Bilingual pun

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A bilingual pun is a pun created by a word or phrase in one language sounding similar to a different word or phrase in another language. Bilingual puns are often created by mixing languages, and represent a form of macaronic language.

A general technique in bilingual punning is homophonic translation, which consists of translating a passage from the source language into a homophonic (but likely nonsensical) passage in the target language. This requires the audience to understand both the surface, nonsensical translation as well as the source text – the former then sounds like the latter spoken in a foreign accent.

Examples[edit]

English/German[edit]

"What did the computer order from the vending machine?" "Saftware." Saft is the German word for juice. By replacing the O in "software" to an A, it becomes "Saftware", literally meaning "juiceware".

English/Chinese[edit]

An updated version of the famous Who's On First? comedy routine by Abbott and Costello called "Hu's on First"[1] is based on confusing Chinese and other names with English words.

English/French[edit]

Q: Why do the French only eat one egg for breakfast?
A: Because one egg is un œuf.
Un œuf means "one egg" in French, and it sounds like enough.

Luis van Rooten's English-French Mots D'Heures: Gousses, Rames (1967), translates the beginning of "Humpty Dumpty":[2][3]

Un petit d'un petit / S'étonne aux Halles

The original English text reads:

Humpty Dumpty / Sat on a wall.

while the translation, which imitates the sound of someone reading the English text with a French accent, is nonsense, but could be translated into English nonsense as:

A little [one] from [another] little [one] / is astonished at Les Halles.

English/Arabic[edit]

- "Can you تلميذة name of your classmate?" by EatPunRepeat

The Arabic word in the middle sounds like "tell me the", and means "student" in Arabic.

- "Fog fog فوق النخل" by Punshtein

The Arabic word "فوق" means above in English and sounds like "fog". So the sentence literally means: Fog above the palm trees.

English/Hebrew[edit]

Many kosher restaurants have names punning on the type of food they sell and well-known Hebrew phrases. The kosher Mexican restaurant Burrito'lam references the Hebrew phrase meaning "eternal covenant",[4] and the kosher barbecue restaurant HaKadosh BBQ, refers to the phrase HaKadosh Barukh Hu ("the Holy, Blessed be He") a term used to refer to God in Jewish tradition.[5]

Danish/English[edit]

A Danish ice cream ad with the caption, "Take it Is'i". "Is" is the Danish word for ice cream, and Is'i sounds like "easy".

German/Chinese[edit]

At the beginning of his short story "The Dead Lady of Clown Town", science fiction author Cordwainer Smith wrote:[6]

Go back to An-fang, the Peace Square at An-fang, the Beginning Place at An-fang, where all things start. Bright it was. Red Square, dead square, clear square, under a yellow sun.

In Chinese, An-fang can mean "Peace Square", while Anfang is the German word for "beginning."

English/Turkish[edit]

- Elton John.

(Eltin can) Elton John (eltin means sister-in-law)

- I run each teen me?

(Ayran içtin mi?) Did you drink ayran?

- A wet each team.

(Evet, içtim) Yes, I drank it

- I run each make is tea your sun each.

(Ayran içmek istiyorsan iç) If you want to drink ayran, drink

- Hire them in each team.

(Hayır, demin içtim) No, I just drank

- Catch bar duck each teen?

(Kaç bardak içtin?) How many glasses did you drink?

- On bar duck each team.

(On bardak içtim) I drank 10 glasses.

-Why High One Why

(Vay Hayvan Vay) Whoa, you're crazy

Japanese/Portuguese[edit]

In the film Gaijin, a Brazilian Odyssey[7] directed by Tizuka Yamasaki, newly immigrated Japanese agricultural laborers struggle to adapt to Brazilian culture. At mealtime, the Brazilian cook serves up a stew of feijoada to Japanese more used to rice:

Japanese: Kome! (Kome (米), Japanese for rice)
Cook: Come! (Portuguese for Eat!)

English/Spanish/Latin[edit]

Pierre Clouthier, Moncton NB, 1968; in Spanish class.

English: An apple a day keeps the doctor away
Spanish/Latin: Manzana (mens sana) in corpore sano (Manzana is apple in Spanish; mens sana is a healthy mind)[original research?]

Indonesian/English[edit]

Indonesian bilingual puns abound, due to the syllabic-nature of the language:

Examples:[8][9][10]

  1. Lari Tidak Mobil Tidak (run-no car-no), reads Rano Karno, the name of an Indonesian veteran actor
  2. Menjadi Muda Peduli Rock (be-young care-rock), reads biang kerok, or the troublemaker
  3. Ketakutan Baru si Saya adalah Pohon (new-fear the-me is-tree), reads nyupir demi istri, or driving for the sake of the wife
  4. Pergi Muda Dungu Merah (go-young dumb-red), reads goyang dombred, a type of dangdut dance
  5. Nge-Dunk Bisakah Aku nge-Rock (slam-dunk can I-rock), reads selendang Ken Arok, or Ken Arok's scarf (Ken Arok is a semi-mythical figure in old Javanese history)
  6. 2121 2 Mobil Warna [Adalah Pohon] (two-one two-one two-car color [is-tree]), reads tuan-tuan tukar kolor [istri], or "the masters are exchanging shorts (or [wife])"
  7. Berkata Penuh Lompat Sakit (say-full jump-ill), reads "Saiful Jamil", the name of an Indonesian dangdut musician
  8. Tidak Tahu, Tunai Aku Tahu, Dalam Menggambar (don't-know, cash-I-know, in-draw), reads Dono, Kasino, Indro, trio famous Indonesian comedian (the first two are now deceased).

Other than Indonesian/English bilingual puns, Chinese and Japanese puns are also popular, by playing on stereotypes of (mostly made-up) Chinese and Japanese sounds/syllables.[11] The Indonesian words equivalent are often replaced with Javanese language,[12] or other languages of Indonesia. Other foreign languages that get the same treatment includes: Dutch (because of Dutch history in Indonesia), Arabic (because of Arabic influence in Indonesian loanwords), Korean, German, Indian, Spanish/Portuguese, etc.[13]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ George Bush - Hu's on First. 10 November 2006 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ van Rooten, Luis d'Antin (1980). Mots D'Heures: Gousses, Rames. ISBN 978-0-14-005730-0, originally published London, Angus and Robertson, 1967.
  3. ^ "Luis d'Antin van Rooten's Humpty Dumpty". The Guardian. 27 November 2009. Archived from the original on 23 December 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  4. ^ says, Richard Sachs (15 January 2014). "Closing Alert: Burrito'lam, Teaneck, NJ".
  5. ^ "The Holy Grail of Kosher Barbeque: Hakadosh BBQ".
  6. ^ Smith, Cordwainer (1993). The Rediscovery of Man. Framingham, MA: The NESFA Press. p. 223. ISBN 0-915368-56-0.
  7. ^ Yamasaki, Tizuka (1980). "Gaijin, a Brazilian Odyssey". The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2011-09-26.
  8. ^ Rizki Ramadan. "Bahasa Indonesia-Inggris-Ception".
  9. ^ http://jokes-livakara.blogspot.co.id/2013/04/kursus-bahasa-inggris-paling-gampang.html Indonesian bilingual puns
  10. ^ (in Indonesian) Funny English
  11. ^ (in Indonesian) Bahasa Kocak: Chinese, Japanese
  12. ^ "Dunia Kita".
  13. ^ "Dunia Kita".
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