Philippine Humor
Yesterday tears - today smile. After rain follows the sunshine. I experienced Filipinos as people, who could laugh and smile, could joke even while being in a worst situation.
How comes? Is is this gallows humour? I guess, Filipinos a great masters with a quality of imagination quick to perceive the ludicrous or to express itself in an amusing way, fun or caprice.
The Humoresque, the musical composition of fanciful character is missing in our daily life many times.
Is there something like “British Humor” also in the Philippines? Are there special jokes? Maybe there are some readers out there, who can teach us to make our days more brighter and smilier… Stop, I don’t think about “bastos jokes” etc. … :lol:
Hah…I’d love to know if there is a philippino equivalent to ‘It’s only a flesh wound!’ If you want to know about that one, ask John about Anglo-American humor (we Americans often find British humor very funny for some reason).
But this is a really fascinating topic you are exploring here. What is funny to one culture is trash to another. I really think that humor is extremely culturally based and does not translate very much: physical humor and biological humor translate the easiest because they don’t depend so much on language as much as the human frailties that appear in all cultures. However, what we call wit and satire (which is probably most likely to induce laughter that results in tears and difficulty in breathing) is, I think, very much a cultural phenomenon (shared cultural experience bonds very tightly).
But, I challenge you to report to us the following: What do Pinoys find funny?
That would be fascinating. What is a great Philippino joke? We may not find it funny, but I think it would be very interesting.
Hi RichardinSC, that’s a good challenge. I heard different versions about Philippine jokes and humour. Maybe some Filipino readers like to share them/it with us….
Klaus, I wrote a really long and what I consider to be an interesting comment on this post, only to lose the whole thing to a brown out! Ach!!! Maybe tomorrow I will write it again!
Klaus
Yes sense of humour, this is a good subject, the Philippine peole can laugh at something which to me seems to be serious, but fromwhat i observe this is like a release of emotion / tension and not humour which i have observed to be a joy in the silly and fun things in life
i was the only westerner at a bbq a few years ago when there was a Philippine guy who was a comedian entertaining the crowd with story after story and although i could not completely follow the jokes, the entertainment they gave the Filipinos who were highly amusing in itself and i could see and appreciate how important humour is.
To me its self mockery but i don’t think that covers everthing
good subject Klaus
Klaus,
I am a man of many jokes and have on occasion been asked to tell jokes. I have also filled in at a comedy club if one of the comedians did not show up. BUT most times I tell even the simplest joke, I get no laughs from Elena and her family.
I do not know if the Filipino sense of humor is so different, or once they translate it into their mind, it loses the humor.
There are times a tell a joke and then get an explaination of what was said.
Since I love to make people smile and laugh, I hope I can find a common ground with jokes there.
Ok, AmericanLola, You owe us
You enticed us with your comment, but Klaus and I would love to read it…we want our FREE pie now 
You would be as good a source as any!
Hi Bruce - Do you think this may be a language problem or a cultural issue? Trying to make jokes in a second language is about as easy as holding your breath for 12 hours. Not only that, but it’s risky because it’s very easy to offend without realizing it…If you get a chance, tell us some more details. It was a very good post you made, BTW.
rick b - Could you elaborate some more on this? .Again, this is very interesting. Pinoys have many hardships in life…do you think this affects their sense of humor or do they bypass that and go straight for the easy joke?
Richard,
I might have been mistaken at the fluency of Elena’s family. The jokes I told were to me easily understandable and I had even explained the pun line. When I did, I got a straight face with a “yes” answer.
I would like to know what filipino jokes are to understand what jokes are easiler understood. What I call “joke mentality”
Even in the US, some people like one liners, some long thoughful jokes, so I see what makes a person laugh and use those type of joke.
The joke I told is as follows:
A cannibal tells his friend “I hate my mother-in-law”
The friend replyed “It is ok, just eat the vegtables.
Hi RichardInSC, being on tour almost the whole weekend, I found out, that Filipinos really have their own sense of humour. Sometimes, even life is going to its worst, Filipinos find ways to smile, laugh, enjoy and entertain. And here we are again: A pinoy joke sounds different in Tagalog or Bisaya as translated into English. I am not a good joke interpretor, so I forgot examples. But every time I am with Filipinos and I try to follow their jokes (but in Tagalog/Tagless or Bisaya) I can smile or laugh.
Hi American Lola, yup, I also like brown outs in such situations. We are still waiting for your comment. As RichardInSC said: We want our free pie now, haha
(P.S.: No brown out here this moment, but no water. Good that I took a shower yesterday (mmh!) 
Hi Bruce, I admire people like you. My uncle was like you. Sometimes we had to stop him telling jokes, because party friends couldn’t eat and drink anymore while listening him and laughing “tears”… (Is this correct English?) Filipino sense of humor is different indeed. You can’t translate it as well as I always tried to translate John’s or Steve’s British humour into German…
Hi Rick B, I got the same experiences, that why I tried to learn also Bisaya. As you said ” a release of emotions/tensions” is a very good explanation. Thanks for dropping by.
Filijpino jokes in Tagalob or one of Philippine dialects ,when translated in English, looses its meaning and what it tries to convey. Because of cultural differences, the same thing happens when an American or foreign joke is translated in Tagalog or Filipino. This is my personal observation being a Filipino in the US.
I hope this explanation offered some answer to your questions.
Hi Bartolome, thanks for dropping by. You’re right. Your explanation indeed offers some answers to my questions.
Here’s a joke I just came across. I must warn you this is long!
———-
When I travel, people often ask me why I live in the Philippines. Well here it is…..
It is the only place on Earth where…
1. Every street has a basketball court.
2. Even doctors, lawyers and engineers are unemployed.
3. Doctors study to become nurses for employment abroad.
4. Students pay more money than they will earn afterwards.
5. School is considered the second home and the mall considered the third.
6. Call-center employees earn more money than teachers and nurses.
7. Everyone has his personal ghost story and superstition.
8. Mountains like Makiling and Banahaw are considered holy places.
9. Everything can be forged.
10. All kinds of animals are edible.
11. Starbucks coffee is more expensive than gas.
12. Driving 4 kms can take as much as four hours.
13. Flyovers bring you from the freeway to the side streets.
14. Crossing the street involves running for your dear life.
15. The personal computer is mainly used for games and Friendster.
16. Where colonial mentality is dishonestly denied!
17. Where 4 a.m. is not even considered bedtime yet.
18. People can pay to defy the law.
19. Everything and everyone are spoofed.
20. Where even the poverty-stricken get to wear Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger (peke)!
21. The honking of car horns is a way of life.
22. Being called a bum is never offensive.
23. Floodwaters take up more than 90 percent of the streets during the rainy season.
24. Everyone has a relative abroad who keeps them alive.
25. Wearing your national colors make you baduy.
26. E ven the poverty-stricken have the latest cell phones.
27. Insurance does not work.
28. Water can only be classified as tap and dirty.
29. Clean water is for sale (35 pesos per gallon).
30. The government makes the people pray for miracles. (Amen to that!)
31. The University of the Philippines where all the weird people go.
32. Ateneo is where all the nerds go.
33. La Salle is where all the Chinese go.
34. College of Saint Benilde is where all the stupid Chinese go and;
35. University of Asia and the Pacific is where all the irrelevantly rich people go.
36. Fast food is a diet meal.
37. Traffic signs are merely suggestions, not regulations.
38. Where being mugged is normal and it happens to everyone.
39. Rodents are normal house pets.
40. The definition of traffic is the ‘non-movement’ of vehicles.
41. Where the fighter planes of the 1940s are used for military engagements and;
42. The new fighter planes are displayed in museums.
43. Where cigarettes and alcohol are a necessity, and where the lottery is a commodity.
44. Where soap operas tell the realities of life and where the news provides the drama.
45. Where actors make the rules and where politicians provide the entertainment.
46. People can get away with stealing trillions of pesos but not a thousand.
47. Where being an hour late is still considered punctual
48. Where the squatters have more to complain (even if they do not pay their tax)
- Than those employed and have their tax automatically deducted from their salaries.
49. And why everyone wants to leave the country!
FILIPINO SIGNS OF WIT:
1. The sign in a flower shop in Diliman called Petal Attraction.
2. Anita Bakery
3. A 24-hour restaurant called Doris Day & Night
4. Barber shop called Felix The Cut;
5. A bakery named Bread Pitt
6. Fast-food place selling ‘maruya’ (banana fritters) called Maruya Carey.
7. Then, there are Christopher Plumbing
8. A boutique called The Way We Wear
9. A video rental shop called Leon King Video Rental
10. A restaurant in Cainta district of Rizal called Caintacky Fried Chicken
11. A local burger restaurant called Mang Donald’s
12. A doughnut shop called MacDonuts
13. A shop selling ‘lumpia’ (egg roll) in Makati called Wrap and Roll
14. And two butcher shops called Meating Place and Meatropolis.
Smart travelers can decipher what may look like baffling signs to unaccustomed foreigners by simply sounding out the ‘Taglish’
(The Philippine version of English) words spelled and pronounced with a heavy Filipino such as:
15. At a restaurant menu in Cebu? We hab sopdrink in can an in batol?
[Translation: We have soft drinks in can and in bottle].
16. Then, there is a sewing accessories shop called Bids And Pises -
[Translation: Beads and Pieces –or– Bits and Pieces]
There are also many signs with either badly chosen or misspelled words but
they are usually so entertaining that it would be a mistake to ‘correct’ them like…….
17. In a restaurant in Baguio City, the ’summer capital’ of the Philippines :” Wanted: Boy Waitress “
18. On a highway in Pampanga: “We Make Modern Antique Furniture”
19. On the window of a photography shop in Cabanatuan : “We Shoot You While You Wait”
20. And on the glass front of a cafe in Panay Avenue in Manila: “Wanted: Waiter, Cashier, Washier”
Some of the notices can even give a wrong impression such as:
21. A shoe store in Pangasinan, which has a sign saying: “We Sell Imported Robber Shoes?” (These could be the ’sneakiest’ sneakers);
22. A rental property signs in Jaro reads: “House For Rent, Fully Furnaced”
(It must really be hot inside)!
Occasionally, one could come across signs that are truly unique - if not altogether odd.
23. City in southern Philippines which said: “Adults: 1 peso; Child: 50 centavos; Cadavers: fare subject to negotiation?”
24. European tourists may also be intrigued to discover two competing shops selling hopia (a Chinese pastry) called Holland Hopia and Poland Hopia
- which are owned and operated by two local Chinese entrepreneurs,
Mr. Ho and Mr. Po respectively - (believe it or not)!
25. Some folks also ‘creatively’ redesign English to be more efficient. “The creative confusion between language and culture leads to more than just simple unintentional errors in syntax, but in the adoption of new words, says reader Robert Goodfellow who came across a sign….. House Fersallarend’ (house for sale or rent). Why use five words when two will do”
26. According to Manilabusinessman, Tonyboy Ongsiako, there is so much wit in the Philippines because…”We are a country where a good sense of humor is needed to survive. We have a 24-hour comedy show here called the government and a huge reserve of comedians made up mostly of politicians and bad actors.
Now I ask you where else in the world would one want to live?
Hi Bartolome, wow, wow, that’s not only a joke. You mentioned a lot of things (I think all) being very very true and giving inspirations for many more write ups. I am sure, every single point will be answered or commented sooner or later. Thanks a lot indeed. And answering your last question: OF COURSE, IN THE PHILIPPINES, WHERE ELSE???
Wow, a lot of good comments here. Great thread!
Thanks for that list Bartolome. I really do like the Filippino word play in English. If I was there and saw some of those business signs you listed, I’d probably double over in tears. But that last sentence you write is so true. There is no greater source of humor than shared hardship. I should have mentioned that in the list that all cultures share that I gave earlier (biological and physical humor). Dark humor is funny because it’s an emotional release under stress. In many ways, it may be the best form of humor because it makes us laugh when we need it the most.
Anyway, thanks for that very comprehensive list. I’m quite a bit more enlightened by it.
Regrards,
Richard
Hi RichardInSC, yeah, I also enjoyed reading. Thanks a again for dropping by…