Bilingual wordplay

Today’s Scenes From a Multiverse:

It’s the first two panels, with a play on the name of the supreme leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un — interpreted as if the un was French for ‘one’. So after Kim Jong Un comes Kim Jong Deux.

4 Responses to “Bilingual wordplay”

  1. Bob Richmond Says:

    I pronounce it Kim Jong Eeeeuuuw. (That actually is a bit closer to the original Korean vowel.)

  2. John Baker Says:

    And in the previous comic he announced that he is “the clone of Kim Jong Un! Good Un!” The wordplay works pretty well in print, but not so well when spoken.

  3. arnold zwicky Says:

    From Éamonn McManus on Facebook:

    If I were an insufferable pedant I would note that the first to bear a name is called Première or Premier, not Un, even though the subsequent ones are indeed Deux, Trois, etc. But of course I am not, so I won’t.

    Mind you, Kim Jong Un’s father *was* sometimes jokingly or mistakenly called Kim Jong Deux in French since Kim Jong Il can easily be misread that way.

  4. Metatext handout | Arnold Zwicky's Blog Says:

    […] (followed by a bunch of tweets). Discussion of the strip in my posting “Bilingual wordplay of the same day, here. […]

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