Preserve Humor When Localizing: Don't Kill the Joke

Translating "It's raining cats and dogs" literally will confuse 90% of the world.

Did your joke land flat in Germany?

The Art of Substitution

You don't translate the words; you translate the intent.

• US Ref: "He's the Michael Jordan of cooking."
• Brazil Ref: "He's the Pelé of cooking."

Timing is King

A joke relies on the setup and punchline. If the translation is 20% longer, the timing ruins the visual editing. You must rewrite the translation to fit the visual beats.

See 3 examples of 'transcreation' that saved the video.

Dealing with Puns

Impossible to translate. Replace them entirely with a situationally appropriate joke in the target language.

Keep the laughs global.

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Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash