老外笑我聽不懂我笑老外笑點(diǎn)低

1、老外笑我聽不懂，我笑老外笑點(diǎn)低 摘要身處異國他鄉(xiāng)，最大的悲哀莫過于歪果仁笑得人仰馬翻，你卻不知所云。想跟歪果仁打成一片，光是語言能力過硬是遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不夠的。不過也不必妄自菲薄，能不能get笑話更多是文化背景和幽默感知的問題。 Students struggle with jokes It is beyond awkward when everyone around you bursts out laughing at a joke that you do not find funny, especially if its a joke told in a foreign language. 世間最尷

2、尬的事莫過于周圍的人都被段子（笑話）逗得哄堂大笑，只有你還沒發(fā)現(xiàn)笑點(diǎn)。如果這段子是用外語講的，那么尷尬值增加一萬點(diǎn)。 While Chinese students find it easy to adapt to a foreign lifestyle, socializing with locals is much harder, according to a recent study. Researchers looked at how well Chinese students integrated into communities across the world. Of all th

3、e activities they struggled with, understanding jokes was considered the toughest. 最近一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，中國學(xué)生很容易適應(yīng)國外的生活方式，但和老外打交道就沒那么簡單了。研究者對中國留學(xué)生如何融入世界各地群體進(jìn)行了分析。在留學(xué)生面對的所有問題中，理解笑話被認(rèn)為是最難的。 Most of the time, jokes are funny only for people who share a common cultural background or perceive humor in the same way. 多

4、數(shù)情況下，笑話只有在文化背景相同或幽默感知方式相近的人中間才有笑果。 Chinese-American comedian Joe Wong found this out first-hand. He had achieved huge success doing stand-up comedy in the US, but when he returned to China in 2008 for his first live gig in Beijing, he discovered that humor doesnt translate. People didnt think his Ch

5、inese jokes were as funny as his English ones, the Global Times reported. 美籍華裔脫口秀主持人黃西對此感同身受。他在美國脫口秀節(jié)目中一炮而紅，不過2008年，當(dāng)他回到中國在北京開第一場現(xiàn)場脫口秀時(shí)，他發(fā)現(xiàn)幽默是無法被翻譯的。環(huán)球時(shí)報(bào)報(bào)道說，大家覺得他的英語段子比中文的有趣。 Being able to understand local jokes can help students feel a sense of belonging. But even without the ability to understand

6、jokes, students should not feel any less confident about themselves. 理解當(dāng)?shù)厝说男υ捘茏屃魧W(xué)生更有歸屬感。不過就算聽不懂老外的笑話，也不必喪失自信。 “Its OK if you dont get the jokes. Dont doubt yourself because a lot of the times, it is not a problem of language ability; its a matter of the known and unknown,” said Christine Han, who wa

7、s once an overseas student and is now an Australian permanent resident. 曾在澳洲留學(xué)、現(xiàn)在是澳大利亞永久居民的克莉絲汀韓說：“理解不了笑話也沒關(guān)系。不必自我懷疑，（因?yàn)椋┻@不是語言能力的問題；這是知道就知道，不知道就不知道的事兒。” Australian humor 澳式幽默 The fact that Australia is called “Down Under” is funny by itself. Australia is ready-made for jokes, thanks to its history a

8、s a colony for convicts, its peculiar accent, the Outback and its strange cuisine. However, to most Chinese overseas students, understanding jokes about sports is the biggest headache. 事實(shí)上，澳大利亞的別稱“在南方的下面”（ 英語里北為up，南為down，澳大利亞在舊大陸的南邊）本身就很有趣。它曾是流放犯人的殖民地，它的古怪口音，它的內(nèi)陸和奇葩菜肴，都讓澳大利亞的笑話俯拾皆是。不過對大多數(shù)中國留學(xué)生來說，最頭疼

9、的還是理解和體育有關(guān)的笑話。 “The hardest jokes are related to rugby because I know nothing about rugby,” said Melody Cao, who was once a student in Australia. “When I heard jokes I didnt get, I just laughed along.” “最難懂的笑話是和橄欖球有關(guān)的，因?yàn)槲覍﹂蠙烨蛞粺o所知，”曾在澳洲留學(xué)的梅洛迪曹說?！爱?dāng)我聽不懂笑話時(shí)，我就跟著大家一起笑。” Sport is an important part of Aust

10、ralian national identity. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 16 percent (2.8 million) of the population aged 15 years and over watched Australian football in 2010. About 9 percent (1.6 million) attended a rugby league game. 體育是澳大利亞民族認(rèn)同的重要部分。據(jù)澳大利亞統(tǒng)計(jì)局?jǐn)?shù)據(jù)，全國15歲及以上人口中有16%（約280萬）觀看了2010年的澳式

11、足球賽，9%（約160萬）參加過橄欖球聯(lián)賽。 The rugby jokes are usually about how immature and dumb rugby players are, like in these two dialogues: 橄欖球的段子常常拿那些水平欠佳，不太靈光的球員開涮， 比如下面兩段對話： A: “Why dont rugby players have mid-life crises?” A：“為什么橄欖球運(yùn)動(dòng)員沒有中年危機(jī)？” B: “They stay stuck in adolescence.” B：“因?yàn)樗麄儽焕г诹饲啻浩??！?A: “Why do

12、rugby players like smart women?” A：“為什么橄欖球運(yùn)動(dòng)員喜歡精明的女人？” B: “Opposites attract.” B：“因?yàn)楫愋韵辔?。?British humor vs American humor 英式幽默vs 美式幽默 British actor and comedian Simon Pegg discussed the differences between British and American sense of humor in a column for The Guardian. He believes that while Brit

13、s use irony on a daily basis, the Americans do not see the point of using it so frequently. He wrote: “British jokes, on the other hand, tend to be more subtle with a dark or sarcastic undertone. the American jokes are more obvious and forward, a bit like Americans themselves.” 英國喜劇演員西蒙佩吉曾在衛(wèi)報(bào)專欄探討過英式

14、和美式幽默的區(qū)別。他認(rèn)為英國人每天都會(huì)用反諷的幽默，而美國人用的卻不是很多。他寫道：“換句話說，英式笑話更隱晦，伴有黑色和諷刺的潛臺詞而美式笑話更明顯、直白，和美國人的個(gè)性很像?！?Pegg illustrated his point by transcribing a joke he heard a British friend make, in the wake of family tragedy. 佩吉轉(zhuǎn)述了他從英國朋友那聽到的一個(gè)笑話，調(diào)侃的是一出家庭悲劇。 A: “I had to go to my granddads funeral last week.” A：“上周我去參加了我爺

15、爺?shù)脑岫Y?！?B: “Sorry to hear that.” B：“節(jié)哀順變?！?A: “Dont be. It was the first time he ever paid for the drinks.” A：“別這么說。這可是他第一次掏錢買喝的。” In her book Watching the English the Hidden Rules of English Behavior, Kate Fox, a British social anthropologist, describes her countrys humor rules. She argues that iron

16、y, understatement and self-depreciation are ingrained in the English mindset. “Humor is our default mode. We do not have to switch it on deliberately, and we cannot switch it off,” wrote Fox. 社會(huì)人類學(xué)家凱特福克斯在她的書英國人的言行潛規(guī)則中描述了英國的幽默方式。她認(rèn)為，諷刺、輕描淡寫和自黑是英國人骨子里根深蒂固的東西。她寫道：“幽默是我們的默認(rèn)模式我們不必刻意啟動(dòng)它，當(dāng)然也不能關(guān)掉它?！?“American humor is more straightforward like the punchlines in the famous TV show Friends,” an Internet user named “Zac” wrote on Zhihu. “You burst out laughing