SIVTalk Forum

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: aimeemoore on Sep 16, 2026, 11:01 PM

Title: How should humor be translated when the original joke makes no sense?
Post by: aimeemoore on Sep 16, 2026, 11:01 PM
What happens when humor depends on language, culture, or wordplay that another language does not share? I'm curious because a direct book translation (https://beaconhillpublishers.com/book-translation) can make a funny scene feel completely flat. How do translators recreate the same effect without changing the story? When should a joke be adapted instead of translated literally? What approaches have worked when cultural references simply cannot be carried across directly?