Homophonic translation  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search  Homophonic translation renders a
text in one language into a near-homophonic text in another
language, usually with no attempt to preserve the original
meaning of the text. In one homophonic translation, for example,
English "sat on a wall" /ˈsætɒnəˈwɔːl/ is rendered as French
"s'étonne aux Halles" [setɔnoɑl] 'is surprised at the Market'.
More generally, homophonic transformation renders a text into a
near-homophonic text in the same or another language: e.g.
"recognize speech" becomes "wreck a nice beach".  Homophonic
translation may be used to render proper nouns in a foreign
language. A more elegant solution, when possible, is phono-
semantic matching, which attempts to have closer semantics as
well as the proper sound.  Alternatively, homophonic translation
may be used for humorous purpose, as bilingual punning
(macaronic language). This requires the listener or reader to
understand both the surface, nonsensical tran