Commedia in scompiglio: One, two, three. Il multilinguismo come veicolo di umorismo

The analysis of Billy Wilder’s One, Two, Three (USA, 1961) sheds much light both on the role that multilingualism plays in comedy as a vehicle for humour and on the implications it has in translation. In particular, the confusion of languages and cultural identities, which constitutes a leitmotiv of comedy representing intercultural encounters on screen, becomes a means of producing a comic effect which can be both slight and direct. This confusion of lingua-cultural identities lies both on the diegetic level (interaction between characters) and on the extra-diegetic level (viewers’ perception of the reality depicted on screen). This humorous effect goes far beyond verbally expressed humour strictu sensu, (as puns and wordplay), but embraces a wider area, in which language itself, and especially lingua-cultural identity, contribute to accomplishing a comic effect. As confusion is commonly the main function of multilingualism in comedy - as opposed to conflict which is a more typical feature of drama - Italian dubbing professionals tend to be more free in their handling of the “delicate” material multilingualism represents on screen. The chapter provides a comparative analysis between the original and the Italian dubbed version of the film, analysis which allows to critically reflect on the different solutions adopted by dubbing professionals to manage multilingualism in comedy.