atw: Re: Censoring humour in translation

Stuart Burnfield: You wrote:
> I'm still waiting to hear or think of an example of humour that could be 
> successfully
> translated and would apply to the sort of tech writing I and most of us do. 
> The
> discussion is roaming further and further from its starting point. Right now 
> we're
> talking about physics (which is technical), and televised spoken lectures (a 
> type of
> communication), and fun and enjoyment (not the same as humour, but it does 
> overlap).
> It's a long stretch from the original brief of guidance for technical writers 
> who need
> to produce text that will be translated.
>

Did you miss this bit ?  Or are you somehow saying it doesn't fit, isn't funny
or can't be translated?
--------------------------

>> Here's another challenge:
>>
>> Can anyone offer an example of humour that's actually funny, is good 
>> technical
>> writing,
>> and can be translated readily into, say, Japanese, Mandarin and the FIGS 
>> languages?
>>
>
> Ok.   I'm happy to start the ball rolling, with a bit of plagiarism (a.k.a. 
> literary
> citation) , although your "escape clause" requirement "is good technical 
> writing"  is
> going to be arguable as hell, and should not in itself assume that no humour 
> is "good
> technical writing".
>
> Try this one:  Assume it's an extract from a document on How To Be A 
> Technical Writer,
> to
> be used to illustrate the need for clarity of expression and to emphasise the 
> dangers of
> not getting that clarity.
>
>> Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses: he doesn't seem 
>> to be
>> breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other takes out his phone and calls 
>> the
>> emergency services.
>>
>> He gasps: "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator says: "Calm down, 
>> I can
>> help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, then a gunshot 
>> is heard.
>> Back on the phone, the caller says: "OK, now what?"
>>
> Which bit doesn't translate ?
---------------------------------------------------------

-Peter M
 peterm_5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
**************************************************
To view the austechwriter archives, go to 
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter

To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 
"unsubscribe" in the Subject field (without quotes).

To manage your subscription (e.g., set and unset DIGEST and VACATION modes) go 
to www.freelists.org/list/austechwriter

To contact the list administrator, send a message to 
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************

Other related posts: