SubJeff on 13/8/2009 at 14:31
Oh man, I feel bad now. I thought you were having a dig.
Wait, you're not German are you?
Queue on 13/8/2009 at 17:03
Two Germans walk into a bar.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha hahah ha
SubJeff on 13/8/2009 at 20:33
Quote Posted by Kolya
Depends. Is this a setup for another
Germans have no humour remark?
Well English humour doesn't translate well into German on account of differences in language structure, no? German has a lot of compound words that essentially absorb and eliminate the English funnies. Afaik.
Starrfall on 13/8/2009 at 20:44
Sorry all I can think of is the Germans from Fawlty Towers.
SubJeff on 13/8/2009 at 20:51
You started it.
No we didn't.
Yes you did. You invaded Poland.
Kolya on 13/8/2009 at 21:52
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
Well English humour doesn't translate well into German on account of differences in language structure, no? German has a lot of compound words that essentially absorb and eliminate the English funnies. Afaik.
This assumption strikes me as very strange indeed. (*sips at a cup of tea*) Do you happen to speak any languages besides English?
Anyway, while some wordplay might be hard to translate, it's most certainly not the compound words "absorbing" anything. Most jokes get across
easily. It helps that there's not much of a cultural gap either. Just as an example of what I would regard as typically English humour: Lots of people here know and love the
dubbed versions of Monty Python's Flying Circus and their movies. We watched "Das Leben des Brian" in school (with our history teacher, a fine old chap). And that sort of thing is not exactly unheard of.
(
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axq3ngoFK_s) Romanes eunt domus (German version)
Turtle on 13/8/2009 at 22:10
STFU, Klaus.
SubJeff on 13/8/2009 at 22:18
Quote Posted by Kolya
This assumption strikes me as very strange indeed.
Really? Its not an assumption, it was something I heard on Radio 4 a while back, and the discussion was with some Prof of languages who was fluent in at least English and German. There were some excellent examples of how English word play just messes up in translation.
And I bet you were laughing at different "jokes" in Life of Brian, like "look how stupid the Jews are" and whatnot.
Ze don't even wunderstand zat under ze Roman occupation ze ver better off! Gwa ha ha. Just like under ze Nazis! Gwuf ah ha:p
ok i'll stop now sorry it was too good a chance
Kolya on 13/8/2009 at 22:44
Too good a chance to embarrass yourself...
You know, I don't have to listen to someone on the radio who might be just as much of an idiot as you are.
Turtle, go suck on a stone somewhere.
