Cross-Cultural Humor: A New Frontier for Intercultural Communication Research

Sample

Humor is a universal phenomenon, found in most human societies from ancient to modern day (Berger, 1987; Carrell, 2008; Davis, 1996; Martineau, 1972). While we may not all participate in or appreciate the same types of humor, humor exists in almost every aspect of individuals’ private and social lives, and permeates a variety of social interactions (Berger, 1987; Ritchie, 2004). Researchers have explored this phenomenon from a range of disciplinary orientations rooted in such fields as philosophy, classics, literature, religious studies, rhetoric, psychology, anthropology, sociology, linguistics, communication, education, popular culture, health, and business. Using diverse research methodologies, scholars across these disciplines have recognized the influence of cultural similarities and differences as it manifests on the use of humor (e.g., Goldstein, 1977; Kuipers, 2008; Ruch, 2008). This chapter examines the relationship between culture and humor by reviewing the literature of cross-cultural humor research from the last two decades, and by exploring the potential for future study of humor from an intercultural communication perspective.