Intercultural Communication Through Humor Essay - 1345 Words

I delve into this research project hoping to acquire more information about humor and language. What makes some things funny and others not? How much of humor is based on culture or intellectual development? What I found was that no one really knows these answers yet. What there has been research on is humor and communication. To narrow my focus further, I chose to examine research papers relating specifically to intercultural communication through humor. I picked two studies to analyze which cover opposite ends of the intercultural humor spectrum. One suggests the best ways to use humor with a non-native speaker and the other discuses ways that intercultural humor can be seen as racist and disrespectful. Bell (2007) reports her†¦show more content†¦The NS and L2 also try to contextualize the joke and let people know it is supposed to be funny by adding signals such as laughing or smiling. They found that in these intercultural situations, unintentionally hurtful jokes caus ed by a misunderstanding are often understood as such and not acknowledged as rude. Bell pointed out that although there are â€Å"gaps in the cultural and linguistic knowledge† from both sides of the dialog, the L2 is not necessarily at a disadvantage in the conversation (p.38). Everyone instinctually aims to understand and be understood by whomever they are joking with, which evens the conversational playing field drastically. Bell’s paper was over twenty pages of methodically written research analysis. Although none of it was funny- including the â€Å"joking† conversations it cataloged- it did state many interesting points. This information could be relevant to teaching ESL through humor, but overall not something I think necessitates a detailed case study. All of the information gathered in her research could be found from simple observations from anyone with the urge to do so. Many of the points made in Bell’s research are true but could additional ly be applied to any two acquaintances, no matter what their backgrounds are. The need to avoid potentially harmful topics holds particularly true in a professional settingShow MoreRelated The Effect of Cultural Difference on Intercultural Marriage Essay1240 Words   |  5 PagesThe Effect of Cultural Difference on Intercultural Marriage As the world integrates, more and more people are leaving their mother lands to visit, study and work overseas. Young people now have more opportunities to meet prospective partners from other cultures than they had in the past. â€Å"The number of intercultural couples is increasing worldwide.† (Klein, par.3) Many intercultural couples claim that their relationships do not differentiate from monoculture relationships at first. 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