30, September, 2024

Episode 221: Do you like a good laugh ?

In this podcast, you’ll hear vocabulary about the many types of humour from slapstick to dry humour, and we ask if humour travels well.

Podcast: What makes you laugh?

by English Podcasts | Podcasts in English

Welcome back to English-Podcasts. In this episode we talk about what makes us laugh. People often say that the British have a good sense of humour, and we certainly enjoy a good laugh. How would you describe comedy styles in your country? Listen up and enjoy our “amusing” conversation packed full of great vocabulary for language learning.

Notes

Join us as we give our opinions on the different types of humour, we discuss;

Slapstick

Silly humour

Dark humour, sometimes known as “gallows humour”

Observational humour often seen in stand-up sets

Situational comedy, known as “sit coms”, such as Friends

Dry humour when someone says something in a dead pan tone, this is typically Irish

Wordplay, known as puns, often seen in Cristmas crackers

Sureal humour, we enjoyed this with Monty Python

Witty humour, the clever use of words

Parady and satire

Recap & Takeaways

We all agree that understanding jokes in a new language is one of the most difficult steps for language learners.

Understanding a joke doesn’t only involve undertanding the vocabulary and the grammar, but also the cultural context and subtle nuances.

It’s for this reason that humour doesn’t always travel well, and explaining a joke is really painful, especially when no-one laughs !

So, if you want to take your English learning to another level, you should listen to humourous TV shows and podcasts. Bear in mind that understanding the culture will go a long way to understanding the funny side of a situation.

Have fun and enjoy !