Tweedpipe

This evening I've been watching the tv program Vivement Dimanche on France 2.
The guest star was Jane Fonda, and not only is she still a very beautiful woman at 74 years old, but on watching I was again reminded how beautifully she speaks French. Probably not surprising though given that she lived in France for a number of years, and was of course married to Roger Vadim - the French film director.
There was one thing that did strike me as being rather strange though, given her obvious comprehensive knowledge of French. There were a couple of French stand-up comics also on the show, and I couldn't help noticing between camera shots that she didn't seem too amused. I found it hard to believe, but guessed that she may have had some difficulty in understanding them, and sure enough just afterwards she openly admitted that she barely understood a word during their humorous sketches.
That got me thinking. It's amazing that one can converse beautifully in a language on most subjects, and still have difficulty understanding humorous turns of phrase - from more than one artist.
One of the comedians was (imho) the very funny Roland Magdane - a particular favourite of mine. Admittedly he doesn't have what I would call a 'natural' Parisian accent, but maybe there's more to it than that. Humour of course can take many forms, but I'd be interested to know from those expats who consider that they speak fluent French, whether in general they find comedy - especially French comedians - relatively easy to follow or not.

Novocastrian

I don't (yet) consider myself fluent in French, but some time ago I was fluent in German. Understanding German humour was not a problem. There isn't any.

dmu

Hi, I don't follow present-day French stand-up comedians, because I can't stand them and never watch them!
Give me Raymond Devos or Coluche any time...

Tweedpipe

Novo,
You're right that the Germans aren't particularly noted for their sense of humour. I've worked there on numerous occasions - in three different cities, and the impression I always had was that generally they are so absorbed in their work, that humour has little chance.
Having worked much longer in France, my experience shows that there is also little or no humour in the workplace there either - for a different reason, generally linked to that French 'national custom' of complaining - except of course where food is concerned.

Dmu,
I agree with your choice of Coluche and Raymond Devos as fine comedians.
It took me some time to appreciate Coluche. Initially I took him to be a fool who I had trouble in understanding. But time made me realise he was quite the working man's, vulgar philosopher - not only 'a friend of wisdom' but also a very charitable person.
Devos of course is in a different, more refined league, and took me considerably longer to understand and appreciate. A magician with words. In fact I'd now go as far to say that anyone who can understand and laughs at Devos is truly worthy to wear the 'I've made it in French' hat.
For those who are not familiar - try the following:-

Raymond Devos 1

Raymond Devos 2

Chti Anglais

There's always Shirley and Dino, they remind me of one or two 70s/80s British acts and it's mainly visual but you get the chance to get used to some French banter. Likewise "Scene de menage" (evenings on M6) with subtitles can be helpful to get used to some of the everyday french in use. My French is pretty good but I don't get some of the gags without subtitles.

le plumber

I can relate to that. The French will laugh at something that really isn't that funny when you think about it, but I have noticed that if I'm sarcastic they can be a bit on the defensive because they assume I'm being nasty, when I'm only really having a bit of harmless fun.
I really used to have a good laugh when I lived/worked in the UK, and it is probably the thing I really miss the most. You can poke fun and call someone a plonker in the UK and being able to laugh at ourselves we can accept it. Its rarer in France though, and some may even get the hump if you crack a joke about them or what they have just done. Its not just the workplace either even at home my wife will scowl sometimes when I say something funny/sarcastic - but then again she was born and brought up not far from the German border, and as already pointed out they don't have a sense of humor

Tweedpipe

I've heard it said that English sarcasm and English humour are much the same thing.
There's no doubt about it though, I shocked the French in-laws a number of times with my well-meaning sarcastic attempts at humour.
I was occasionally tempted to describe a given French lady as follows: "I wouldn't say she was ugly, she's more of a cross between the two; pretty ugly”, but I soon realised that it would get completely lost in the translation. In fact 'assez laide' would be a downright insult.
Such are the complexities of learning a new language!

le plumber

A good few years back in the earlier stages of getting to grips with French, I tried to come out with, "she looks like a bulldog chewing a wasp", which didn't go down too well either. I don't think it was taken as an insult at first, they just didn't get it. I suppose, in hindsight, its just as well....

Tweedpipe

Elle ressemble à un bouledogue qui mâche une guêpe! A great one to hit them with.
On second thoughts I think I slightly prefer, On dirait un bouledogue qui mâche une guêpe! which I'm definitely going to try as soon as the opportunity raises itself, and I'll report back on the reactions.

Although I'll probably end up as the canine in the doghouse if I dare to say that about the mum-in-law - true as it may be!