英式幽默与美式幽默

Humour is a phenomenon which is influenced by culture. It can be difficult to determine what aspects define a certain sense of humour. A nation’s wit is linked to the historical development of the country. How funny somebody finds a certain incident depends on many factors including age， personal experience， level of education and geographical location. Therefore， humour is something which is not always transferable in another country.

What somebody from one area may find hilarious may not be amusing at all to somebody from another location. Whether or not someone gets a joke is determined by his interpretation， filtered by the cultural context.

What about when both countries speak the same mother tongue？ Does that mean that they will then share the same sense of humour， or can differences still occur？

Let’s take the example of Britain and America. Not only do Americans and British spell the word “humour” differently， most claim that American humor and British humour are quite different in nature. Time and time again， people say that Brits and Americans don’t “get” each other’s sense of humour. To what extent is this true， if at all？

There’s a received wisdom in the U.K. that Americans don’t get irony. It is often said to be one of the most common differences between the British and American sense of humour. This is of course not true. One of the major differences seems to be how often both nations use irony. Brits use irony on a daily basis.

We use it as liberally as prepositions in everyday speech. We tease our friends. We use sarcasm as a shield and a weapon. We avoid sincerity until it’s absolutely necessary. We mercilessly take the piss out of people we like or dislike and ourselves. This is very important. Our brashness and swagger is laden with equal portions of self-deprecation.

But it is not the foundation of American humour. I think Americans understand British irony （most of the time anyway！）； what they don’t understand is the need to use it so frequently. When Americans use irony， they tend to state that they were “only kidding”. They feel the need to make a joke more obvious than Brits do. Maybe this stems from a fear of offending people.

The American sense of humour is generally more slapstick than that in Britain. I think this arises from a cultural difference between the two. Their jokes are more obvious and forward， a bit like Americans themselves. British jokes， on the other hand， tend to be more subtle but with a dark or sarcastic undertone. There is usually a hidden meaning. This may stem from the fact that British culture is more reserved than American culture.

Americans say“Have a nice day” whether they mean it or not. Brits are terrified to say this. We tell ourselves it’s because we don’t want to sound insincere， but I think it might be for the opposite reason. We don’t want to celebrate anything too soon. Failure and disappointment lurk around every corner. This is due to our upbringing. Americans are brought up to believe they can be the next president of the United States. Brits are told， “It won’t happen for you.”

Yet certain American comedies have gained huge success in Britain and vice versa. Therefore， although there are differences between both comic styles， there is still an appreciation and understanding of the other sense of humour. Both the British and American versions of the comedy The Office are hugely successful on both sides of the Atlantic. Both shows have their own cultural differences， yet they portray a lifestyle which both Americans and Brits alike can relate to.

Although both nations have subtle differences in their wit， they can both appreciate the other’s sense of humour.

幽默是一种受文化影响的现象。是文化的哪些方面决定了某一种幽默感，这是很难确定的。一个民族的风趣与这个国家的历史演变有关。一个人发觉某件事的可笑程度依赖于很多因素，包括他的年龄、个人经历、受教育程度以及所处的地理位置。因此，幽默常常具有国别性。

一个地方来的人可能会捧腹大笑的事情，另一个地方来的人可能根本就不会觉得有趣。一个人是否会被一个笑话逗乐，由他是否理解来决定，而这种理解能力在别的文化语境中会被过滤掉。

当两个国家的国民操同一母语时，那会怎样呢？那会不会意味着他们将拥有同样的幽默感，抑或差别依然会存在呢？

我们以英国和美国为例来说明这个问题。美国人和英国人不仅拼写“幽默”这个单词不同，而且大多数人声称，美式幽默和英式幽默在本质上是有很大差别的。人们总是说英国人和美国人并不能理解彼此的幽默感。如果是的话，这在多大程度上是真的呢？

英国人普遍认为美国人不懂得讽刺。据说，这就是英式幽默和美式幽默最常见的区别之一。当然不是这么回事。最主要的差别之一，似乎是这两个国家的人多久使用一次讽刺手法。英国人每天都要讥讽别人。

我们在日常对话中大量地使用反讽，就如同使用介词一样频繁。我们取笑我们的朋友。我们把嘲讽当作防御的盾牌和进攻的武器。我们只有到万不得已时，才会用诚恳的语气说话。我们狠狠地取笑我们喜欢或者讨厌的人，也同样取笑我们自己。这一点是十分重要的。我们的自以为是与得意忘形，满载着同等程度的自嘲。

但这不是美式幽默的基础所在。我认为美国人懂得英国人的嘲讽，而且大多数时候都懂。他们所不懂的，是英国人使用讽刺为什么如此频繁。美国人使用讽刺时，通常说他们只不过是在开玩笑罢了。他们比英国人更明显感到开玩笑的必要，也许这是由一种害怕冒犯别人的心理造成的。

美国人的幽默感通常比英国人的更加恣意。我认为这是由两国的文化差异造成的。美国人的玩笑更加直白，有点像美国人自己的性格。另一方面，英国人的玩笑通常更加不易被察觉，但带有一种隐晦或嘲弄挖苦的意味，往往富含深意。这或许是因为英国文化比美国文化更加含蓄。

不管是否是认真的，美国人都会说“祝你今天愉快”，英国人却害怕这么说。我们告诉自己，这是因为我们不想听起来不真诚，但我想或许是出于相反的原因。我们不想过早地颂扬。挫败与失望潜伏于各个角落，这是我们的教育造成的。美国人从小就相信他们可以成为下一届总统，但是英国人会说：“这事可不会发生在你们身上。”

某些美国喜剧在英国取得了巨大的成功，英国喜剧在美国亦是如此。所以，尽管两国的喜剧风格存在差异，但对于对方的幽默感，两国人民还是彼此欣赏和理解的。在大西洋两岸，喜剧片《办公室》的美国版和英国版都非常成功。两部片子反映了不同的文化，但是描绘的是美国人和英国人都能产生共鸣的生活方式。

尽管英美两国在风趣幽默上有微妙的差别，但他们都能欣赏彼此的幽默感。