The French have jokes. Do they have a sense of humour like the English ?

Does humour exist in France? Before the French revolution of 1789, the word humour was hardly known. People knew esprit (wit), farce (prank), bouffonnerie (drollery) and humeur (a state of mind, or mood), but not humour

Is the English humour strong on humour (humour) and short on wit (esprit) ? I have an English friend and when she got a new job she was very sad because the person she was working with lacked the sense of humour. what is the English sense of humour ? Can you help me to find out. self-deprecation is often there. Here is a typical English joke, I think
I went into the pub the other night and saw a man playing chess with his dog.I said that's a very clever dog you have there.No it's not he replied,it has'nt won a game yet.

Hi Muriel,

Thanks for your words: the French and the Brits are very different humorwise!

I guess that b/w Brits, French, Germans, Italians, Belgians, etc. everyone has their own sense of humor!
Humor is part of the culture, of education.

People usually make joke to laught about their neighbor: People from Pas de Calais against People from Nord, Ch'ti against People from Bretagne ...
Are every english people correct between neighboring?

I remember having read a cutting about that topic saying that the gap was rather wide between the French humour and the British one.
There were scores of examples I regret to have forgotten.

But most times it is true that humour is used to show kind of self deprecation.
You may know that story I was told by an American: If you meet somebody able to speak 3 languages you can say he is a polyglotte, if you meet somebody able to speak 2 languages you discover he is bilingual, if you meet somebody who knows a single language, you can guess immediately he is American.

A good week-end to everyone.

Irène.

ireneO a écrit:You may know that story I was told by an American: If you meet somebody able to speak 3 languages you can say he is a polyglotte, if you meet somebody able to speak 2 languages you discover he is bilingual, if you meet somebody who knows a single language, you can guess immediately he is American.


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Il like your story Irène. Thank you for that Perhaps the French stand up comics use more gestures, exageration wheras a standup comic in England or America will perhaps be more understated.

Hi everyone,

I read somewhere that both Brits and French liked to laugh but...

... the Brits like to laugh at themselves (I don't mean other British guys but really at the guy who speaks -himself-)
... the French like to laugh at other guys (present or not in the audience), very rarely at themselves!!

I guess I already wrote this here on Cafe-Polyglotte: what the best idea to laugh at oneself! This way, who is going to laugh at you and criticize, especially when you made a mistake?

Hello Gérard Hello Everyone
French women can laugh at themselves
https://www.cafe-polyglotte.com/t1408-un-peu-d-humour#5947

Bonjour Muriel !



Un autre trait des anglo-saxons, c'est de savoir entendre la critique voire la moquerie (de quelqu'un d'autres envers soi) et de sortir une plaisanterie pour en aténuer la portée.