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Re:Getting to Know Americans by danieldk on Monday April 04, 2011 @10:36AM (#2406582)
Indeed, but Britain is probably the other extreme. I believe there is only one country that could've produced magnificent material such as Monty Python or Fawlty Towers ;).
Re:Getting to Know Americans by geebee on Monday April 04, 2011 @01:22PM (#2407482)
But what country could have produced "Airplane!", or "O Brother Where Art Thou?"

You could say that something like "Seinfeld" (and "Curb Your Enthusiasm") is more the product of a very unusual subculture (in fact, this is the basis for much of the humor, how poorly new yorkers fit in the rest of US culture), but keep in mind Seinfeld had the highest ratings of any sitcom in US history, so the appeal is obviously very broad.

Re:Getting to Know Americans by arethuza on Monday April 04, 2011 @01:53PM (#2407680)
To be clear I wasn't talking about humor in media - of which there are a lot of excellent examples, but the amount of humor that seems to be part of day to day life.

Incidentally, I wouldn't regard Monty Python as being very representative of "natural" British humor - I'd probably suggest Al Murray in his "Pub Landlord" persona to be far more like the comedy you are likely to encounter in real life (or Frankie Boyle for us Scots).

Re:Getting to Know Americans by bioh42_2 on Monday April 04, 2011 @12:19PM (#2407176)
You know, unlike English some languages have a sarcastic tense.
Re:Getting to Know Americans by nebaneba on Monday April 04, 2011 @01:41PM (#2407598)
Fascinating. Sarcasm is inherent in the grammar? Can you give some examples?

update: searched a bit, cannot find any supporting evidence for bioh42_2's statement.

Re:Getting to Know Americans by bioh42_2 on Tuesday April 05, 2011 @11:31AM (#2411318)
Inferential or renarrative mood: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferential_mood

Not always intended as sarcastic, but:

The main body of the news report tends to use the renarrative correctly - but sometimes, again, it is intentionally avoided. (...) This is because, due to its ambiguity, the renarrative in such cases could be perceived as a passing of judgement or expression of doubt by the reporter...

Re:Getting to Know Americans by jarin on Monday April 04, 2011 @02:59PM (#2407985)
He used it in his post, you must have missed it.
Re:Getting to Know Americans by burgerbrain on Monday April 04, 2011 @01:59PM (#2407715)
Wouldn't that spoil the humor, similar to how "sarcasm tags" on the internet do?