Culture Compass Take-Away: Understanding British Humour

  • Be aware that ‘humour’ underpins much of British social conversation and interaction - be prepared for the fact that humour / sarcasm / irony is used in British conversations quite regularly and without ‘warning’.
  • Don’t worry if you do not understand everything that is being said, or if you don’t ‘get’ ‘British humour’ - just knowing that it is part of ‘deep culture’ can help alleviate the frustration!
  • Be aware also that though humour underpins much of British social interaction, not everyone finds the same things funny. For example, there will be those who love “absurd” or surreal humour, others who prefer “slapstick” humour or traditional jokes.
  • There may be times when it seems you are the subject of ‘the joke’ but in fact your new British friends are attempting to include you in the group
  • BUT - if you feel uncomfortable in any social situations you should say so!
  • Try to watch some popular British TV to get a flavour of the kind of ‘banter’ that underpins British social interaction, e.g.
  • The Graham Norton Show
  • The Voice/X-Factor
  • Panel shows e.g. Would I Lie to You?, 8/10 Cats, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You?, QI
  • Try watching some ‘classic’ and contemporary British TV comedy shows and ‘sitcoms’ (Youtube is a good source of material) - see how much you understand and try to get a basic idea of why British audiences might find it funny, e.g.
  • Black Adder (classic)
  • Coupling (contemporary)
  • The Day Today (satire)
  • The Fast Show (classic)
  • Fawlty Towers (classic, slapstick)
  • IT Crowd (contemporary)
  • Mighty Boosh (contemporary, absurd)
  • Miranda (contemporary, slapstick)
  • Mock the Week (satire)
  • Monty Python’s Flying Circus (classic, absurd)
  • Not Going Out (contemporary)
  • The Office (classic)
  • Shooting Stars (classic, absurd)
  • “Stand-up” comedy is also very popular among the British. Check out some classic and contemporary examples on Youtube:
  • Jo Brand
  • Jimmy Carr
  • Jo Caulfield
  • Miranda Hart
  • Russell Howard
  • Peter Kay
  • Stewart Lee
  • Josie Long
  • Michael MacIntrye
  • Jason Manford
  • Sarah Millican
  • Mark Thomas
  • Jack Whitehall
  • Check out some live stand-up comedy acts at venues in Sheffield:
  • The Greystones (mygreystones.co.uk)
  • Last Laugh Comedy (lastlaughcomedy.co.uk)
  • The Leadmill (leadmill.co.uk/)
  • New Barrack tavern (newbarracktavern.com)
  • Square Hole Comedy (squareholecomedy.com)

And finally, a word from Kate Fox (author of “Watching the English”)

“...the most important ‘rule’ to remember is that irony is endemic: like humour in general, irony is a constant, a given, a normal element of ordinary, everyday conversation. The English may not alwaysbe joking but they are always in a state of readiness for humour. We do not always say the opposite of what we mean, but we are always alert to the possibility of irony. When we ask someone a straightforward question we are equally prepared for either a straightforward response or an ironic one…”