I don't get it: Humor lost in translation

Are you planning to start your next international business presentation with a little joke to break the ice? Well, you might want to reconsider or, at least, share a joke that will not fall flat in the other culture.

The story is told of a businessman who gave a speech in a foreign country through an interpreter. Without warning the interpreter beforehand, he inserted a joke into the presentation. The interpreter knew the joke would not translate and knew of no equivalent to substitute in its place, so she said, "This man just told a joke that he thinks is funny, but it does not translate well, and you will not find it funny at all. So, when I stop talking, everyone please just laugh."

The audience did indeed roar with laughter, but not for the reason the speaker supposed. Unaware of what really invoked such a positive reaction, the businessman was so pleased with the first result that he proceeded to tell another joke.

Each culture has different perceptions of what constitutes humor. What may be hilarious in one culture can be far from funny — or even offensive — in another.

For example, while living in Chile, I often attempted to share great jokes from the United States, only to be met with blank stares and questions like, "Oh, is that a joke? Is that funny in your country?" Likewise, Chileans shared their own popular jokes that were not always amusing to me.

Jokes relying on cultural or linguistic references are less translatable than others. Jokes involving wordplay or colloquial expressions almost never have appropriate translations in other languages. Jokes referencing politics, religion, gender and other stereotypes are dangerous even when speaking to a domestic audience and run an even greater risk of flopping in other countries.

Even humor that appears to avoid obvious cultural or linguistic references can fail in another country. Some cultures prefer exaggerated slapstick humor, while others prefer more subtle humor. However, humor is not completely mismatched from country to country, there is indeed some overlap.

Professor Richard Wiseman and The British Association for the Advancement of Science created a project called LaughLab, which aimed to identify the world's funniest joke (not to be confused with what Monty Python's Flying Circus considers "the funniest joke in the world"). The project began in September 2001, and over the course of one year, LaughLab received more than 40,000 jokes and 1.5 million ratings from around the world.

The project identified various differences in international humor preferences.