Laughter is a Global Language

Welocalize delivers localized content in more than 250 languages, so we have a good knowledge of the various cultural forms of communication around the world. From dialects and writing systems through to multimedia and images, we have localized and translated them all. There is one area of communication that also differs between countries — humor.

Humor is meant to provoke laughter and provide amusement. It can be expressed in many different ways, both verbally and written, and is frequently used digitally and distributed through social media sites. Anyone can laugh and it’s the ultimate feel-good language that is really easy to learn and is universal. What’s not universal is how humor is applied around the world. We just don’t all see things the same way and that is when cultural adaptation is needed to make sure we all get the humor, in any language.

Research conducted at University College London (UCL) indicates that laughter has commanding cross-cultural significance. Despite diversity in language, lifestyle and culture, laughter is one common way that all nationalities express emotion.

Research has found that an individual is up to 30 times more likely to laugh when in the presence of others (BBC Horizon), indicating that laughter is contagious, wherever you are, as well as part of a social process.

As humor is adapted, we also need to be aware of how others may view the actual impact. Individuals use laughter for numerous different reasons and often laugh at totally different things. An individual’s laugh is far from homogeneous across cultures. Laughing loudly or with your mouth open is considered a faux pas in Japan, whereas a free, loud laugh is the cultural norm in America. Individuals from China are unlikely to use laughter as a way of deflecting an uncomfortable situation.

“Ha-ha!” Translated

Ha-ha, used in SMS messages and on social media, has become an established e-laugh. Ha-ha may be well-understood in the English-speaking world; however, there are other ways millennials express this e-laugh of sorts in other countries:

• Thailand ‘5555’
• Brazil ‘rsrsrs’
• Korea ‘kkkk’
• Italy ‘ah ah’
• Greece ‘xaxaxa’
• Japan ‘wwww’
• France ‘mdr’
• Nigeria lwkmd’

One similarity is certain, in many cultures the user-generated content (UGC) of an e-laugh is short, simple and easy to type. The other certainty is that ha-ha is not universal!

Emoji Laughter

The term ‘lol’ is a well-used internet acronym for laugh out loud. Lol originated in the 1980s and was officially added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2011. The addition of the acronym in such a well-known publication was driven by the rapid adoption of technology, particularly mobile devices that have changed the way we communicate across the world.

Research conducted by social media giant Facebook discovered that lol’s are in fact being replaced by emoji’s as the go-to e-laugh. Emoji use differs across cultures. Japanese favor emojis that convey politeness, rather than raucous laughter. In a report published by Swiftkey, which analyzed nearly one billion pieces of emoji data, they found the French used more love hearts over laughter than any other country, while those in Australia use more holiday themed emojis than anyone else.

Laughter gives us all the same feeling of happiness and joy. Wherever you are in the world, try to take some time out today to speak the language and make your day brighter.