A good joke can be the hardest thing to understand when studying a foreign language and a different culture.
As a recent article in noted, “There’s more to understanding a joke in a foreign language than understanding vocabulary and grammar.”
Being able to understand local jokes is often seen as a great icebreaker for a language learner who tries to start friendships with native speakers.
“I always felt that humor was something that I could never break through,” Hannah Ashley, a public relations account manager in London who once studied Spanish in Madrid, told The Guardian. “I could never speak to people on the same level as I would speak to a native English speaker. I almost seemed like quite a boring person because all I could talk about was facts.”
In fact, most of the time, jokes are only funny for people who share a cultural background or understand humor in the same way.
In Australia, meanwhile, many foreigners find understanding jokes about sports to be the biggest problem. “The hardest jokes are related to rugby because I know nothing about rugby,” said Melody Cao, who was once an overseas student in Australia. “When I heard jokes I didn’t get, I just laughed along.”
In the other two major English-speaking countries, the sense of humor is also different. British comedian and actor Simon Pegg believes that while Britons use irony—basically, saying something they don’t mean to make a joke—every day, people in the US don’t see the point of using it so often. “British jokes tend to be less obvious and darker, while American jokes are more obvious with their meanings, a bit like Americans themselves,” he wrote in The Guardian.
But even without the ability to understand local jokes, foreigners should not feel any less confident about themselves. “It’s OK if you don’t get the jokes. Don’t doubt yourself because a lot of the time, it is not a problem of language ability. It’s a matter of culture and the matter of the known and unknown,” said Christine Han, who was once an overseas student and is now living in Australia.
12. The writer quoted the sentence, “There’s more to understanding a joke in a foreign language than under standing vocabulary and grammar.” to show that ________.
A.making jokes can help you make friends with native speakers |
B.local jokes can help you to understand the local culture better |
C.understanding jokes requires a good knowledge of vocabulary and grammar |
D.in order to understand its jokes, you’d better learn the culture |
13. What can we guess about Hannah Ashley?
A.She feels that not being able to share their humor makes her seem boring to Spanish people. |
B.She believes that one had better rely on facts when speaking a foreign language. |
C.She thinks that Spanish people do not have much of a sense of humor. |
D.She feels confident in using Spanish. |
14. Who argues that American jokes are less indirect than British ones?
A.Hannah Ashley. | B.Melody Cao. | C.Simon Pegg. | D.Christine Han. |
15. The passage probably appear in the ________ column of
China Daily.
A.science | B.culture | C.history | D.travel |