joke is quite old (I must have read it some 10 years ago I �m afraid, so .....) but your thread is worth continuing.... Irony is what the minority of my high school students could grasp - as I often presented to them a vast variety of IRONY humour, Br and Am included. It wasn �t admired also among my university friends as well, which is quite sad... |
7 Jun 2012
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almaz
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Well, there you go, Alex. The bit I find funny is not the old joke, but the deadpan "I see."
I just wonder, though, is something like irony teachable? |
7 Jun 2012
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alexcure
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I know it with "I see" from my spiritual father,who died in September - I miss him so much, he invented and repeated so many irony jokes/pans etc, paid attention to many ridiculous and ironic linguistic forms that I felt like bombarded by him every time we met, some of them I still remember such as the shortest poem ever: "Adam had �em" asking me about its title....(BTW what�s its title?) and some of them return to my memory when I hear them or read them ....
I think it is �teachable� provided that a child receives such doses very early or with a great enthusiasm. I never gave up when I taught my young adults, even if a single person caught it at a time I was satisfied, the worst were classes with nobody who found it funny or interesting, then I had to quit it.
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7 Jun 2012
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Zora
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Hi there,
I just finished reading the article and I must admit that a lot of American shows listed are not that funny and not all that ironic - at least in my opinion. I hated Rosanne, Arrested Development, Saturday Night Live makes me cringe and Seinfield made me want to strangle the characters. American humour often borders on the ridiculous or silly to be funny. I prefer intelligent humour, insightful and often ironic. In fact, I LOVE British and Canadian comedians or shows - they use situational humour, are hilarious, use sarcasm wonderfully and aren �t afraid to laugh or make fun of their countries � idiosyncrasies.
And no, I don �t think you can teach irony. I think you can appreciate it but learn to like it, no. For example, I hate, with a capital H, Woody Allen. I have given his films an honest try and I find them ridiculous. I do not like them - period. You can show me the finer points of his humour, explain to me his idea behind the films but in the end, I still do not enjoy them. I think irony is like that - you get it, or you don �t. It �s part of you like being good natured, trustworthy or hard-working.
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7 Jun 2012
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almaz
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Canadian humour? Eh? I �m sorry but...oxymoron, Shirley? |
7 Jun 2012
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ueslteacher
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Re: Canadian humour: here�s a story from me: (the queen�s society of English is no longer there:) I used to work as an interpreter and once I had to interpret for a Canadian guy who seemed to have a quite refined sense of humour (as long as you were laughing with him not at him). When he went back to Canada, we exchanged a couple of letters. I signed one of them "Your able interrupter" hoping for a smile and yet he quoted Napoleon on me, "Able was I here till I saw Elba"  giving me a moral lesson I guess:)
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7 Jun 2012
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Zora
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Actually Sophia, I smiled at your story because the guy was being funny and a bit witty... Able was I here till I saw Elba - is a palindrome! He wasn �t insulting you, he was joking around actually. I am also guessing that he was poking fun at himself in an odd way. Maybe it just takes another Canuck to understand our humour 
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7 Jun 2012
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ldthemagicman
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Alexcure,
The shortest poem ever written:
FLEAS
Adam
had �em.
Les |
7 Jun 2012
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almaz
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Only kidding, Linda! Colin Mochrie is one of my all-time favourite comedians.
Incidentally, the palindrome should read Able was I ere I saw Elba. Reads the same back as it does forward, see? Just like Adam �s first words to Eve: Madam, I �m Adam. |
7 Jun 2012
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I �ll have you know that some of the best comedians in the world are Canadian - Mike Myers, Jim Carrey (not a big fan myself but who am I to judge tastes?!), Dan Ankroyd, Colin Mochrie, the late Leslie Nielsen, Michael J. Fox, Will Arnett, Brendan Frasier, Matthew Perry... and the list goes on. We are a funny nation - believe it or not. 
We just hide it well.