From : The Difficulties that MA Students Face in Translating Jokes from English to

Arabic in Middle East University & Petra University.

1. "What does the elevator say about its job? It always gets me down."

.‫یحبطن‬
‫ي‬ ‫ أحیانا‬.. ‫ماذا یقول المصعد عن عمله‬

From : Dissertation Academic Master:

Translation of Jokes: The Possibility of Linguistic and Cultural Rendering.

1. When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing:
either the car is new or the wife is!

.‫ اما ان السيارة جديدة او الزوجة جديدة‬..‫اذا رأيت رجال يفتح باب السيارة لزوجته فتأكد من احد االمرين‬

2. Did you hear about the Irish who took a ruler to his bed so he could tell how long he
slept?

‫لك يقيس كم استغرق يف نومه؟‬

‫هل سمعت عن الذي اخذ مسطرة ي‬

3. How do you make a Scotsman mute and deaf?

- By asking him to contribute a charity!

‫كيف تجعل يهودي اصم وابكم؟‬

.‫ان تطلب منه ان يتصدق‬

4. What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual.

What do you call someone who speaks one language?

American.

‫ماذا يسىم شخص يتكلم لغتي؟‬

 .‫ثنائ اللغة‬
‫ي‬
‫ماذا يسىم شخص يتكلم لغة واحدة؟‬

.‫امريك‬
‫ي‬

5. A teacher asked his students what is their opinion about food shortage in the rest of
the world?

-The Arabic « what does “opinion” mean? ».

-The American « what does” the rest of the world” mean? ».

-The European « what does “shortage” mean? ».

-The African «what does “food” mean? ».

‫"مارأيكم بنقص التغذية يف ي‬:‫سأل استاذ طالبه‬

‫باف انحاء العالم؟‬

."‫يعن رأيك؟‬
‫ "ماذا ي‬:‫العرئ‬
‫ي‬
."‫باف انحاء العالم؟‬ ‫ "ماذا ي‬:‫االمريك‬
‫يعن ي‬ ‫ي‬
."‫يعن نقص؟‬
‫ "ماذا ي‬:‫االوروئ‬
‫ي‬
."‫يعن تغذية؟‬
‫ "ماذا ي‬:‫ريق‬
‫االف ي‬

6. Not all drugs are good, all right? Some of them ... are great.

.‫بعضها رائعة‬...‫ليست كل االدوية جيدة مفهوم؟‬

7. “What is the longest word in English language?”

Smiles, because there is a mile between the first and the last letter.

‫ه اطول كلمة يف اللغة؟‬

‫ما ي‬

.‫ الن هناك ميل بي أول حرف وأخر حرف‬,‫جميلة‬

From: Translating Cultural Humour: Theory and Practice.

1. The judge to the witness: Extend your left hand and swear.

The witness: Sorry, I am right-handed.

.‫ مد يدك اليسرى واقسم‬:‫القاضي للشاهد‬-

.‫ انا ايمن‬,‫ عفوا‬:‫الشاهد‬-

From: A Taxonomy of Structural Ambiguity in Humour With Reference To Translation.

1. A lady wrote to the "Dear Abby" column in a newspaper, she said : "I have been
engaged to a man for some time, but just before the wedding, I find he has a wooden
leg. Do you think I should break it off?”.

‫ لقد خطبني رجل لفترة زمنية ولكني اكتشفت قبل الزفاف‬:‫كتبت سيدة في عمود "عزيزي آبي" من صحيفة قائلة‬
.‫ فهل تظن ان علي فسخها‬.‫تماما ان له ساق خشبية‬

2. A lady went into a clothing store and asked, "May I try on that dress in the window?"

"Well," replied the sales clerk doubtfully, "don't you think it would be better to use the
dressing room?"

‫ هل بإمكاني قياس ذلك الثوب في واجهة العرض؟‬:‫ذىبت سيدة الى متجر مالبس و سألت البائع‬

‫ ولكن اال تظنين ان من االفضل فعل ذلك في غرفة قياس المالبس؟‬:‫ "حسناً" وهو يساوره بعض الشك‬:‫فأجاب البائع‬

3. What is the best way to prevent diseases caused by biting insects?

Don't bite the insects.

‫ما أفضل طريقة لمنع األمراض بسبب لدغ الحشرات؟‬

.‫ال تلدغ الحشرات‬