The Challenges of Translating Humor

Laughter is a universal language, innate to every human regardless of their mother tongue. Jokes, however, have a language of their own and can be incredibly difficult to translate. The translator has to take into account regionalisms, wordplay, puns, and cultural references. These aspects can make translating even a simple joke a huge challenge for even the most experienced linguist.

Some of the most common jokes come from puns and wordplay. Puns don’t always translate well into other languages. Take the following joke as an example: “What did the grape say when it got crushed? Nothing, it just let out a little wine.” It would be tough to preserve this joke in other languages because it uses a homophone that may not translate.

Another tough aspect to translate is cultural jokes. These jokes can be tough to localize because it requires the reader’s knowledge of the cultural origin of the joke. Take this Russian joke based on a proverb:

‘Без труда не вытащишь и рыбку из пруда’ ‘Without effort, you won’t even pull a fish out of a pond’; or in English ‘No pain, no gain.’ So, the joke based on the proverb is:  Без пруда не вытащишь и рыбки из него ‘Without a pond, you won’t pull a fish out of it.’

In order for the joke to be effective, the reader must understand the Russian proverb and be able to connect the dots to the joke itself. Sometimes translators will use a footnote to explain the joke rather than localize it, at the expense of ruining the joke itself.

Translating humor can be difficult work. You need to know your audience, localize and adapt any regional references, use transcreation to rework puns, and think about the author’s intention for the joke. If you need your work translated accurately and with good humor, contact TLC today for a free quote.