Cultural differences in Europe from jokes

With the deepening of European integration, the word "European" appears more and more frequently. Who is a real European? What are their personality characteristics? Have you ever heard this joke? "Maybe it can help us understand this problem.

Humor is a tool for cross-cultural understanding.

"Have you ever heard this joke? There are about 60 jokes in the book, but it is not just a collection of jokes. Before each joke, the editor will write a short comment, which will not only help readers better understand the meaning of the joke, but also reveal the personality and cultural characteristics of different nationalities revealed behind the joke. Editors believe that humor is the best tool for cross-cultural understanding. This book allows readers to understand the cultural differences in Europe while laughing heartily.

Richard Hill, the editor of this book, is British. He lives in Brussels, Belgium all the year round, specializing in the cultural and national characteristics of European countries. He is a good cross-cultural expert. "Have you ever heard this joke? Hill wrote it to me after doing research. Every joke in the book is available in English, Dutch, French and German.

Describe racial and cultural differences with jokes.

Europeans like humor. A considerable part of this humor stems from ethnic differences and the collision of different cultures. Hill once said that a nation's character is often very complicated, and its formation is not only related to history, but also the accumulation of geography, language, customs, clothing and other factors. A short joke may not fully reflect the characteristics of a nation, but a good joke can hit the nail on the head and reveal the most special characteristics of a nation.

The first joke in this book can be said to be a classic in this respect. It talks about the "composition" of heaven and hell: in heaven, the British should be policemen, the French should be cooks, the Germans should be mechanics, the Italians should be lovers, and the Swiss should be housekeepers; In hell? Germans are policemen, English are cooks, French are mechanics and Italians are managers. Hill said in his comments that the joke was "outdated", especially the description of hell. Now the German police are also very polite, and the British chefs are sometimes quite good. Italians, if they want to, will not be inferior to others in organization. However, Hill put this joke at the front of the book, apparently because it has been used to describe the personality differences of different ethnic groups in Europe for many years.

Why do some Europeans still tell these old jokes? There is a phenomenon worth pondering. Whenever European integration encounters difficulties, some people will use these classic jokes to illustrate the difficulties of integration. There is a feeling of self-ridicule: since the establishment of the system is still so difficult, it is certainly not an easy task to integrate such a group of Europeans with different personalities.

Europeans like to ridicule each other with jokes.

In his book, Hill quoted Goethe as saying that when people laugh at each other, they can fully show their personality characteristics. European countries are small, with many nationalities, different religions and constant disputes. The edge of European humor is always directed at neighboring countries or other nationalities. This booklet also collects a lot of jokes about this. For example, the French make up jokes and laugh at the Belgians as stupid "bumpkins". One day, a Belgian found a monkey and asked the police what to do. The policeman said, "Take it to the zoo." The next day, the police saw the man strolling in the street with the monkey and asked him, "I remember telling you to take him to the zoo." "Yes," replied the Belgian. "I took him to the zoo yesterday, and I'm taking him to the movies today."

In Europe, the Dutch are known for their frugality, so they are often teased. There is a joke that an American pilot flew to Europe for the first time, and the instructor told him that you saw a large green land after flying over the Atlantic Ocean, and that was Europe; If there is a white ribbon on the ground, it is the Netherlands, where local people are drying used toilet paper. Seeing this joke, I remembered an old Dutch man I knew. He goes to see his son every week. Every time he comes back from his son, his son asks him to call home to report his safety. In order to save this phone bill, he thought of a trick. He and his son agreed that if the phone rang three times, he would have arrived home safely. On one occasion, my son forgot to make an appointment, answered the phone and was severely reprimanded by him.

No country in the world is as interdependent as European countries. In the past 2000 years, there was a 1 year war in Europe on average every five years. However, the war did not make Europeans go further and further, but brought them closer and closer. This is because Europeans share the same values. Lewis, a British expert on cross-cultural studies, said that Europeans have formed a huge, attractive, talented and creative family. Unfortunately, like real families, they have setbacks, emotional changes, quarrels, love and hate. Hill's purpose in compiling this collection of jokes is to promote mutual understanding among Europeans, which he believes is of great significance to Europe that is moving towards integration.