Chapter 9. Lost and found in humour self-translation

Abstract

Humour translation is extremely difficult, especially between languages as linguistically and culturally distant as Japanese and English. Often, therefore, much is lost in translation, but at the same time, there is much to be gained. In this chapter, I examine humour translation based on my experience translating my own autobiography from Japanese to English. By so doing, I ask: What have I gained from humour self-translation despite what I have lost due to difficulties? Based on this inquiry, I describe two types of experience with humour self-translation: (1) battles against untranslatability, defeats, and possible wins and gains, and (2) creative rewriting or manipulations triggered by the “distance” resulting in gains. Firstly, self-translators’ struggles with humour self-translation may lead to their deeper understanding of the source text – and to their self-realization. Secondly, self-translators may go beyond the losses and (unexpectedly) achieve gains, thanks to the creativity found in the target language or inspired by the target audience. Such gains are possible often due to a higher level of freedom that self-translators enjoy.