From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!floyd!cmcl2!philabs!sdcsvax!phonlab!sdcatta!wa277 Newsgroups: net.jokes.q Title: Re: "Re: Hot dog joke" Article-I.D.: sdcatta.443 Posted: Wed Jun 2 13:04:21 1982 Received: Thu Jun 3 03:41:45 1982 References: watmath.2506 Since I submitted the hot dog joke, I feel I should defend myself. (I won't repeat it; it was posted last week, though.) I myself heard it told by a woman from the Dominican Republic living in New York. She told it on two Dominicanos. Since I'm living in California now I changed the nationality. Of course almost all non-English speakers by now know what an American hot dog is. The joke depends on a certain suspension of disbelief--you have to imagine someone who *doesn't* understand "hot dog." >From my point of view it's a joke about linguistic ambiguity, not a joke directed at any one ethnic group. It could be two Frenchmen or two Finns. Personally, I enjoy hearing stories about mishaps Americans have had due to lack of familiarity with another language. I heard some wild ones in France. The implication is not that all Americans are too dumb to learn foreign languages, just that many tourists don't bother, which is perfectly true.