Is it just me or does it seem like *most* people, for whom English is not their first language, do not pick up on sarcasm very well. I understand that it's often hard to know for sure in writing (on the Internet) - but "*most" of the time, most Aussies, Brits, Canadians, and Americans pick up on it, when others have a hard time recognizing it.
I realize that I use it quite often, maybe too often. I notice that many times, those that take it literally, are people for whom English is not their first language.
So... just wondering if it's primarily and English language thing.
Yep. Probably.
Nope. Probably not.
I have no fucks to give.
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Folks, I understand the literal translation issues from one language to another, I'm asking if it's a cultural thing. So far it doesn't seem to be. But I could have done a better job wording the question differently.
I'm Afrikaans, English second language, I have 3 more languages I can speak, I am very Sarcastic in Afrikaans, the other the 3 other language cultures are not very "fluent" in sarcasm because it seems they don't have the mental capability do understand what's going on if a person is being sarcastic. To test the theory, Xhosa, Zulu, South Sotho. Can also either speak Afrikaans or English most of the time, I would make a joke with them in either their home language or Afrikaan or English, tell them that there is a snake in the sugar pot, (they steal a lot and sugar is also commonly stolen), it wouldn't make sense to put a snake in your household appliances or with your food, but they believe it, with all their hart and soul, even when you tell them it was a joke they will still think it's in there and you might be lying about it not being there.
Your answer, in my opinion all languages can have A sarcastic individual, but the culture and educational background of the people speaking that language makes the difference, in Nigeria French people won't be sarcastic, in France they are very sarcastic.
There is a huge difference between your first language and your second language. Even if you know your second language backwards forwards and sideways it still isn't you mother tongue. So when people start using words to mean something it doesn't, it can get confusing... If they live somewhere where they only use there second language and have been living their basically their whole lives, they will be better at picking up on sarcasm. Have you ever watched Shakespeare? There is a ton of sarcasm in Shakespeare... But a lot of people have trouble understanding it because Shakespeare is quite different from modern English. It's not that we don't get sarcasm it's that we have trouble understanding Shakespeare. I mean my mom has been taking me to see Shakespeare since before I could walk... So I have no trouble with it but a lot of people do.
Nope, sarcasm definitely exists in other languages. It's just much more difficult to pick out when it's in a language other than your native language.
My French class was reading a book with a really sarcastic main character, but most of the time, the sarcasm went right over our heads :P I think it's because our brains are too busy translating to be analyzing the speaker's intentions.
I think word play is common is most languages. Granted I only speak English, but I don't think sarcasm is mostly an English thing. Being sarcastic is a trait, haha, some people are, some aren't. So, yea, I think it's possible for non-English speakers to be very sarcastic.
What an embarrassing post! What's next, a question asking if proper pronunciation is an English-only thing? I mean, because lots of the foreigners who come to the US speak English with an accent that makes them hard to understand at times, but when Canadians and British people come visit, I can understand them perfectly even with their accent.
well then you should have tons of fun here buddy. There are plenty of atrociously stupid questions that make this one look quite average.
Do you have a reading comprehension level above 3rd grade?
If you do, please see the update to the question. I've never travelled around the world. I Was just wondering if it was a Western cultural thing. I wasn't thinking about thinking about other Western countries that speak French, Spanish, etc.
No, I don't have reading comprehension above the third grade because I don't speak English. Third-grade and higher is an English-only thing! All other languages stop at the second grade, unless you're in Africa where they stop after first grade.
Not at all. Sarcasm is pretty big in Spain, at least in my circle of friends. I'm a very sarcastic person, and I highly doubt it's because I studied in a British school xD I'm pretty good at picking up on sarcasm, but I have a harder time when it's in English, than when it's in Spanish, simply because Spanish is my first language. Sometimes English speakers use a word that I don't understand and that makes me not be able to pick up the sarcasm. I think many people feel that same way.
Sorry, can't believe you, I need to maintain hopes that he will stay alive xD I actually thought she was going to fight Lagertha and obviously die, but I wasn't expecting her to die like that... still cheered though hahaha
It's not because of the English language but rather the inexperience of people who are learning it. It's hard to tell when someone's being sarcastic in another language unless you've studied it for ages and have real life experience with it, which most people don't have.
To be fair, I do not think that Americans get sarcasm either. Maybe English speakers in the UK, India, or Australia get it, but Americans in particular seem entirely oblivious to sarcasm and irony among other literary devices. It might even relate to their style of interpreting the Bible wherein stringent literalism is always emphasized.
No, sarcasm is an universal figure of speech. There are several well-known writers and poets from mant languages that became famous for it's masterful use.
It must be a translation problem. Surely, if you're using sarcasm in English, usually those who have it as the first language will have an easier time identifying it.
German, French and Luxembourgish have it too. It's just more difficult to recognise if it's not your mother tongue and on the Internet it can be difficult if people don't use emojis
The reason most people don't get sarcasm when English isn't their 1st language is cause they're concentrating more on the language itself than inflections and innuendos. If they speak their language, they'll be more sarcastic and can pick up sarcasm way easier, duh 😛
Definitely sarcasm in Spanish. I think for someone who has it as a second language it can be hard bc not only do you need to learn the formalities of the language but also figures of speech or sayings that don't directly translate or don't directly mean how the words are defined bc of their respective histories. But to your point, yes but you need the skill and understanding to determine what's between the lines and not being said. Hope that makes sense! I won't bore you with etymology ;j
No sarcasm is a universal thing. However if you are delivering sarcasm in English to a person whose second language is English, they may not understand because te literal meaning of your statement is different than the translation.
i speak English and some Spanish and a decent amount of latin. there isn't much sarcasm in latin but some in Spanish. i don't know about other languages. i believe that some languages do have sarcasm and others (latin for example) very much do not
I honestly don't know since sarcasm is more a tone of the voice and not so much the words. As there aren't really sarcastic words but there is a sarcastic tone of voice.
I think you may be right. As much as I hope common sense overrides direct language translation, sarcasm is often oist on people foreign to the English speaking world.
It's not that other cultures don't know the concept of sarcasm, more like, for example, when you Americans say something about the super bowl, we the rest of the world wouldn't be able to know where to start with that word since we don't really know what it is about. Or like the history of Thanksgiving, etc In my experience, Germans, Indonesians, and Thais all know the concept of sarcasm. There are just subtle differences in the style
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