S02E31 Your Host Kuan-wen’s Monologue #3 🇹🇼 Comedy Lost In Translation

Is it possible to perform stand up in yet another language (aka not English, not your mother tongue, also less fluent) but relying solely on translating whatever existing materials in English you have? Technically - yes. Though some jokes are simply not translatable. Some can be translated but it would not make sense or would not work. Some might still work but the effect could be heavily discounted. There are your host Kuan-wen own experiences.The third instalment of your host’s monologue geeks out on foreign languages and comedy again. He summarised a few thoughts from performing at French It Up Comedy Club by accident (Season 2 Episode 26) and dabbling in a few sentences in Italiano at another night called Italian-ish.The podcast will have a short summer break as your host is bringing another solo show to Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We will be back in autumn and have a nice summer break!*The mix-up of languages and feeling unsure about the fluency level became even more evident through editing this episode. Your host said “the habitants of London” when in hindsight, it probably would have been more natural to say “the inhabitants of London’. Then he realised it’s because he was jumping back and forth between English and French. In French, they are more used to saying “les habitants”Also, he is still not sure if it should be “J’ai l’air de lesbienne”, “J’ai l’air lesbienne’ or “J’ai l’air dune lesbienne”?? Any French speaker that can shed some light on this?---------------------------------Kuan-wen’s 2025 Edinburgh Fringe show Andrews Are The Worst(This will be performed in Scotland, where their Patron Saint is St Andrew 😆)https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/kuan-wen-andrews-are-the-worstFollow your host Kuan-wen on Instagram---------------------------------00:32 Intro - summary of what this monologue episode is about02:10 Why another monologue episode?04:19 Discussion on comedy and translation in prior episodes05:09 English being the comedy language for most guests on this podcast07:25 Performing in a second foreign language - Your host Kuan-wen’s experience of performing at French It Up Comedy Club09:39 Kuan-wen’s estimate of his fluency in either language13:56 Some joke types are not cut out for translation (eg puns)17:51 Different social norms for the speakers of another language19:45 Unsure about whether the exact words are used24:42 A phonetically sounding word may not sound funny anymore in another language29:00 Less capable of riffing in French on stage29:57 Jokes written specifically in French31:55 What would a French native speaker fluent in English prefer?33:55 Cross-language puns37:18 Conclusion41:28 How multiple languages co-exist in one’s brain? Kuan’wen’s own example - the distance between some languages seems to be wider45:02 Cities where comedy shows in different languages are available46:45 Latest podcast statistics---------------------------------If you like the episode, please share it and leave a review. For any comments or suggestions, please contact us on Instagram ---------------------------------Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe