Faking laughter to blend with Canadian humour
Apr 10th 2012, 6:57 pm
#31
Slightly Canadian
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: St. John's, Newfoundland
Posts: 10,129
Re: Faking laughter to blend with Canadian humour
See, knowing the cultural references is essential in order to "get it"
Either newfies are the butt of the joke, or the plane crashed into a large funeral cortège. Ones is arguably funny... the other not.
Are "Irish" jokes still acceptable in the UK? Newfie jokes seem to me to be on the same thin ice.
Either newfies are the butt of the joke, or the plane crashed into a large funeral cortège. Ones is arguably funny... the other not.
Are "Irish" jokes still acceptable in the UK? Newfie jokes seem to me to be on the same thin ice.
I have to say, being a reasonably assimilated Can/Brit, that I do find much of Canadian, mainstream TV humour to be OTT farce, slapstick and schtick. Subtle, ironic and sarcastic, it is not. Mainstream CBC sitcoms, are on the whole, risible pap. (Little Mosque on the Prairie, Mr D, etc etc.). Of course, I've been out of the UK for almost 8 years so the same might be true of mainstream BBC sitcoms.
Radio 4 comedy is still good though and required listening in my house.
Apr 10th 2012, 7:16 pm
#32
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 3,363
Re: Faking laughter to blend with Canadian humour
Agreed.......I found him a hilarious character but similar to David Brent in the Office at times it was so cringeworthy.
AH HA!! 
Apr 10th 2012, 7:35 pm
#33
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: back to where I came from
Posts: 459
Re: Faking laughter to blend with Canadian humour
I feel for you.... soon you will be missing Marmite and cheese.
Apr 10th 2012, 7:47 pm
#34
.
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 20,185
Re: Faking laughter to blend with Canadian humour
I've been here (Southern Ontario) for 4 months now and I love the weather, the vast open spaces and huge amount of water...
BUT I am finding the sense of humour here very basic and comparable to a child's humour. When I make jokes or funny statements that my friends and random people would find hilarious back home, the people here either don't think it's funny or more often don't realise I have made a joke and just give me a puzzled expression.
And what's more tiresome is I find myself having to fake laughter all the time so I don't look like a grumpy numptie in a group while everyone around me is having a seizure from laughing at a fart joke someone just made. Fart and poo jokes are something I laughed at when I was 9. Now I'm 31 I find it awkward when everyone around me still uses such a childish and basic kind of humour. Once my partner's brother made a joke about buying a wheelchair on Kijiji and putting alloy wheels on it. The entire family (aged 24-58) laughed uncontrollably for 4 minutes. After about 2 minutes of faking a laugh my face began to hurt and I felt silly. "ahahah you're hilarious!!!" everyone said to the guy. Meanwhile anytime I make a joke I have to then say "no, it was a joke" and then slowly explain the whole thing to them until they say "ohh I get it" or they give up and start taking over me.
Also, sarcasm? The best way to get a confused look from someone is to use humourous sarcasm.
Let's go see a comedy show. Oh will Ferrel is on! He is SO funny! Do you remember that one time he made that joke about the doctor who couldn't stop farting? Oh man that was SO FREAKIN' AWESOME!
I used to be hilarious in the UK. My friends relied on my humour to brighten up any situation. Here I just confuse people and have to explain my (super simple) jokes and feel like I am ruining the mood if I don't pretend to laugh at every fart or poo joke that is told. And so I find myself dumbing myself down and also telling fart and poop jokes and abandoning any form of witty humour.
BUT I am finding the sense of humour here very basic and comparable to a child's humour. When I make jokes or funny statements that my friends and random people would find hilarious back home, the people here either don't think it's funny or more often don't realise I have made a joke and just give me a puzzled expression.
And what's more tiresome is I find myself having to fake laughter all the time so I don't look like a grumpy numptie in a group while everyone around me is having a seizure from laughing at a fart joke someone just made. Fart and poo jokes are something I laughed at when I was 9. Now I'm 31 I find it awkward when everyone around me still uses such a childish and basic kind of humour. Once my partner's brother made a joke about buying a wheelchair on Kijiji and putting alloy wheels on it. The entire family (aged 24-58) laughed uncontrollably for 4 minutes. After about 2 minutes of faking a laugh my face began to hurt and I felt silly. "ahahah you're hilarious!!!" everyone said to the guy. Meanwhile anytime I make a joke I have to then say "no, it was a joke" and then slowly explain the whole thing to them until they say "ohh I get it" or they give up and start taking over me.
Also, sarcasm? The best way to get a confused look from someone is to use humourous sarcasm.
Let's go see a comedy show. Oh will Ferrel is on! He is SO funny! Do you remember that one time he made that joke about the doctor who couldn't stop farting? Oh man that was SO FREAKIN' AWESOME!
I used to be hilarious in the UK. My friends relied on my humour to brighten up any situation. Here I just confuse people and have to explain my (super simple) jokes and feel like I am ruining the mood if I don't pretend to laugh at every fart or poo joke that is told. And so I find myself dumbing myself down and also telling fart and poop jokes and abandoning any form of witty humour.
Apr 10th 2012, 7:57 pm
#35
Best Place on Earth- LMAO
Joined: Dec 2004
Location: BC
Posts: 571
Re: Faking laughter to blend with Canadian humour
I tend to use sarcasm and mixing in a bit of stating the bleeding obvious when dealing with certain types of people.
Examples of this
Standing at the bar with an empty glass trying to attract the bar persons attention
Are you waiting for a drink?
No Im waiting for a bus
In a restaurant
Would you like to see a menu
No Id like to see a movie
At a gas station
Do you want it filled with gas?
No fill it with sand it runs better
At a bank/credit union
Is there anything else I can do for you today?
Wanna pay my next visa bill or next mortgage payment.
Some might find this approach rude but because of my accent I usually end up repeating the answer they want to hear.
Examples of this
Standing at the bar with an empty glass trying to attract the bar persons attention
Are you waiting for a drink?
No Im waiting for a bus
In a restaurant
Would you like to see a menu
No Id like to see a movie
At a gas station
Do you want it filled with gas?
No fill it with sand it runs better
At a bank/credit union
Is there anything else I can do for you today?
Wanna pay my next visa bill or next mortgage payment.
Some might find this approach rude but because of my accent I usually end up repeating the answer they want to hear.
Apr 10th 2012, 8:47 pm
#37
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 136
Re: Faking laughter to blend with Canadian humour
Wait till you have been here a few more years and are bored stupid ,you will piss your pants at the poo and fart jokes!!!
As Oink said the scenery is about as good as it gets
As Oink said the scenery is about as good as it gets
Apr 10th 2012, 9:18 pm
#38
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 139
Re: Faking laughter to blend with Canadian humour
Yes, lots of great scenery to be seen here (if a bit flat compared to back home) and some of the best sunsets I've ever experienced! But then I am from Ireland and grew up surrounded by breathtaking scenery and lots of rolling green hills and beautiful old Architecture. The lakes here and sunsets are beautiful. People complain about the weather but the snow and ice brings lots of fun with skating and sleding and in the warmer months there is so much sunshine it's surprising!
I think where I am gets a lot of cultural overlap from the states only being a couple of hours drive and their sense of humour has rubbed off here. It's just the first place I've been where I've not been able to have a good side-splitting laugh with the locals even when with relative strangers. Maybe the Canadian sincerity theory is true. It's just taking some getting used to. I expect moving to Japan would be that much harder.
I think where I am gets a lot of cultural overlap from the states only being a couple of hours drive and their sense of humour has rubbed off here. It's just the first place I've been where I've not been able to have a good side-splitting laugh with the locals even when with relative strangers. Maybe the Canadian sincerity theory is true. It's just taking some getting used to. I expect moving to Japan would be that much harder.
Apr 10th 2012, 11:21 pm
#39
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2007
Location: British Columbia
Posts: 1,371
Re: Faking laughter to blend with Canadian humour
You have to look at this from an anthropological perspective.
Canadian sincerity is a reality, and likely a result of generations of mass immigration from people of different backgrounds/languages/cultures. As a result, there is no unifying sense of humour that you'd find in the UK. The unifying theme is probably that Canadians are used to accommodating one another and newcomers. Being sarcastic and ironic works against this national urge to be accommodating. It could be considered *gasp* politically incorrect or worse yet - rude! Also consider the accent - a UK accent to a Canadian is an accent of an authority figure. Combine the snark and the accent and it's a recipe for disaster when unexpected.
However, the Canadian sense of humour is varied, I've found (at least amongst those in Vancouver), but at a high level (especially on television) it's relatively neutral. That's just the culture - the social norms.
Saying this, there are Canadians who appreciate the British sense of humour and appreciate a more sophisticated style of humour than what you've been exposed to. They aren't watching the lowest-common-denominator shows like Corner Gas, but are downloading stand-up, and so on. You simply haven't found the right people yet, or they haven't ever been exposed to British humour. In any case, it still comes down to the local culture just being different.
Edit: Many "American" comedians are actually Canadian, and attribute their success in America to being able to act as the underdog, observing America from afar, from the outsider's perspective. That's where the Canadian sense of humour flourishes. It's a different game. It's just a different sense of humour.
Finally, I've been here a long time too. You'll get used to it.
Canadian sincerity is a reality, and likely a result of generations of mass immigration from people of different backgrounds/languages/cultures. As a result, there is no unifying sense of humour that you'd find in the UK. The unifying theme is probably that Canadians are used to accommodating one another and newcomers. Being sarcastic and ironic works against this national urge to be accommodating. It could be considered *gasp* politically incorrect or worse yet - rude! Also consider the accent - a UK accent to a Canadian is an accent of an authority figure. Combine the snark and the accent and it's a recipe for disaster when unexpected.
However, the Canadian sense of humour is varied, I've found (at least amongst those in Vancouver), but at a high level (especially on television) it's relatively neutral. That's just the culture - the social norms.
Saying this, there are Canadians who appreciate the British sense of humour and appreciate a more sophisticated style of humour than what you've been exposed to. They aren't watching the lowest-common-denominator shows like Corner Gas, but are downloading stand-up, and so on. You simply haven't found the right people yet, or they haven't ever been exposed to British humour. In any case, it still comes down to the local culture just being different.
Edit: Many "American" comedians are actually Canadian, and attribute their success in America to being able to act as the underdog, observing America from afar, from the outsider's perspective. That's where the Canadian sense of humour flourishes. It's a different game. It's just a different sense of humour.
Finally, I've been here a long time too. You'll get used to it.
Last edited by Lychee; Apr 10th 2012 at 11:34 pm.
Apr 10th 2012, 11:24 pm
#40
Banned
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,088
Re: Faking laughter to blend with Canadian humour
Alan Partridge isn't that funny. 
Depends on the context of the humour I find, you've got to seat it in a cultural reference Canadians understand, like making fun of Americans. Clearly they're not going to understand Alan Partridge, because they don't understand British culture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhTZ_tgMUdo
I lived in the US a long time and I've lived here awhile, British people do find humour in things I don't find funny. For example I think Little Britain is total crap.
Britain has a more homogenous culture perhaps than the US or Canada, so it's possible to make fun of things that leave non-British people clueless.
I find that I find certain American TV shows a lot funnier than British people do, basically because I've lived in North America so long I get the cultural references when they start talking about whatever it is.
What was that show on CBC about the American living in Canada? I always thought that was quite funny.
Depends on the context of the humour I find, you've got to seat it in a cultural reference Canadians understand, like making fun of Americans. Clearly they're not going to understand Alan Partridge, because they don't understand British culture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhTZ_tgMUdo
I lived in the US a long time and I've lived here awhile, British people do find humour in things I don't find funny. For example I think Little Britain is total crap.
Britain has a more homogenous culture perhaps than the US or Canada, so it's possible to make fun of things that leave non-British people clueless.
I find that I find certain American TV shows a lot funnier than British people do, basically because I've lived in North America so long I get the cultural references when they start talking about whatever it is.
What was that show on CBC about the American living in Canada? I always thought that was quite funny.
Bit arogant, is it not, to suppose that we are funnier and have a monopoly in what splits one sides.
Apr 10th 2012, 11:31 pm
#42
.
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 20,185
Re: Faking laughter to blend with Canadian humour
You have to look at this from an anthropological perspective.
Canadian sincerity is a reality, and likely a result of generations of mass immigration from people of different backgrounds/languages/cultures. As a result, there is no unifying sense of humour that you'd find in the UK. The unifying theme is probably that Canadians are used to accommodating one another and newcomers. Being sarcastic and ironic works against this national urge to be accommodating. It could be considered *gasp* politically incorrect or worse yet - rude! The cultural norm is to be superficially polite. Being snarky, sarcastic and ironic - when unexpected - isn't considered humourous to a Canadian. It's considered rude. Also consider the accent - a UK accent to a Canadian is an accent of an authority figure. Combine the snark and the accent and it's a recipe for disaster when unexpected.
However, the Canadian sense of humour is varied, I've found (at least amongst those in Vancouver), but at a high level (especially on television) it's relatively neutral. That's just the culture - the social norms.
Saying this, there are Canadians who appreciate the British sense of humour and appreciate a more sophisticated style of humour. They aren't watching the lowest-common-denominator shows like Corner Gas, but are downloading UK stand-up, and so on. You simply haven't found the right people yet, or they haven't ever been exposed to British humour.
Edit: Many "American" comedians are actually Canadian, and attribute their success in America to being able to act as the underdog, observing America from afar, from the outsider's perspective. That's where the Canadian sense of humour flourishes. It's a different game. It's just a different sense of humour.
Canadian sincerity is a reality, and likely a result of generations of mass immigration from people of different backgrounds/languages/cultures. As a result, there is no unifying sense of humour that you'd find in the UK. The unifying theme is probably that Canadians are used to accommodating one another and newcomers. Being sarcastic and ironic works against this national urge to be accommodating. It could be considered *gasp* politically incorrect or worse yet - rude! The cultural norm is to be superficially polite. Being snarky, sarcastic and ironic - when unexpected - isn't considered humourous to a Canadian. It's considered rude. Also consider the accent - a UK accent to a Canadian is an accent of an authority figure. Combine the snark and the accent and it's a recipe for disaster when unexpected.
However, the Canadian sense of humour is varied, I've found (at least amongst those in Vancouver), but at a high level (especially on television) it's relatively neutral. That's just the culture - the social norms.
Saying this, there are Canadians who appreciate the British sense of humour and appreciate a more sophisticated style of humour. They aren't watching the lowest-common-denominator shows like Corner Gas, but are downloading UK stand-up, and so on. You simply haven't found the right people yet, or they haven't ever been exposed to British humour.
Edit: Many "American" comedians are actually Canadian, and attribute their success in America to being able to act as the underdog, observing America from afar, from the outsider's perspective. That's where the Canadian sense of humour flourishes. It's a different game. It's just a different sense of humour.
I agree with your theory. North American 'humour' has to translate across cultures. It has to be funny to an Ukrainian as well as a Nigerian, thus it tends to be slapstick; all cultures find people falling over funny.
Apr 11th 2012, 12:14 am
#43
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 22
Re: Faking laughter to blend with Canadian humour
So now I only hang with english, irish or ozzies or kiwis.
Review of cananda: tough to get a job, jump through hoops with 5 interviews, get a job and evevryone is a backstabbing ladder climber. No sense of community and by god the humour is like having a lobotomy.
I've watched my boss and good mate at work get sacked in the most despicable way ever!!
Roll on Sydney in two months time.
Apr 11th 2012, 1:00 am
#44
x 0 x
Joined: Mar 2008
Location: Ottawa
Posts: 909
Re: Faking laughter to blend with Canadian humour
I work with 2 Scottish, 2 English, 1 Libyan, 4 Quebecers, 1 Korean, + 25 Canadians and a few other nationalities.
The joking around the office is very much between the Scottish and English and somewhat with the Canadians and a little less the Quebecers. The other nations do not get it at all.
I share an office with a Canadian and at first he was confused by the humor but got his head around it. We are now a tag team when the project managers walk in the room...so much so that they often forget what they were going to ask.
What I do like is I am the office joker and have done a few stunts which whilst cautious, went down a storm. To which the management team have not only loved it but also come to me with some ideas of their own.
When the management team were at a big off-site meeting, one of the Scottish managers mentioned someone in the office had volunteered to do his anti-corruption training for a case of beer.....the team laughed their heads off and someone said is must be John. It did take them some time to calm down the head of HR who could not see the joke in it.
What I think I am trying to say is the Canadians I work with actually like the British sense of humour, once they got use to it.
The joking around the office is very much between the Scottish and English and somewhat with the Canadians and a little less the Quebecers. The other nations do not get it at all.
I share an office with a Canadian and at first he was confused by the humor but got his head around it. We are now a tag team when the project managers walk in the room...so much so that they often forget what they were going to ask.
What I do like is I am the office joker and have done a few stunts which whilst cautious, went down a storm. To which the management team have not only loved it but also come to me with some ideas of their own.
When the management team were at a big off-site meeting, one of the Scottish managers mentioned someone in the office had volunteered to do his anti-corruption training for a case of beer.....the team laughed their heads off and someone said is must be John. It did take them some time to calm down the head of HR who could not see the joke in it.
What I think I am trying to say is the Canadians I work with actually like the British sense of humour, once they got use to it.
Last edited by JB0591; Apr 11th 2012 at 1:02 am.
Apr 11th 2012, 1:12 am
#45
Beep
Joined: Jan 2009
Location: Here
Posts: 8,311
Re: Faking laughter to blend with Canadian humour
I'm the 2nd funniest guy in my office