Fluent Fiction - Danish: Lost in Translation: Decoding Danish Humor Across Continents
Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:
fluentfiction.org/lost-in-translation-decoding-danish-humor-across-continents

Story Transcript:

Da: Solens stråler dansede på de rødbede-lignende ansigter af Maja og Lars. De stod i midten af Kongens Nytorv, København. De blev forvirrede. Men ikke over vejen de skulle gå. Men over hvordan de skulle forklare dansk humor til en udlænding, som befandt sig tusindvis af kilometer væk på en Skype chat.
En: The sun's rays danced on the beetroot-like faces of Maja and Lars. They stood in the middle of Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen. They were perplexed. Not about the street they had to cross. But about how to explain Danish humor to a foreigner thousands of kilometers away on a Skype chat.

Da: Maja kiggede på Lars. Hans øjne var sprængfyldt med forvirring. Humor er svært, tænkte hun. I særdeleshed dansk humor. Det er som at prøve at forklare farveskalaen til en blind person.
En: Maja looked at Lars. His eyes were filled with confusion. Humor is difficult, she thought. Especially Danish humor. It's like trying to explain color to a blind person.

Da: Hun så på hendes telefon. Hun begyndte at skrive. "Dansk humor...hattes...er svær at forklare," kommer hun ud for. Det var ikke perfekt, men det var et startpunkt.
En: She looked at her phone. She started typing. "Danish humor... hats... is hard to explain," she typed out. It wasn't perfect, but it was a starting point.

Da: Lars kiggede hen over hendes skulder. Han så på de ord, der stod på hendes skærm. Han forstod hendes punkt, men han kunne ikke hjælpe meget. Han kendte bare dansk humor. Han forstod ikke, hvordan det fungerede. Han kunne bare genkende det, når han så det.
En: Lars looked over her shoulder. He read the words on her screen. He understood her point, but he couldn't help much. He just knew Danish humor. He didn't understand how it worked. He could only recognize it when he saw it.

Da: Tiden gik. Maja og Lars talte, grinede, og forsøgte at finde den rette måde at forklare det. De brugte eksempler, skrev lange sætninger, og endda begyndte at tegne billeder. Men de kom ingen vegne. Det var som om de var faret vild i en labyrint.
En: Time passed. Maja and Lars talked, laughed, and tried to find the right way to explain it. They used examples, wrote long sentences, and even started to draw pictures. But they got nowhere. It was as if they were lost in a maze.

Da: Efter flere timer af forsøg og fejl, blev de trætte. De sad i en trappeopgang, udmattede. Så faldt det dem ind. De havde glemt en ting. Humor er universel. Den er ikke begrænset af sprog eller traditioner. Måske er dansk humor bare en del af den universelle humor.
En: After several hours of trial and error, they grew tired. They sat in a stairwell, exhausted. Then it dawned on them. They had forgotten one thing. Humor is universal. It is not limited by language or traditions. Perhaps Danish humor is just part of the universal humor.

Da: Meget tilfredse clickede Maja på Skypes send-knap. "Dansk humor er svær at forklare, fordi det er en del af en større helhed. Det er som et familiemedlem. Du kan ikke altid forstå det. Men du kan altid genkende det."
En: Feeling very satisfied, Maja clicked the send button on Skype. "Danish humor is hard to explain because it is part of a larger whole. It's like a family member. You don't always understand it. But you can always recognize it."

Da: Det var slutningen på deres undervisning i dansk humor for den dag. Det var ikke perfekt. Men det var et skridt på vejen. Og det tæller.
En: That was the end of their lesson in Danish humor for the day. It wasn't perfect. But it was a step in the right direction. And that counts.


Vocabulary Words:

• rays: stråler
• faces: ansigter
• perplexed: forvirrede
• explain: forklare
• humor: humor
• difficult: svært
• color: farve
• blind: blind
• typing: skrive
• understood: forstod
• recognize: genkende
• talked: talte
• laughed: grinede
• examples: eksempler
• wrote: skrev
• pictures: billeder
• lost: faret vild
• tired: trætte
• universal: universel
• limited: begrænset
• language: sprog
• traditions: traditioner
• family: familiemedlem
• understand: forstå
• recognize: genkende
• lesson: undervisning
• perfect: perfekt
• direction: vej
• counts: tæller