| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Poll: Can you make jokes in your second language? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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| Joking aside | Jan 19, 2014 |
Thank you all for your valuable comments so far.
As Ty says, jokes are a minefield in your second language -- you have to tread carefully. I think you'll be more successful in telling jokes in your second language if the culture is quite similar or you have a close cultural reference. My impression is -- I'm not an anthropologist or expert on cultural stuff here -- jokes become more difficult, the more dissimilar the country (and, by definition, culture) of your second language is.<... See more Thank you all for your valuable comments so far.
As Ty says, jokes are a minefield in your second language -- you have to tread carefully. I think you'll be more successful in telling jokes in your second language if the culture is quite similar or you have a close cultural reference. My impression is -- I'm not an anthropologist or expert on cultural stuff here -- jokes become more difficult, the more dissimilar the country (and, by definition, culture) of your second language is.
As you all know, I live in Kyoto, Japan, which is waaaaay on the other side of the globe away from my home country, the UK, and quite culturally different and unique. We are quite different over here. I'd be hard pressed to think of any better example of culturally dissimilar countries.
I also live near Osaka, home of Osaka humor and standup comedians, rather like Manchester when compared with London . So, I try to crack funnies as often as possible. But you all probably know, that anyway.  I'd say that 1 or 2 out of 10 of the jokes I tell hit the mark and the rest all hit the fan and don't come in a close second or come in last. They just don't get it. And as dasein_wm hints, you're really pushing it when you have to explain what's funny.
As Neilmac says, you need shared "cultural knowledge and assumptions." So, try this one out. Here's a Japanese joke for you:
"Did you know that the Yamadas next door built a new wall?"
"Really!?"
Hilariously funny, what!
I think you all should be cocking your heads to one side about now. However, if this joke(*) were delivered skillfully, the Japanese would be laughing in the aisles. Well, not literally, but there'd be lots of laughs and smiling faces in the audience.
I've seen Marx Brothers films with Japanese subtitles, and I know what you all must be thinking.
I wish my poll had not been doctored. Humour in another culture let alone your own language is not a clear-cut issue. What's funny to one person, could be complete mystery to the bloke sitting next to you. So, the options I suggested should have been left in to reflect varying levels of understanding. I just don't get it. It's no laughing matter.
However, I really do recommend making a concerted effort to understand humour in other countries to get a better idea of what makes the people there tick! Besides, it's fun to share funny moments with family and friends. Why not do try to do so in your second language?
Oh, BTW, Ty. I feel your pain. I've told the "How many Californians does it take to screw a light bulb in?" joke to some Americans only to find out afterwards that they were from, quess where? That's right. California. But they were OK with it, "Hey. No sweat! We're mellow."
(*)
The majority of jokes over here are puns or plays on words.
In this particular joke, "wall" and "Really!?" have the same sound --"hei or hee". Still don't get it? What's wrong with you all? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 12:54
Member (2010)
French to English
+ ...
when I lived in Montreal I made jokes and found French Canadians had a similar sense of humour. I also managed to make Spanish friends laugh.
However, when making jokes in English, I found English Canadians/Americans didn't always appreciate my sense of humour...or just didn't get the joke so yes, it can be cultural. They also don't seem to get Irish-style "slagging"
... See more when I lived in Montreal I made jokes and found French Canadians had a similar sense of humour. I also managed to make Spanish friends laugh.
However, when making jokes in English, I found English Canadians/Americans didn't always appreciate my sense of humour...or just didn't get the joke so yes, it can be cultural. They also don't seem to get Irish-style "slagging"
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/slagging
[MASS NOUN] Irish good-natured teasing:
there was a bit of slagging but it is all good craic
at all and can get quite offended...
and
slightly off-topic "craic" or crack" is something we really like in this country. Interesting word...
American visitors think we're all on crack cocaine when we say "the craic/crack is 90!"!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craic
[Edited at 2014-01-19 14:39 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I am afraid, Ty | Jan 19, 2014 |
Ty Kendall wrote:
LilianBNekipelo wrote:
fluently like translators, I assume, don't have a second language.
Of course they do. We all have an L1, many of us went on to learn an L2. Not every translator is a "true" bilingual, nor do they need to be. (I would actually guestimate that the majority of translators aren't true bilinguals, but learnt a second language in childhood/early adulthood).
Sorry - off topic.
| | | | | No, they fall flat | Jan 19, 2014 |
I get other people's jokes in my source languages (usually) but I'm no good at cracking them myself. In my opinion, jokes are an excellent measure of language proficiency - if you understand them, you're doing pretty well, but if you can make up your own then you're pretty much fluent.
This did remind me of a terrible joke I once heard at a translators' gathering (apologies in advance!):
Q: How many translators does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Well,... See more I get other people's jokes in my source languages (usually) but I'm no good at cracking them myself. In my opinion, jokes are an excellent measure of language proficiency - if you understand them, you're doing pretty well, but if you can make up your own then you're pretty much fluent.
This did remind me of a terrible joke I once heard at a translators' gathering (apologies in advance!):
Q: How many translators does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Well, it depends on the context... ▲ Collapse
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Mario Chavez (X) 
Local time: 07:54
English to Spanish
+ ...
| Hurray for Julian's poll! | Jan 19, 2014 |
Thanks, Julian, for the intelligent poll. Some of us are good and quick-witted when it comes to telling a joke. Others (like me) are not.
When I was in college studying translation, I wanted so much to make puns. I've had some limited success over the years, but I'm good at turning a phrase into a semi-pun or a complete one in both languages (English and Spanish).
Do they have blonde jokes in Japan?
Please tell us!
| | | | | Yes, I do that all the time | Jan 19, 2014 |
And the PMs say they love my humour.
| | | | David Wright
Austria
Local time: 13:54
German to English
+ ...
We might want to make a distinction between telling jokes in your L2 that are originally jokes in your L1, and making original jokes in L2. And between telling jokes and being humourous. A lot of humour depends in spur of the minute plays on words, deliberate misinterpretations etc. Since I love playing with language (and that is the basis of much humour in any language), I've found it fairly easy to be humorous in my L2, and I can tell jokes from any source in L2 - but they are not always succe... See more We might want to make a distinction between telling jokes in your L2 that are originally jokes in your L1, and making original jokes in L2. And between telling jokes and being humourous. A lot of humour depends in spur of the minute plays on words, deliberate misinterpretations etc. Since I love playing with language (and that is the basis of much humour in any language), I've found it fairly easy to be humorous in my L2, and I can tell jokes from any source in L2 - but they are not always successful (depends perhaps less on the way I tell them than on the degree of inebriation of the listeners!). ▲ Collapse
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I was once showing a lovely woman, Marci, around our church building in Buenos Aires Argentina. I explained what all the different rooms were for, introduced her to different members, etc... I took her down a dark hallway to a closed door and told her that that was where we performed our virgin chicken sacrifices. She assured me that she was neither a virgin nor a chicken, and shouldn't be sacrificed.
The Spanish speaking humor that I've come across has been very similar to my own,... See more I was once showing a lovely woman, Marci, around our church building in Buenos Aires Argentina. I explained what all the different rooms were for, introduced her to different members, etc... I took her down a dark hallway to a closed door and told her that that was where we performed our virgin chicken sacrifices. She assured me that she was neither a virgin nor a chicken, and shouldn't be sacrificed.
The Spanish speaking humor that I've come across has been very similar to my own, so telling jokes/being funny comes naturally. Of course, the first thing that I bought when I landed in Argentina all those years ago was a children's joke book (I didn't want to offend anyone, that came later). It started out with ¿Cuál es el santo mas limpio? ¡San Itorio! (Which is the cleanest saint? a play on san = saint and sanitario = sanitary) or my favorite, ¿Qué hace un pez? ¡Nada! (What does a fish do? nada = nothing / nadar = to swim) ^_^
I still try out new jokes on my wife, but she spends more time laughing at me than at the joke. ▲ Collapse
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DianeGM
Local time: 14:54
Member (2006)
Dutch to English
+ ...
Yes I can and do, I am equally funny in both languages and cultures, but some are different types of jokes. Teasing friends, telling observations and word play are pretty comparable in principle in both languages. Cultural specific humor requires more explanation but can still work in my second language.
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 07:54
English to Spanish
+ ...
| Jokes and humor | Jan 19, 2014 |
In different cultures, humor carries not just a punchline (jokes) or a witty and funny observation (humor), but also intent and certain local emotions.
For example, sarcasm can be a range of traits found in humor across different cultures and countries. However, the sarcasm found in a South American joke is not the same as the one found in an American joke.
American humor tends to be more puerile and ladles heavy on sarcasm, which can be very offputting at worst and poi... See more In different cultures, humor carries not just a punchline (jokes) or a witty and funny observation (humor), but also intent and certain local emotions.
For example, sarcasm can be a range of traits found in humor across different cultures and countries. However, the sarcasm found in a South American joke is not the same as the one found in an American joke.
American humor tends to be more puerile and ladles heavy on sarcasm, which can be very offputting at worst and pointless at best to foreign ears.
Do Germans tell bathroom jokes? Do French use the same needling humor as Texans?
Many Americans who are clueless about humor tend to go on the defensive if someone does not get it (“sorry if I've offended you” is the usual apology/mantra). Or they say “I was joking!” to switch the blame on the listener instead of pondering why their statement was not found to be funny in the first place. ▲ Collapse
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Yes, a lot. My jokes are mostly about Germany -> Germans ::: Turkey -> Turks.
Selamlar/Saludos
| | | | | how about the third language? :) | Jan 19, 2014 |
As to the second language: since it has been my primary language for more than 20 years, the answer is: most definitely.
My third language is a bit trickier... I could in the past, but it would take more practice again.
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Michael Harris
Germany
Local time: 13:54
Member (2006)
German to English
and sometimes they are just as black as the original, supposing that the person on the other end "can understand it":-)
Julian, how on earth do you manage to get you polls through?
I have tried a couple of "serious" ones that would probably irritate the staff, but nothing heard until now.
How do you do it?????
[Edited at 2014-01-20 06:47 GMT]
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 13:54
French to English
| Jokes for Julian | Jan 19, 2014 |
Right well to answer Julian's unbutchered poll:
yes I can tell jokes in French. For years I was watching films in French cinemas, and not understanding in the least why everyone was in stitches, then suddenly things clicked, with the cult film "La Chèvre".
Just today at the market I had everyone laughing with a very risqué joke, French customers including a lady from Guadeloupe and the greengrocers who are all Tunisian or Egyptian, so I felt really pleased that it w... See more Right well to answer Julian's unbutchered poll:
yes I can tell jokes in French. For years I was watching films in French cinemas, and not understanding in the least why everyone was in stitches, then suddenly things clicked, with the cult film "La Chèvre".
Just today at the market I had everyone laughing with a very risqué joke, French customers including a lady from Guadeloupe and the greengrocers who are all Tunisian or Egyptian, so I felt really pleased that it went down well with everyone. I'm not even the kind of person to make that sort of joke normally!
It was very much a spur-of-the-moment joke that would take too long to explain.
So to make up for it, just for Julian, a story that is incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't been to a corny English wedding:
I don't know if any of you heard about the guy who wrote the "Hokey Cokey"? So he passed away recently.
His funeral, of course, was a blast, until they tried to put the corpse in the coffin. First they put the left leg in. And then the trouble started. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Secret disclosed | Jan 20, 2014 |
Michael Harris wrote:
Julian, how on earth do you manage to get you polls through?
How do you do it?????
[Edited at 2014-01-19 21:24 GMT]
How do I get the Poles through?
By digging escape tunnels from Colditz.
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