British Humour

As we already know, laughing has very positive effects and a good sense of humour can help people forget their problems and improve their health. But, is there a similarity between Spanish humour and British humour? Let's see it!

It is said that the British laugh at themselves and their institutions. There are some popular comedians who are famous for their irreverence to the Royal Family and the established British traditions. Other jokes can refer to Irish, Welsh or Scottish people and they are based on stereotypes such as nationalism, stupidity, laziness or meanness. But, undoubtedly, the most productive jokes in British humour are simply nonsense or they take advantage of the multi-meanings of many English words, with lots of example of "double entendre".

This witty way of playing with words, not only in their written form but also in their pronunciation, can create misunderstandings, and consequently, they make people laugh.

To be funny in Britain, most of the times you have to pretend you are a nerd, show you have an endless repertoire of jokes related to your wife or much better, to your mother-in-law (be careful, though, British people don't like jokes which see women as sex objects or as inferior to men) and set your jokes in a doctor's surgery or a funeral, for example.

Finally, some of the most famous sit-coms or comedians in Britain. Have you heard of Monty Python, Little Britain, Benny Hill or Mr Bean? There are also very good stand-up comedians: Lee Evans, Michael McIntyre, Rehman Akhtar, just to name a few.

This is a video of what is called stand up comedy, which has also become popular in Spain. The stand-up comedian is telling an anecdote from a trip to Australia. Listen and laugh, and don't worry if you don't understand everything!

OK, now it's your turn to leave your comments.

• What type of jokes do the Spanish like?

• What do you like to joke about?

• What regions are funny and why?

• Is it easy for other people to understand Spanish humour?

• Do you have a favourite stand-up comedian?