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Culture differences in humor

You might think the quotes on this website are very funny, but there is a chance that a Chinese student is not amused at all. ‘Why are you laughing about your professors' actions?’
Humor is something we use to make the world a better place, but beware; it can also make life worse if humor is misinterpreted.
Humor can be seen as aggression or dominance in some cultures and it is better to avoid telling jokes. Also, if a joke is translated in another language the meaning can change. The following quote comes from the website of the China Daily: “Pssst! Did you hear about the American businessman whose tame joke drew a hilarious response from his Japanese audience? The American, curious why they liked the joke so much, later asked his official translator, who replied: "The joke was not appropriate, so I did not translate it. I simply said: 'The gentleman has told a joke. Please laugh.'"

Below some insights on differences between countries:

-British use more irony in their humor. They believe it breaks tension, but Americans might mistake this for sarcasm.

-When you have a meeting in the U.S., don’t try to impress the crowd with ethnic or gender-related humor. Keep it clean.

-Europeans like the sexual tinted jokes but be careful with those. Know your audience :)

-While American stand-up comedians tend to work solo, in China the two-person format is the dominant one. This is perhaps reflecting the cultural tendency toward collectivism vs. the American cult of the individual.

Read about John who lives in China and shares his insights on culture differences in humor:
http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2004/04/19/when-humor-runs-aground

Funny Asian jokes?
http://www.asianjoke.com/chinese.htm

The differences between the British, Americans and Aussies:
http://www.thehumorarchives.com/joke/Cultural_Differences_Explained

Let's share the funny professor stories!

Ahhh….academia. We can all agree that there’s nothing funny about long study hours; back-breaking bag packs; and super early classes. All the fun is to be had on a drunken Saturday evening……or basically at anytime that we are not in school. My fellow academicians, we have been looking for a good time in all of the wrong places. Our source of entertainment is right before our eyes…..on Monday morning in room 3145. Yes, I mean that monotoned voice professor with the black-rimmed glasses. We spend so much time dreading our academic experience that we forget that professors do some of the funniest and weirdest things one can ever imagine! For instance, I once had a professor who really liked cologne…..and he made sure he wore about 20 bottles of it every day! But I’m sure your stories can top that one. So the floor is yours. But please, keep it clean. Because in as much as we are poking fun at our professors, we don’t want to be disrespectful.

Funny professor quotes

"You have to regard everything I say with suspicion - I may be trying to bullshit you, or I may just be bullshitting you inadvertently."

"I want to see a show of hands. I want you to raise your hands not to tell me the answer, or because you know the answer, but because you have a gut feeling that you *think* you have the answer."

History teacher:
"I love vegetables, but I hate it when the bugs make me eat their leftovers!"

English Teacher: (to me)
"On your wedding night, you're going to leave your wife and do some calculus instead."