discussion Is sarcasm mostly an American/western humor?

[fememeist]

I noticed that some of my friends whom I met from other countries don't really understand sarcastic humor. This made me think that is it only the West that utilizes sarcasm in our linguistics? Is there another culture that uses it more? 

[aesthetic bih]

Where I'm from, it's considered rude. Unless it's among close friend circles

[Princess Aurora]

It depends on the context

[GraceRandolph]

Aren't British people really sarcastic? Maybe I'm wrong. 

[tost1]

8 minutes ago, Princess Aurora said:

It depends on the context

And we all exist in the context!

[Nico Robin]

I'm my country it's culture

[Vermouth]

51 minutes ago, GraceRandolph said:

Aren't British people really sarcastic? Maybe I'm wrong. 

It's permeates the very air that's breathed from birth in Britain.

[alexrex]

52 minutes ago, tost1 said:

And we all exist in the context!

 

[Yayo94]

In Australia sarcasm is so strong, I remember travelling with my fam to the US in the 00's and nobody would ever understand sarcasm there

[wigglytuffer]

Brits and Australians are notorious for being sarcasic, it's why they get on so much because the humour can be insulting and we just laugh at one another.

 

Americans are sarcastic also but it doesn't normally follow with an insult, Brits and Australians will normally always insult themselves or someone else in the process

 

That being said though, my ex boyfriend was Bulgarian and Slavic humour is BRUTAL. I'd sit there and he'd translate it into english for me and i'd be like 

[Onyxmage]

British people are the most sarcastic people (but usually in a more intelligent way) that ive ever met.  

Edited August 3 by Onyxmage

[BornUnbroken]

I actually think we're pretty terrible at identifying sarcasm. Or at least the whites in this country are. And I'm not sure about the rest of Latin America, but Mexicans are typically harsher with their humor than people in the US are too, my sarcasm in Spanish typically goes over well with family and friends in Mexico.

[Princess Aurora]

2 hours ago, tost1 said:

And we all exist in the context!

in which we all live 

[Bosque]

I am confused, why are people naming Great Britain as a counterexample as if it weren't considered a Western country?

[glitch]

As a Brit I do find that mainland Europeans tend to be a bit more literal and direct, but that might be native speakers vs those who speak English as a second or third language. I'm sure I would struggle to detect sarcasm in French.

 

I find the main difference between American and British sarcasm is American sarcasm is very on the nose. Like they change their tone and have to make it very obvious that they're joking. British people will deliver sarcasm in a very deadpan way, to the point where it sounds like they're being serious, which is why Americans don't pick up on it a lot of the time.

[RussianRoulette]

You bave to be joking. 

 

[Sad Beautiful Tragic]

Sarcasm isn't solely a Western concept, but its execution can vary greatly across cultures. British sarcasm, in particular, can be difficult for many people to understand. During my extensive travels in Asia, I've tried using sarcasm with people I've grown close to, but it often gets misunderstood or comes off as rude. Now, I mostly save sarcasm for interactions with fellow Brits.

 

Edited August 3 by Wonbin

[Mordecai]

3 hours ago, Yayo94 said:

In Australia sarcasm is so strong, I remember travelling with my fam to the US in the 00's and nobody would ever understand sarcasm there

 

2 hours ago, wigglytuffer said:

Brits and Australians are notorious for being sarcasic, it's why they get on so much because the humour can be insulting and we just laugh at one another.

 

Americans are sarcastic also but it doesn't normally follow with an insult, Brits and Australians will normally always insult themselves or someone else in the process

 

That being said though, my ex boyfriend was Bulgarian and Slavic humour is BRUTAL. I'd sit there and he'd translate it into english for me and i'd be like 

It's so funny that this thred was made by an American considering they're probably the least sarcastic of all the Anglosphere countries  I'm a kiwi and 100% relate to what you both say, you just can't banter with an Aussie/Brit/irish person the way you can an American or a Canadian

[Alldeezy]

No everyone in Australia is like that   but we are also fuckin assholes

[Dante Silva]

1 hour ago, Bosque said:

I am confused, why are people naming Great Britain as a counterexample as if it weren't considered a Western country?

Because the OP appears to be wholly unaware the heavily diluted form of sarcasm that permeates U.S. culture evolved from the first white settlers to North America from the 17th century, who were British.

 

Edited August 3 by Dante Silva

[Vermouth]

3 hours ago, Yayo94 said:

In Australia sarcasm is so strong, I remember travelling with my fam to the US in the 00's and nobody would ever understand sarcasm there

Irony there is a thing for smoothing clothes?

[Bosque]

10 minutes ago, Dante Silva said:

Because the OP appears to be wholly unaware the heavily diluted form of sarcasm that permeates U.S. culture evolved from the first white settlers to North America from the 17th century, who were British.

 

Not sure where you got that? The OP never limited themselves to the US at all. They asked whether sarcasm was mostly an "American/western" thing. In 99% of casual conversations people refer to Britain and Australia as "western countries", so unless you specify otherwise, "sarcasm also exists in Britain/Australia" isn't really an answer to OPs question 

Edited August 3 by Bosque

[cOe]

Here in Poland people are definitely sarcastic

[Dante Silva]

1 minute ago, Bosque said:

Not sure where you got that? they never mentioned the US at all. They asked whether sarcasm was mostly an "American/western" thing. In 99% of casual conversations people refer to Britain and Australia as "western countries", so unless you specify otherwise, "sarcasm also exists in Britain/Australia" isn't really an answer to OPs question 

The thread title:

 

"Is sarcasm mostly an American/western humor?".

 

As sarcasm primarily migrated from the U.K. sarcasm is not "mostly" an American thing because the U.S. version of sarcasm is a diluted, secondary evolution of U.K. culture that landed in the U.S. with the first caucasian U.S. citizens who were from the U.K.

[Bosque]

5 minutes ago, Dante Silva said:

The thread title:

 

"Is sarcasm mostly an American/western humor?".

 

As sarcasm primarily migrated from the U.K. sarcasm is not "mostly" an American thing because the U.S. version of sarcasm is a diluted, secondary evolution of U.K. culture that landed in the U.S. with the first caucasian U.S. citizens who were from the U.K.

Yes and the UK is included in "western" in almost any casual context so I'm pretty sure the OP was asking about sarcasm in countries like China, SEA countries, Middle Eastern, African etc. countries, and a few people in this thread have in fact said that their experience using sarcasm in such countries was different from the "West"

Edited August 3 by Bosque