It's a Joke?

The French have jokes, but do they have a sense of humour?

Only in 1932 did the French Academy, www.academie-francaise.fr give it's approval of the noun "humour". Prior to that people knew "esprit" (wit), "farce" (prank) and "bouffonnerie" (drollery), whereas "humeur" was and still is a state of mind or mood. Generally speaking, when the French laugh they're either laughing AT someone or at a puerile joke or "jeu de mots" (play on word). Some nations can laugh at themselves but the French don't do self-deprecation much. So public displays of laughter are generally frowned upon (one of the reasons some think Brits and Americans are rude). For instance, a little joke like: "There are three types of economists, those who can count and those who can't", will at least get a little chuckle from an English-speaker, whereas the French are far too Cartesian and logical to understand the nonsensical. The French love jokes about sex and bodily functions and with heavy word play. Here's a typical example: "Je vais ouvrir un fast food et l'appeler 'Ma Bite Mickey' ! Pourquoi ? Parce que McDonald's a beaucoup de succès!" Get it? (You're not missing much if you don't!) I do believe that this is directly linked to the languages themselves, French being very direct and English being far more nuanced. So if you were wondering... this is why you still get Benny Hill re-runs and that Jerry Lewis has cult status in France!!!