Can you recall a moment when a good joke helped you break the ice with someone despite a language barrier? When a witty one-liner defused the tension during negotiations? When a shared sense of humour turned a stranger into a friend?
And can you, perhaps, recall a situation when a joke happened to be so culturally inappropriate that it caused an eternal minute of awkward silence? Offended someone and damaged relationships?
In this article we will be talking about humour – what it is, why we use it, and, most importantly, why making jokes in cross-cultural interactions is a risky endeavour.
What is humour?
At first glance it seems obvious: humour is the ability to perceive and convey amusement through speech and action. Yet, it’s much more complex than that.
Humour is both entertainment and a defence mechanism in stressful or awkward situations. The science of psychology suggests that humour protects our nervous system by alleviating negative effects of distress, fear and anxiety. It allows people to face their inner fears in an amusing and, therefore, less scary way (S. Freud, 1928; Martin & Ford, 2018).
Why do people joke?
Humour serves a number of functions in social interactions.
- Social cohesion, collegiality and solidarity.
People tend to be attracted to those who share positive emotions and those who are alike. Sharing a good laugh is a powerful tool that helps strangers build connection. - Humour relieves pressure during arguments and disagreement. It “cushions” thorny subjects in conversations, reduces embarrassment and can be used as a face-saving strategy.
- Inclusion and exclusion from social groups. Just as a shared style of humour reinforces bonds and marks out members’ belonging to a group, a different style alienates people (Hua, 2014).
Where do some jokes fall flat?
A joke isn’t just an amusing expression. It actually involves a complex cognitive process. Research suggests that a joke may fall flat if the speaker(s) fails to process the language and recognize the meaning or purpose of the words; identify and appraise the joke; adopt the humorous mode and join in the joke’s intent (Bell and Attardo, 2010). Cultural gap and language barrier can hamper communication and mutual understanding between people of different backgrounds, and using humour is even more tricky due to these factors.
Now, why do some jokes succeed and build connection, whereas some fail and create distance between people?
Humour and culture
No matter where someone is from, we all experience similar feelings and emotions, and are able to express them through humour. However, the way people perceive and express humour is what makes the difference. And it is determined, to a great extent, by their cultural backgrounds.
But before we try to explain where this difference stems from, we need to understand what humour actually consists of.
What makes a phrase humorous?
Warren & McGraw (2015, 2016) define humour as a social act that “benignly” violates communication or language norms. A joke is positively startling because, unlike ordinary speech, it’s novel and unpredictable. It may take various forms such as paradoxes, surprises, and sarcasm.
An example: violation of linguistic norms
A pun, or a wordplay, where words, similar in sound but different in meaning are intentionally combined in a sentence is very common in the English language. Puns are often difficult to understand for non-native speakers, as it requires sufficient competence and flexibility in the language.
Humour is a social experience
Such norm violations are seen as amusing, only if they are acceptable among the people in the given context The perception is always ubjective, and people produce and react to humour so drastically differently across cultures.
To make it clearer, put aside the geo-political concept of ‘culture’ and look at its more accessible variations like ‘corporate culture’ and ‘family culture’. It’s unlikely that you joke in the same way with your boss as with your family and friends. In our daily lives, we constantly switch between our identities and adjust to the speople and social groups we’re interacting with. We do it intuitively in the familiar settings. When interacting cross-culturally, the shift doesn’t happen that easily, because we’re facing unfamiliar worldviews, norms, and language barriers.
Example – The concept of Face in the Chinese culture
One of the foundational norms in a number of other Asian cultures, including Chinese, is face-saving behavior. It can be roughly compared to the Western concepts of dignity and honour. It implies avoiding embarrassment and protecting each other’s reputation.
Disrespectful actions make a person “lose face” – these can be direct feedback, personal comments, raised voice, negative words and even jokes. The more rude and straightforward the action, the more devastating effect on the person’s “face” it has.
Now, compare it to the Australian culture, where common forms of humour are sarcasm, self-deprecation and the mocking of others, which would be a nightmare for face-saving cultures.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve discussed the role of humour in social interactions, how it’s produced and why it’s perceived differently across cultures. The outcomes can be summed up with a quote:
“humour is a universal human activity that most people experience many times over the course of a typical day and in all sorts of social contexts. At the same time, there are obviously important cultural influences on the way humour is used and the situations that are considered appropriate for laughter”.
(Martin & Ford, 2018)
References
Bell, N. Attardo, S. (2010). Failed humour: Issues in non-native speakers’ appreciation and understanding of humour. Intercultural Pragmatics, 7 (3), 423-447.
Freud, S. (1928). humour. Int. J. Psychoanal. 9, 1–6.
Hua, Z. (2014). Exploring intercultural communication: Language in action. 38-39
Martin, R. A., and Ford, T. (2018). The Psychology of humour: An Integrative Approach. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Academic Press.
Rogerson-Revell, P. (2007). Humour in business: A double-edged sword: A study of humour and style shifting in intercultural business meetings. Journal of Pragmatics, 39(1), 4-28.
Warren, C., & McGraw, A. P. (2015). Opinion: What makes things humorous. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112, 7105–7106.
Warren, C., & McGraw, A. P. (2016). Differentiating what is humorous from what is not. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 110, 407–430.
