The Language of Stand-

up Comedy Ten
comedians from around
the world re ect on the
challenges of translating
their act to English.
Taking the stage and sharing their best ve minutes is
already as terrifying an experience as any stand-up
comedian is likely to white-knuckle their way through. Now
imagine partaking in that self-in icted humiliation in a
foreign country speaking a language you’re still learning.
This is the life of countless stand-up comics who have
made the leap from their native land and decided to ply
their comedic trade in their second — or in some cases
fourth — language, English.

For many comics, it’s the natural progression from the

corner they’ve carved out in their native homeland. For
high-pro le performers like Gad Elmaleh, the anointed
fi
fl
fl
fi
“Jerry Seinfeld of France,” it was the last remaining
milestone in a landmark career in comedy. Either way, it’s
a considerable challenge that starts with taking on a
working understanding of a foreign language. But the
journey to America’s ruthless stand-up clubs doesn’t end
there. The path also requires gaining a working
understanding of the tone and nuance of Western comedy
as well as a familiarity with certain cultural cues.

Even after mastering these elements, it doesn’t take long

for most foreign-tongued comedians to realize that a word-
for-word translation of their best material simply won’t do.
Translating your act to English, be it in the U.S. or the
U.K., typically involves a far greater degree of complexity
— a unique wrinkle that took Elmaleh two years to fully
understand when he came to the United States and
established an English-language act.

In order to grasp the enormity of this career pivot, Vulture

spoke with ten different comedians, including Elmaleh,
hailing from a cross-section of nations. Some grew up
functionally bilingual, while others had to learn English
from scratch. All overcame linguistic, cultural, and a variety
of other hurdles to translate their acts for an English-
speaking audience, which can potentially take their act
from quiet clubs to packed theaters. They addressed a
variety of topics, including the beauty of foreign accents,
how American and British audiences are simultaneously
more and less approachable, and why Germans aren’t
exactly known for their sense of humor.

Gad Elmaleh
Native Tongue: French, Arabic, and Hebrew

Photo: Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for GOOD+ Foundation

In the beginning, I would write my material in French and
then I would give it to a translator so then he could give it
to me in the right English. And every time I gave him ten
pages, he would give me back seven pages. I was like,
“There is some material missing, no?” Then I discovered
the English language is so quick, ef cient, and short. You
don’t have to use that many words. But an interesting fact
is there are more words in the English language than in
French.

Also, words in English mean what you hear. They don’t

mean something else. In Arabic it’s very complicated, in
French it’s complicated, in Hebrew too. Also, some
expressions make my life much easier. In the beginning, I
would say to someone, “I understand what you are trying
to explain to me.” The day I discovered “Got it,” I was so
happy. In French, it takes so many words to say you
understood what the people are telling you.

I have to say, I was really surprised in a good way to see

that you can make fun of Americans in front of them and
they’ll patiently laugh. It means comedy is in the culture.
More than the French, they agree to be self-deprecating.

If I go back to America, I would love to write a bit about

how I started to do comedy in English two years ago and I
just had to talk about my accent. But now that I know
English, [and] my accent is not that strong, I need jokes. I
used to be this sweet, cute little French guy trying to do
fi
things in English, and it was charming. Now that I speak
English, it’s not enough.

Bassem Youssef
Native Tongue: Arabic

Photo: Tara Ziemba/Getty Images

[Comedy] is a third language. You can be the best English
speaker out there, but that’s a third language. It’s timing,
delivery, pacing, cadence, references, knowing your
audience, reading the room, voice pitches. I don’t say that
I got all of that, but I started learning the hard way, and I
started recording myself. I knew that my jokes were funny,
but I didn’t know why people didn’t laugh. I listened to
myself and I was saying the jokes, not telling the jokes.

I think this was more a personal journey, much deeper

than being funny or not. Dealing with your insecurities.
Accepting that you, at the age of 45, are doing something
that people in their 20s are doing. After being an
established doctor, after being the most famous person in
your own region, and you’re coming here and starting from
scratch. It’s scary, but it’s very ful lling to expand your
mind and expand your ability to continue to learn
something new.

The funny thing is that I cannot do stand-up in Arabic. I

can’t. It’s crazy now that I’m thinking in English. People tell
me, “We want you to do stand-up in Arabic,” and I sit down
and write and I don’t nd it in me. I’m not saying I won’t,
but it’s crazy that I’m in a place where I’m developing
myself in English.

Flula Borg
Native Tongue: German
fi
fi
Photo: Jim Spellman/Getty Images
In Germany, I am not considered funny. I’m just
considered very German. Just another one of those guys
waiting in line at the supermarket purchasing fresh
blueberries. That was always what it was like in Germany.

German, I think, has some very interesting words. For

example, we have something called treppenwitz. It means
“staircase joke.” Let us say you and I are having a debate
and we are insulting each other, and you say something
really good to me and I feel stupid. As I’m leaving your
apartment, I’m going down the stairs, and then this is
when I realize a nice comeback for you. It’s too late. I’m in
the staircase. This is what is wonderful about German.

I would say German has some more interesting words, but

English has the most dope slang. There are many slangs I
think are weird and fun, and I have explored some of
these many times after a techno session in my
automobile. [There was] a colleague I had who was called
Jennifer, and I heard people saying in my of ce as I
worked there that she was a real party-pooper. I did not
understand how people know that she poops at parties.
This should not be something people would know.

Our word structure is very different. In German, often the

verb is at the very end. So if you are telling a joke in
German, there is a very long delay sometimes, because
you do not know where this is going. What will happen in
the end? In English, it is not like this. So this can make a
structure of storytelling or a weird joke feel very different.

Vir Das
Native Tongue: Hindi and English
fi
 Photo: Rick Kern/Getty Images
I write in Hindi for movies and series and that stuff. I feel
like you have to do stand-up in the language that you
think. And for me, that is English. I think I could write
[stand-up in Hindi], but it wouldn’t be as good because it’s
not the rst thought that you have. It would be derivative.
fi
In terms of thinking in one language and writing in another,
the one difference is in Hindi you have to get to the punch
line and get to the laugh faster. I think Hindi is just a more
direct language than English in those terms. There are
more direct ways to convey any emotions or what you
want to convey in Hindi.

Different areas of the world throw different things at you. I

think people laugh in Norway at things that they wouldn’t
laugh at in France or that they wouldn’t laugh at in
London. All of a sudden, it starts to be clear that if one joke
works in 17 different countries unequivocally, then that
really is a good joke and it’s culture agnostic. Then you try
and write more jokes like that.

Language is a bubble at the end of the day. Whether I

speak Hindi or not, I have an Indian face to my English. I
have an Indian cadence to my English, Indian
pronunciation, I pause at different points, and that’s
dictated by who I am. Even my English is different from
your English, and that’s very visible onstage. That’s an
entity that I own.

Jocelyn Chia
Native Tongue: Mandarin and English
Photo: YouTube
When I do my jokes in Asia, even if I do it in English,
things have to be changed or shaped or just completely
cut out just so it can culturally translate. Because it’s very
tiring going to a different country and writing a whole new
set for them.
You always want to end on the funny word. In English that
is very easy to do. The reason why Germans are known
for not having the greatest sense of humor, linguistically
what I’ve heard is it’s harder for them based on the syntax
of their language to put the punch line at the end. So
German humor ends up being pretty different from English
humor.

In English, you do have to get to the punch line faster. I

don’t know if it’s different in any other language. It could be
a cultural thing because in Asia, in the U.K., in Australia,
audiences can be more patient. They’re willing to let you
go on a little bit longer. So I don’t think it’s a language
thing, I think it’s a cultural thing.

[In English, if] you start any line with “Bitch!” you’re going
to get a laugh. In Singapore, for those who speak
Mandarin, if somebody pisses you off you just have to say,
“Ta ma de!” which is like our cuss word for “your mother.”
They always laugh.

Singaporeans talk really fast. I have to remind myself to

speak more slowly. We speak quickly, so I have to slow
down a little in America. Especially having an accent, it
just helps them understand more. So I have to consciously
slow down in America. At least, I try to.

Francisco Ramos
Native Tongue: Spanish

Photo: YouTube
When I think of bits, I think in English; I write them in
English. There’s no translating. I actually do the opposite: I
take bits that work in English and try to translate them to
Spanish and see if they work.
 English is a very short, right-to-the-point language, which
is why stand-up works. With stand-up, it’s nding the word
that could get to your point faster, to get to the joke faster.
The more you talk, the more people are like, Hurry up, get
to the point.

One of the things I’ve found that is most challenging is in

Spanish there is Central and South America and Spain.
Everybody has their own way of talking, accents, and
different words that they use. For me it’s nding the word
that everybody understands. If I do a bit in Spanish and I
use Venezuelan slang or Venezuelan words, then people
from Mexico or Colombia are not going to get it. Spanish
allows you to talk more, and the audience kind of respects
that or is used to that. In English, you’ve got to go fast.

I de nitely have my Venezuelan accent, but I try to

neutralize it as much as possible in order for anyone to
understand me. If I speak too fast, some people might not
understand what I’m saying. When I started doing stand-
up, I would always remind myself, Go slow. Because I
speak fast already, so if you speak slow people will
understand you. It’s not like you’re speaking slow, you’re
speaking normal.

Ismo Leikola
Native Tongue: Finnish
fi
fi
fi
Photo: Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images
It’s easier to talk about America to Finnish people than the
other way around. Everybody knows something about
America, but nobody knows shit about Finland.
Sometimes the idea and the joke or the observation can
be translated, but for some reason it’s only funny in one
language. That’s the mystery.
For example, this is a bit I’ve been doing about the phrase
“If I’m completely honest” and wondering about that. We
have the saying in Finnish, but in Finnish everything is in
passive form. So in English it’s “If I’m completely honest”
and in Finnish it’s like “If honesty is happening.” So things
like that — some parts of that bit can be translated, but
some can’t be translated.

Even if you nd the exact translation of something, there

might be hidden feelings. Kind of like the tone, which can
be completely different or wrong. It’s really hard to tell the
tone in a second language. Sometimes you just don’t
know the word and you just have to ask.

I’m actually planning to do this social-media post about

some of the silliest expressions that we use regularly [in
Finnish]. We say, “Not even with an axe.” Like, “I couldn’t
pass that car, not even with an axe.” Meaning I just
couldn’t do it. It’s really ridiculous. How would an axe help
unless it was with killing something? We use that in
everything. Like you need an axe to do everything. It could
be, “I couldn’t nd my keys, even with an axe.”

There are way sillier ones. The amount of words we have

for a penis, for example. There are so many and they are
so funny. There’s lots in English, too, but they are too
weird. Like “wiener.”
fi
fi
Christian Schulte-Loh
Native Tongue: German

Photo: Comedy Store/Wikipedia

In other European countries, people think Germans have
just no sense of humor whatsoever. I wasn’t really aware
that this was such a big thing, but apparently it was and
still is. When I say that I’m German, people who haven’t
seen me before think that’s funny that a German can be a
comedian. They think Germans can be funny, but not
intentionally.

I think I have two comedy brains. I write stuff in German

and I write stuff in English, because I do very different
material when I’m gigging in German compared to when
I’m gigging in English. If I do a one-hour show, maybe ten
minutes of that would be the same in both languages. The
rest would be completely different.

You get away with more stuff in English. In England, if you

said “Shut the fuck up” to somebody in the front row, that
would be something that you hear quite often in Britain.
People would even laugh. If you literally said that in
German, it would be too harsh. [It’s] the same with certain
jokes. In Britain, they drink more, so there is more energy
in the room; it’s rougher. If people don’t like the act they
start to interrupt, and then they get up and have a drink. In
Germany, they watch it and sit through it.

There’s the famous line: Germans are too honest to be

polite, and Brits are too polite to be honest. I think in
Britain there is more coding, sarcasm. In Britain and
America, if you say “I love this guy,” it doesn’t mean you
love the person. You like the person. In Britain, I think the
entire society is being held together by sarcasm. It’s a very
important tool to use.
 Ra Bastos
Native Tongue: Portuguese

Photo: Vanessa Carvalho/Shutterstock/Vanessa Carvalho/Shutterstock

A few jokes you can translate and they work in English as
well. When you talk about marriage and dating and Tinder,
those subjects are international. Talking about my kid and
fi
pregnancy — we are the same in those areas. Those
jokes work on the same level. Of course, you have to
change a little bit, nd the right word, nd the right verb.
There is a math behind the joke, and I respect the math
when I’m translating.

In order for me to do a joke in English, I have to be

completely memorized to make it look fresh. I can change
the rhythm, I can make it quicker and make it slower. I can
play with the joke. If I’m not memorized, I’m thinking so
much in the way I’m going to say it that it looks
memorized. It’s crazy. It’s almost like reverse psychology.

What I think is amazing is there is a likability to a foreigner

talking in English. In my language I am considered an
asshole. In English, there is a likability behind the way I
speak, and I’m taking advantage of it. I don’t feel I’m
starting again writing the material, but also, I found a new
perspective on my own personality talking in a different
language. That’s the craziest thing for me.

I feel clubs treat us as a special type of comedian: We

need to have a woman and we need to have a foreigner.
It’s almost like a brand. So that’s what I’m trying to run
away from. Because otherwise I’m a category. I don’t want
to be a category.

Yuriko Kotani
fi
fi
 Native Tongue: Japanese

Photo: SOPA Images/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

I don’t think in Japan we even call it “stand-up comedy.”
It’s more like two people talking, like a double act. One
person just talking and doing set-up and punch line was
very dif cult for me at the beginning, because in Japan
fi
 you say something and then the other person says
something. It’s different.

Right now my rhythm is an English rhythm. In my case it’s

about rhythm, so when I’m writing or thinking material, it’s
in English. I must write it down in English. One time a
while ago, I MC-ed in Japan in Fukuoka. So I translated
my English set into Japanese. Some stuff got laughs, but
one bit I did the joke and the audience went “Uuuhh.” They
acknowledged the information. It’s live and learn.

As a Japanese thing — this is not comedy, but it’s a

general thing — swear words were very interesting. Like
the F-word. For example, in movies people say, “Fuck
you.” But this F-word can be used for everything. Like,
“This fucking chair.” It becomes an adjective? Or “Fuck
off.” It becomes something like “Get out” or some similar
meaning. In Japan, we have swear words or something to
say harshly or make others feel bad. But the F-word can
be used in many ways.

It is dif cult, but it is awesome when you get a laugh. It is

just tremendous. Anyone who wants to do it, I’m telling
you, please do it. Sometimes you hear someone say it’s
not good enough doing it in a second language. Ignore
those people. Just go for it.
fi