Quote:
Originally Posted by Kumabjorn
How does irony work in Chinese? It doesn't in Japanese. If you say something ironical they will believe that you are sincere and actually mean what you say. When I studied Japanese, back in the day, I noticed that Brits where usually more frustrated than Yanks, simply because they had an inherent need to be ironical and use understatements. The latter simply doesn't go over well. I remember a friend who in a full typhoon said "We're getting a few drops today" and the Japanese person he talked to started correcting him.
|
That is more of a cultural thing than born out of linguistic necessity, Chinese have no problem understanding when I am trying to be ironic. Though it seems they themselves don't 'do irony' quite as often as Westerners.