French jokes

Living in France when you don’t speak French can be isolating — and of course, frustrating. Cultural differences simply add to the confusion, and the first few years in France can be challenging on many levels (let’s not even mention the paperwork).

I started Le Franco Phoney because I felt like I was faking the successful transition to living in France. All my years of blog posts bear witness to that, and regular readers will have noticed the growing gap between blog entries.

What can I say? I feel more French these days. I’m fine with shops closing at midday. The fart sound has entered my vocabulary and I forget not to use it when chatting with friends in Australia.

One aspect of French life has persistently beaten me for years: jokes. They’re often said in a roomful of Frenchies, who might have had a few drinks, with loud music in the background. The odds are already against the non-native French speakers who can’t fill in those aural gaps as easily as a native speaker. On top of that, jokes are typically funny because of some cultural reference that many new residents simply don’t have.

And then, bingo! I understood a French joke! A morning radio show had kids telling their favourite jokes. They came out one after another and I couldn’t keep up with their speed. A few jokes in, the one below came along. If you speak basic French, maybe you’ll like it (and thanks to Mr Hollands for providing the sound bite: email subscribers might need to click through for the audio):

For non-French speakers, the joke plays on the letter “o'” which in French sounds the same as the word for water (“eau“. The joke asks, “What is a shower without water?” (“c’est quoi une douche sans eau?”). The answer is “Une duche“. Get it? The word “douche” has the “o”/”eau” removed!

Okay, it might not be culturally witty nor highbrow, but it’s my new favourite joke. I intend to wow my French friends with my new-found French joke — even if they laugh at me instead.

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