Just Post @lemmy.world The Picard Maneuver @lemmy.world 1 mo. ago

Satire/sarcasm doesn't always work cross-culturally

No joke here. I just think stuff like this is interesting.

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Oh yes, Americans really are the most sarcastic people on the planet and their humor is oh so dark.

Sincerely,

—A Brit.
- We are.
  
  It’s what happens when you take dry British humor, concentrate it like a cup of tea run in the microwave until almost all of the water evaporates out and add daily mortal risk from our fellow countrymen.
  
  -A ‘Murica
  
  I wondered why your name struck me as familiar.
  
  Which order is your favorite and why?
  
  Truthwatchers would be my first choice because I like to understand the true nature of things, to create new things, and that power should be wielded carefully and with proper intention.
  
  I think Dustbringers fits my tinkerer and strong feelings about the concept that those with greater power need to exercise greater control.
  
  You?
  
  I think that Elsecallers are my favorite. I love Jasnah and it seems to be all about self improvement, growth mindset and gaining wisdom.
  
  I'm not sure what my second favorite would be. Windrunners are pretty cool, tough choice.
  
  It is. I’m re-reading the Stormlight archive now in anticipation of the next book
  
  I got into the series very late, like SA: 4 was out - so I'm still catching up through all of his previous works. I just finished Mistborn era 1 (I think, I don't know where era 2 starts but I'm assuming it's post-Harmony). There's just something about Stormlight Archives though, it tickles me in a way Mistborn has not (not to say I disliked them, I just fucking love Kaladin).
  
  Yeah, era 2 is 300 or so years later. It has a lighter tone than the first era. Not that it can’t be heavy.
  
  It’s funny reading statements by Harmony in Stormlight and thinking “ha! I know who that is”
- Oi turn on the telly, the man is doin’ a silly walk!
- Dutch humor and jokes are pretty dark, as are half of the swear words.
  probably from living next to the Germans. But hey, most of the jokes these days are still about Belgians
  
  Half my family is dutch and many of my friends are full blooded, right off the boat dutch. Dutch humor can be so blunt and expertly delivered that it can literally cut you to the core if you arent accustomed. The only way i can describe it is if you have ever eaten dutch liquorice. Try a piece of dubbel zoute drop and you will understand everything you need to know about the dutch.
  
  But lets give some credit to the hispanics though. Mexican humor, especially with their nicknames, can be exceptionally ruthless as well. Their directness and humor has absolutely got to be on par with the best of the swamp germans.
  
  Kinda funny when you consider the good relations that the Dutch and Japanese had for a long time. Maybe Dutch humour changed?
  
  One of my Dutch friends explained to me that many of Dutch's darker swear words and related expressions tend to be derived from ruinous diseases. One of them roughly translating to something akin to, "I hope you catch the plague". Can you corroborate that?
  
  It was part of a greater discussion about the roots of cultural differences. The Netherlands have a much more persistent memory of the era of plague and thus their taboos derive from it. Here in the US, less so.
  
  We curse with pus (etter), tbc (tering), cholera (kolere), plague (pest) and more recently cancer (kanker). Although that often hits a bit too close home for some people. There's more that I'm forgetting right now. I have heard people describe something bad as being AIDS. So new ones are actually being added.
  
  One of the theories is that it came from Yiddish where diseases are also used as curses. Another popular theory is that because the Dutch population isn't very religious we switched to diseases because that's whst we feared in stead of God. The truth lays probably somewhere in the middle.
  
  And tuberculosis is also a popular one over there.
- I m french and I trough that we were the most sarcastic. I think it really depend of the language that you understand the most.
  
  Clearly not if you failed to notice the sarcasm from my fellow brit
  
  Did they? The Brit's comment was about whether Americans or Brits are most sarcastic. The French guy alleges that it's neither.
- We learned from the best.
- You guys just got too good at it.
- I'm neither British nor American, and whole-heartedly agree.
  
  Stephen Fry on the difference between American and British comedy
  
  Also made me think of a few of Mitchell & Webb's skits. Like Kill all the poor
- OOP said people, so the British don't count.

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