STUDENT: That it the problem I have now. I am thinking when humor crosses international boundaries, the first obstacle it encounters is translation.
TUTOR:That is a very good observation. If could make a lot of sense to American readers if you could make an analogy. For example, in American culture, stand-up comedian is the epitome of humor. Do you have similar profession?
STUDENT: Yes, we have a school of entertainment called rakugo. That's "R-A-K-U-G-O." Story-tellers sit alone on a stage on a cushion. They tell stories and mimic the voice of well-known persons.
TUTOR:I have heard of it before.What the audience comes to here is not so much the story but the performance,the narrator's ability to weave the tale and to capture the essence of the characters with his voice.
STUDENT:Is there anything I should be aware of when employing this analogy?
TUTOR:Good question.The point is don't exaggerate this analogy.Remember it only serves as the example to reveal two types of humors in different cultures.
STUDENT: Thank you. Professor Coleman. You know English is not my native tongue.There must be a lot of language errors in this paper. I'm a little worried about that.
TUTOR:Yeah,that's a big problem. As for the writing itself, you need to use more complex structures and long sentences. Please do not forget words have their own style. For example, "look for" is better replaced with "investigate." In other words, verbal phrases are less formal than the single huge words from Latin. You want to use some books about etymology and stylistics. I will send you an email with the booklist.
STUDENT: Thank you.
TUTOR: And I've made a few notes on your proposal. Here, broadly speaking, you should include relationships between culture and humor, humor and translation and culture and translation.Choose one to make your thesis. In other words, your materials should be better sequenced. Everything you write should be relevant to the thesis.
STUDENT: Okay.
TUTOR: Besides, I've got a few actual questions for you here on the margin of several paragraphs. Think over these questions and try to answer them in your paper.
STUDENT: That would be very helpful.
TUTOR: Now about the conclusion of your project...