I'd suggest looking at some of Pratchett's Discworld novels and seeing if they work for you. They're heavier on the "wit" than the "humour," though.
If you don't mind kids'/young adult books, Gordan Korman's stuff (the Macdonald Hall books and Son of Interflux in particular) has, I think, a fair amount of both wit and humour.
Might I suggest PG Wodehouse's works, particularly the Jeeves books? There's a television adaptation starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie as well. Wodehouse had a clear influence on Adams, Pratchett, Fry, Laurie and many other British comedians and comic writers.
"Doctor Who means never having to say you're kidding." - BocajI second PG Wodehouse and third Terry Pratchett. If translation is the key factor, I would especially recommend Terry Pratchett. Many of his humorous passages play on the English language in a way that I have heard makes him very difficult to translate.
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!I think The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy might work. It has many different kinds of humor, but I think it could mostly consist of satire. I hope it works for you, though. I do know it's popular enough to be translated into several different languages.
Also, there are about five books in the Hitchhikers series, and you may want to read them in order; It may not make sense if you don't start with book one.
In between Not Even Human and Not Quite HumanI've heard it categorized as "wit" - arch Dorothy Parker stuff; "humor" - a Mark Twain essay; and "buffoonery" - Adam Sandler. I don't think you get a lot of buffoonery in literature; it's too reliant on sight gags.
Anyway, as far as wit (or possibly geek humor) goes, I would recommend Neal Stephenson.
edited 5th Dec '11 10:18:57 AM by DomaDoma
Hail Martin Septim!The Swedish translation of Discworld is very good (though even it loses the occasional joke). A lot of the time, its translators simply replace the pun (reference, etc.) with another one that works in Swedish.
For the OP: is that your own definition of the distinction between "wit" and "humour", or is it an established definition? I can't say I've heard it before. But then, I haven't been studying comedy...
edited 8th Dec '11 1:42:09 AM by DoktorvonEurotrash
Well, on the somewhat more twisted, situational end of things, there's always A Confederacy Of Dunces.
I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.Suggest you should probably have a couple. Go with Pratchet or Douglas Adams, because they are modern. However, it might also be a good idea to go with something older...
Oh! Alice In Wonderland! Virtually impossible to translate, due to its incredibly deep puns and wordplay!
edited 26th Dec '11 5:07:11 AM by Jimmmyman10
Go play Kentucky Route Zero. Now.

I'm going to have to apply for my bachelor thesis soon, and for that, I need a topic. I've recently decided on the direction I want to take it in. I'm studying translation, and since the subject interests me, I want to write about humor, what it is, how it works, what different kinds of humor there are, and thus, what should be considered when translating different kinds of humor. Of course, you could fill a whole book with this subject, and it's more of a subject for a student of social studies, so the thing I'll have to do is to do a commented translation of a text and focus on humor as a translation problem in the commentary.
Now, what I still need is a text.
It should, of course, be an originally English work, but that shouldn't be a problem. The most important thing I need from the text is to have many different kinds of humor within the space of only a few pages.
The main types of humor I differentiate between are "wit" and "humor" (I'll have to come up with better names for these). "Wit" is what I understand to be the kind of humor you can use as a stand-up comedian. It's sharp and powerful and in terms of social powers, it puts the wit above the audience, as he's proving his cleverness. "Humor", on the other hand, is more open and gentle. It's the kind of humor you use between friends, and which is only funny when it is between friends. Nobody would laugh at such a simple joke if it was told by a comedian on a stage, but if it's a friend, or a character you like, you are amused. It's often used in Slice of Life series as it relies on likable characters. It's an equalizing kind of humor used to strengthen emotional bonds.
Those are probably the two main categories that I can create more subcategories for. But yeah, to be able to fit both criteria, it can't be an all too cynical or all too fluffy text. There needs to be a healthy mix.
One of my professors offered to lend me "The Gun Seller" by Hugh Laurie, but I don't know at all if that would fit the bill. I can't think of any books I've read that seem like perfect fits, but I have the suspicion that Good Omens (or most any novel by Terry Pratchett alone) would be a good choice. I'm also wondering if a novel by John Green of vlogbrothers fame would fit the bill.
What do you think? Any suggestions?