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DaveWalters
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Joined: 19 Jun 2009
Posts: 6
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2009 10:52
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I have been living in China for a few years studying Chinese. Most of the jokes Chinese people tell me simply cannot be translated into English, but here is one that I heard which is pretty funny in English as well.
One day a man was walking down the street. Suddenly, in front of him, he saw a big, black, fierce-looking dog. The man froze and didn't dare move. There was a woman standing next to the dog. The man asked the woman, "Does your dog bite?" The woman replied, "no, my dog doesn't bite". At that moment, the dog leapt forward and bit the man. He was furious and screamed at the woman, "I thought you said your dog doesn't bite!" The woman replied,"this isn' t my dog."
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A8ch
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 536
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# Posted: 21 Jun 2009 11:50
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Your joke highlights an important weakness about language and communicating in general. Too often we rely on our assumptions to fill in the gaps. That's why your joke works.
If I said: "Would you jump out of a plane without a parachute?" everyone would automatically respond with a resounding "No!" That's because they would naturally assume I was talking about a plane in flight.
But if the plane was parked on the runway and you could use the emergency inflatable chute, everyone would say the opposite.
Language is interesting, isn't it.
Hermas
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getagrip
Joined: 20 Feb 2006
Posts: 1719
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# Posted: 21 Jun 2009 15:58
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Ha ha! Very funny! 
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insikman
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Joined: 4 Jun 2009
Posts: 3
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# Posted: 22 Jun 2009 04:52
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hahaha!
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innerpeace
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Joined: 9 Mar 2009
Posts: 45
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# Posted: 22 Jun 2009 12:08
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That's a classic - I remember first hearing it in a Pink Panther film with Inspector Clouseau... quality stuff.
I wonder who invented the joke first... the Chinese or the film writers... or maybe someone else...
Hmmm...
Anyway, great joke, and good point well made by Hermas!
IP
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DaveWalters
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Joined: 19 Jun 2009
Posts: 6
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# Posted: 25 Jun 2009 08:01
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Hermas, excellent observation about language. It really is fascinating. Just to illustrate your point further, here is one of my favorite jokes that is very funny in Chinese but simply doesn't make any sense in English. Also, I was only able to understand it after about 3 years of intensive Chinese study. So here is the joke translated into English:
A flock of sheep is grazing on a grassland, guess a fruit: strawberry.
Then a pack of wolves come, guess a fruit: waxberry
On the grassland there was a flock of sheep and a pack of wolves, but the wolves didn't eat the sheep, guess a seafood: shrimp
On the grassland there was a flock of sheep and a pack of wolves. The sheep bleated in fear but the wolves still didn't eat them. Guess a seafood: Lobster
Believe it or not, this is really celver and funny in Chinese! Interesting huh?
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