Abstract
This paper aims to contrast British and American situational comedies, analyzing the BBC. original of the smash-hit TV series “The Office” and its American version. The analysis focuses on dialogue, plot and characterization from a sociolinguistic perspective. The conclusion is as follows : An important feature to consider is the use of sexual and racial expressions in the British and American versions; the analysis showed that what is accepted in Britain can be problematic to the American audience. British humor is “hard” in comparison to the “soft humor” characteristic of the American version.
