{"id":31225,"date":"2019-03-13T20:36:48","date_gmt":"2019-03-13T19:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=31225"},"modified":"2019-03-13T20:36:48","modified_gmt":"2019-03-13T19:36:48","slug":"le-second-degre-sarcasm-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/le-second-degre-sarcasm-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"Le Second Degr\u00e9 – Sarcasm In French"},"content":{"rendered":"

L’humour<\/strong> (humor) is one of those things that goes beyond le vocabulaire<\/strong> (vocabulary) and steps into the realm of la culture<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, making it one of the hardest aspects of le fran\u00e7ais<\/strong> to really understand.<\/p>\n

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Image<\/a> from Pixabay. Licensed under CC0.<\/p><\/div>\n

Sometimes les blagues fran\u00e7aises<\/strong> (French jokes) are easy to understand or are simply a matter of understanding a specific reference. Once you learn about Where is Brian<\/em><\/a> it’s easy to understand why it’s funny and laugh along with les Fran\u00e7ais<\/strong> (French people).<\/p>\n

Even les jeux de mots<\/a><\/strong> (puns) are more a question of having learned the right vocabulaire<\/strong>. Once you know les mots<\/strong> (the words) it’s obvious why the pun is funny, or at least easy to get why people are groaning.<\/p>\n

Cependant<\/strong> (however), most of l’humour fran\u00e7ais<\/strong> falls into a different category, rising above le premier degr\u00e9<\/strong> (the first degree) and entering le second degr\u00e9<\/strong> (the second degree).<\/p>\n

I would not be surprised if many readers are as confused as I was the first time I heard French humor described. What do these seemingly mathematical terms<\/a> have to do with being funny?<\/p>\n

Just talking about it immediately mixes vocabulary issues<\/a> with cultural ones! Bringing up degrees<\/em> when trying to understand une blague<\/strong> (a joke) seems like the last thing that needs to be done.<\/p>\n

Pourquoi on parle des maths ? Je pensais qu’on va apprendre l’humour fran\u00e7ais<\/a> !<\/strong>
\nWhy are we talking about math? I thought we were going to learn about French humor!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When this topic first come up for me \u00e0 l’\u00e9cole<\/strong><\/a> (at school), the conversation was similarly confusing:<\/p>\n

Tu as fait tes devoirs ?<\/strong>
\nNon, je les ai mang\u00e9.<\/strong>
\nC’est-\u00e0-dire…?<\/strong>
\nOui, j’ai fait mes devoirs.<\/strong>
\nOh…<\/strong>
\nEt toi ? Tu as bien mang\u00e9 ou c’\u00e9tait juste pour demander si j’avais faim ?<\/strong>
\nQuoi ?<\/strong>
\nJe plaisante ! C’est du second degr\u00e9, John !\u00a0<\/strong>
\nHaha ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

You did your homework<\/a>?<\/em>
\nNo, I ate it.<\/em>
\nYou mean…?<\/em>
\nYes, I did my homework.<\/em>
\nOh…<\/em>
\nAnd you? Have you eaten or did you just want to know if I was hungry?<\/em>
\nWhat?<\/em>
\nI’m joking! It’s sarcasm, John!\u00a0<\/em>
\nHaha?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Outside of getting la blague<\/strong>, the idea of calling sarcasm le s\u00e9cond degr\u00e9<\/strong> <\/em>was never something I would have guessed!<\/p>\n

In French culture, there’s a clear line between what’s literal, le premier degr\u00e9<\/strong><\/em>, and exaggerated or sarcastic joking, le second degr\u00e9<\/strong><\/em>. Understanding why a particular exaggerated thing is considered funny<\/a> is an entirely different matter however.<\/p>\n

Even if la chute<\/strong> (the punchline) goes over your head and you struggle to get une blague fran\u00e7aise<\/strong><\/a>, as a French learner what’s more important is remembering how the idea of le second degr\u00e9<\/strong> is an integral part of humor for les Fran\u00e7ais<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Besides, at the end of the day it’s not exactly la fus\u00e9ologie<\/strong> (rocket science) or to use the right idiom<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Ce n’est pas sorcier !<\/strong>
\nIt’s not magic!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

L’humour (humor) is one of those things that goes beyond le vocabulaire (vocabulary) and steps into the realm of la culture, making it one of the hardest aspects of le fran\u00e7ais to really understand. Sometimes les blagues fran\u00e7aises (French jokes) are easy to understand or are simply a matter of understanding a specific reference. Once…<\/p>\n

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