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cannot, usually, stand the smell of cheese, be able to understand the complex English? But you can argue, too, how can the British, who cannot enjoy a succulent chicken's foot for breakfast, understand the Chinese? The latter believe you need to 'eat the part to nourish the part' (DE). By eating chicken's feet, for example, you can walk faster.
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Of course there are people like Lucy Sheen, a Chinese who was brought up in Britain, who played Portia in Julius Caesar at Bristol Old Vic (Rosser, 1990;8). But she still had to overcome racial stereotyping. She recounts how, to use her own words, ... the Dickhead of a critic said, about her acting, 'It doesn't matter if one can speak the language. If one's not White forget it.' Lucy also recalls how she was taken home to meet her new Chinese boyfriend's parents. They were really chuffed that at last their son had met a nice, real Chinese girl. All went well until she opened her mouth!
Of course, even within Britain itself there are traditional regional differences. There are ‘cockneyisms' with rhyming slang; where 'apples and pears' means 'stairs' and 'tit for tat' stands for 'hat.' This contrasts with the humour of those who believe they belong to the 'posh' set, although the latter is not usually racist and a person is readily accepted if they have personality. You also have the realistic, often macabre humour of the Scots and the Irish, the down-to-earth humour of the English North Countryman, and the japes, recounted time and again, in the slow drawl of rural folk.
Unless you have lived in a country for some considerable time many jokes may be obscure to a foreigner, even if he or she is fluent in the language. A knowledge of local affairs is often important. A man who was once asked why he did not weep at a sermon when everyone else was shedding tears replied: 'I don't belong to this parish' (Bergson, 1956;64). Similarly, the author recalls seeing a show in New York when he failed to appreciate many of the jokes. American humour often centres around family conflict (like American soap operas), bar-room buddy banter, practical jokes, bragging and tall stories although the French claim that practical jokes and tall stories are important aspects of their humour as well (Zeldin, 1983:74). In turn the Danish sense of humour, which is often sarcastic, can shock the average Frenchman. Similarly, Dutch humour can be abrasive, cynical and, on occasions, teasing and aggressive.