The current study examines whether the fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia) can be assessed reliably and validly by means of a self-report instrument in di¤erent countries of the world. All items of the GELOPH 254 R. T. Proyer et al. (Ruch and Titze 1998;Ruch and Proyer 2008b) were translated to the local language of the collaborator (42 languages in total). In total, 22,610 participants in 93 samples from 73 countries completed the GELOPH. Across all samples the reliability of the 15-item questionnaire was high (mean alpha of .85) and in all samples the scales appeared to be unidimensional. The endorsement rates for the items ranged from 1.31% through 80.00% to a single item. Variations in the mean scores of the items were more strongly related to the culture in a country and not to the language in which the data were collected. This was also supported by a multidimensional scaling analysis with standardized mean scores of the items from the GELOPH3154. This analysis identified two dimensions that further helped explaining the data (i.e., insecure vs. intense avoidant-restrictive and low vs. high suspicious tendencies towards the laughter of others). Furthermore, multiple samples derived from one country tended to be (with a few exceptions) highly similar. The study shows that gelotophobia can be assessed reliably by means of a self-report instrument in cross-cultural research. This study enables further studies of the fear of being laughed at with regard to di¤erences in the prevalence and putative causes of gelotophobia in comparisons to di¤erent cultures.

Audiovisual productions are increasingly featuring multi-ethnic communities which also reflect today’s globalised world. Characters in both films and TV series are often depicted as having a bilingual background and heavily relying on code-switching to express their bicultural identity (Monti 2016: 69). As such, this phenomenon poses important challenges for its translation, especially when dubbing is involved. Using this audiovisual translation (AVT) mode involves a necessary technical manipulation(Díaz-Cintas 2012: 284-285). As for Italian dubbing, multilingualism has often undergone a process of neutralization (Pavesi 2005: 56) or local standardization (Ulrych 2000: 410), although recent dubbed films have proved to be geared towards a more faithful rendering of this important feature of the source text (Monti 2016: 90).It should be borne in mind that contextual factors, such as genres, may play a fundamental role in deciding whether to retain or neutralise multilingualism in AVT, especially when it is used for humorous purposes. In those cases, the perlocutionary function of the ST should be considered (Hickey 1998; cf. also Zabalbeascoa 2012: 322). Comedy can make use of multilingualism to entertain and the American mockumentary (or docucomedy) Modern Family(Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, 2009-2019), is a striking example in this sense. It follows the lives of Jay Pritchett and his family in suburban Los Angeles. Linguistically speaking, the most interesting character is Jay’s second wife Gloria Delgado, a young and beautiful Colombian woman who often code-switches or code-mixes English and Spanish (with a marked Colombian accent), thus creating moments of pure comedy. Hence, this study investigates how Gloria’s humorous and multilingual persona has been transferred into Italian. The analysis confirms the current tendency of Italian dubbing to render otherness in the TT (Monti 2016: 89). This may be justified by the genre and scope of the programme, that allow for a more innovative transfer of vernacular matching via what I propose to call functional manipulation.

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Humour is often exploited in advertising to enhance the positive image of a brand or corporate company, as well as to promote products or services. Advertisers seek the involvement of the audience via covert or overt references that, in their opinion, may trigger humour and, hypothetically, result in a positive customer response. However, using intertextual humour in advertising can sometimes be risky because, even though the ideal interlocutor is supposed to be familiar with the humorous reference the author alludes to, the latter can never be certain of whether it will be favourably received. The matter is further complicated if the advert relies on references that play on taboo or transgressive topics, which some may find humorous while others will consider distasteful. After all, humour is a phenomenon that varies according to individual cultures and historical time, as well as in terms of how it is perceived and whether it is appreciated. In this context, this study focuses on the use of intertextual taboo humour in adverts and campaigns that exploit both verbal and non-verbal texts. It particularly explores the reasons for the target clientele’s reaction, which has had a boomerang effect on the brand and company itself. The suggested hypothesis is that the simultaneous exploitation of verbal and non-verbal intertextual references (consciously or unconsciously) activates multiple targets and scripts that cause the intended humour to fail in its scope.