Do Americans "not get sarcasm"?

[Fidelias]

Well, sarcasm just doesn't work well in TEXT. I've heard plenty of people exclaiming extremely insane things to me that they absolutely believed were true, so I can easily believe that someone would post something on the internet saying that "Books will cause cancer" or something and completely believe it. So yeah, I don't get sarcasm when it's done with text, I need to hear the tone of the person's voice.

 

[ModReap]

I had recently posted a joke in a comment on a website (not naming names) and I was surprised that my throwaway joke was actually taken as a serious comment, with people explaining to me how stupid I was.

One realised and the other now thinks I'm a moron trying to pretend something stupid I said was a joke.
Whilst writing out my final reply to this fellow, a thought struck me (ow), could this be because he was an American?
Cultures can be different and that might be why.

Do Americans not get sarcasm or am I wrong?

Edit: I reworded this so it sounds less insulting and also, I'd like to say that I understand that text makes sarcasm quite unusable, I get that, really.

when expressing sarcasm use this.

[sarcasm] (whatever you want to say that is sarcastic) [/sarcasm]

Clears up conversations on the internet immensely.

 

[Arionis]

I'm an American, and nearly every thing I say is sarcasm, however, my grandmother takes everything I say seriously, and will flip out.

It's probably more the fact that you cannot accurately convey intended emotions, or tones, into one's text, at least not a stranger.

Perhaps with close friends and such, but that is simply recognizing familiarity and a break from it.

But, I'd say we Americans have plenty of Sarcasm.

I hear people around here tell me all that time that Twilight is supposed to be taken seriously.

That's sarcasm, right?

 

[twasdfzxcv]

Americans do get sarcasm, if you explain it.

 

[Booze Zombie]

Well, sarcasm just doesn't work well in TEXT. I've heard plenty of people exclaiming extremely insane things to me that they absolutely believed were true, so I can easily believe that someone would post something on the internet saying that "Books will cause cancer" or something and completely believe it. So yeah, I don't get sarcasm when it's done with text, I need to hear the tone of the person's voice.

Believe me, I understand that; I've read YouTube comments!
The horror...

But, I'd say we Americans have plenty of Sarcasm.

I hear people around here tell me all that time that Twilight is supposed to be taken seriously.

That's sarcasm, right?

I like you, no sarcasm.
But yeah, I get the text problem... wish there was a way past it beyond using damn smiley faces!
I hate those damn things!

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

Haven't you heard ? Sarcasm was listed as an Un-American activity during the McCarthy Era and was banned in all states except Texas where they were too dumb to spell Sarcasm, let alone understand it. Now Sarcasm is a lost art-form in the USA except for a surviving Ivy league underground culture which is famous for growing it's sarcasm so dry that they sell it to drug companies to put in little desiccant sachets with your bottles of pills.

Hands down the funniest thing I've seen this week, kudos.

As for translating sarcasm through the medium of text, I genuinely don't understand why people think that text doesn't lend itself well to sarcasm. What you don't get is tone of voice, so you can't simply type a straightforward sentence using normal text and expect your audience to read it in a snarky voice that clues them into how you are not serious about whatever ridiculous assertion you just made. There are however plenty of ways to convey tone of voice through the written word, without sullying your communication by appending 'emoticons', bleh.

No, if you can't make it patently obvious when something you type is sarcastic, the problem is you aren't a very good writer - you can generally tell because those folks always seem rely heavily on italics, the universal language of things you should always take 100% seriously because anything in italics can never EVER be a lie, no sirree!!!1!eleventy!; clearly that's a no-no. Also exclamation points, about 5 or 6 really help sell the point that everything you're typing is completely trustworthy and in no way the opposite of what you actually think, put to words for the sake of comedy - that would just be sneaky!!! So obviously you'll want to avoid those like the plague.

Yup, all it takes to be sarcastic is to leave any sort of clarifying ridiculous hyperbole you hang a lampshade on out, steer clear of punctuating like a crazily earnest person, and never ever do things like this to any point you make - it's so very easy, anyone can do it!!!

I think you can see my point here. (For those of you who can't, the last two paragraphs have been sarcasm. Also what the hell is wrong with you that I had to tell you that was sarcasm, seriously.)

 

[Neo Knight]

We understand sarcasm it's just many little kids haven't learned it yet.

 

[ultrachicken]

And how are people supposed to discover your sarcasm through text?
Sarcasm is shown through tone. When you type something sarcastic we have no idea of knowing whether or not you're just an idiot.

 

[Upbeat Zombie]

Sarcasm? Whats a sarcasm?...

 

[Booze Zombie]

I think you can see my point here. (For those of you who can't, the last two paragraphs have been sarcasm. Also what the hell is wrong with you that I had to tell you that was sarcasm, seriously.)

Well, the particular joke I wrote I made whilst tired and I honestly couldn't find any italics option when posting it, either.
I was stuck with flat text and I honestly don't think it's due to poor writing on my part.

They could always be an idiot if you were clearly sarcastic. That's always an option.

He could've been a moron, for sure.
Now that I've ruled out cultural stuff and remembering that this guy seemed very happy to just jump in and insult me...
Yeah, he probably was a moron.

But a moron that lead to me making a thread with a lot of replies and having a lot of interesting talks.
Thanks random guy who insulted me, your insignificant insult made me ponder something that resulted in all of this and I really enjoy all of this typing and thinking!

 

[sievr]

ecause thinking 300 million people have not grasped the concept of sarcasm is a easier conclusion to come to?

Cultures can be strange.

Yeah, but British and American culture is only separated by a couple hundred years. Sarcasm is kinda in the language, if not in the human psyche.

I mean, some individuals may not get sarcasm, but I'd say most all cultures include a majority of people who understand the concept of "I'm being disingenuous for the sake of humor."

There are clay tablets dated to around 3000 B.C that display satire and sarcasm, revolving around the most ancient piece of long literature known, the epic of Gilgamesh. It is rather naive to think that a large, modern, sophisticated culture like the entirety of the US would not "get" sarcasm. It's not even the nature of text, but very much the nature of the internet; i.e, text written in a second, looked at for a second, thought about for a second, and intended to be gone in a second. Tone, context, and double meanings tend to get lost easily.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

Well, the particular joke I wrote I made whilst tired and I honestly couldn't find any italics option when posting it, either.
I was stuck with flat text and I honestly don't think it's due to poor writing on my part.

You put a letter "i" in between brackets at the beginning, and then "/i" between brackets at the ending. But even using flat text, there's a surefire way to ensure anyone taking you at face value is actually just a moron or somebody with exceptionally poor reading comprehension: End your sarcastic sentences/paragraphs with the closing tag "/sarcasm". Quick and easy.

Personally I prefer the hyperbolic extreme sincerity approach, but if somebody starts arguing with you over something you ended with "/sarcasm", there is simply no way that can end well for them.

 

[Booze Zombie]

You put a letter "i" in between brackets at the beginning, and then "/i" between brackets at the ending. But even using flat text, there's a surefire way to ensure anyone taking you at face value is actually just a moron or somebody with exceptionally poor reading comprehension: End your sarcastic sentences/paragraphs with the closing tag "/sarcasm". Quick and easy.

Personally I prefer the hyperbolic extreme sincerity approach, but if somebody starts arguing with you over something you ended with "/sarcasm", there is simply no way that can end well for them.

Does that work on most forums or merely this one, with the brackets and slashes?
/Sarcasm always seemed a bit obvious, I prefer italics.
Not to dis your suggestion with the /sarcasm, I just don't like it personally.

This is apparently not sarcastic, wait...

I'd like to think the average American doesn't understand it or finds it offensive.

I'm American, and the sarcasm was for the lulz!

No wai!? Wai?
No!?

Okay, I'm done being a twit. Heh, heh.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Haven't you heard ? Sarcasm was listed as an Un-American activity during the McCarthy Era and was banned in all states except Texas where they were too dumb to spell Sarcasm, let alone understand it. Now Sarcasm is a lost art-form in the USA except for a surviving Ivy league underground culture which is famous for growing it's sarcasm so dry that they sell it to drug companies to put in little desiccant sachets with your bottles of pills.

Well played.

OT: It just doesn't work on the internet, that's why everyone needs to download the reverse italics font.

 

[SimuLord]

Americans are, as a general matter (and I pray that people not from this country think me to be the exception), the dumbest smacktards on the face of the earth. It's not that they don't get sarcasm---it's that they don't get anything that's not explained with a sidebar, picture, diagram, or words that wouldn't challenge a six-year-old in the rest of the world.

I hate my country sometimes.

 

[Mr. Grey]

You guys seem to like confusing a question with a statement, I never said I believe this to be true, that's why you ask a question, isn't it?
If I don't ask a question, I can't know, can I?

You can still insult people with a question.

Case in point: By the way, when are you expecting?

And sarcasm? Nope, never heard of it. Heard of irony though.