4 ms·

> Spanish food names to be replaced by "kind of the same" British names The purpose of a translation is after all to convey the meaning of what was said. So fo

> Spanish food names to be replaced by "kind of the same" British names The purpose of a translation is after all to convey the meaning of what was said. So for example you'd want the English "so so" to be translated in Spanish as "más o menos" instead of repeating the translation of "so" twice. You don't want to just translate word for word, venir infierno o alta agua. A lot of dialog needs language specific context, many expressions don't lend themselves to literal translation, or the translation in that language is long and cumbersome so paraphrasing is an improvement. Like with anything else, the secret is using it sparingly, only when it adds value.

diggan 2y ago
> But for example you'd want the English "so so" to be translated in Spanish as "más o menos" instead of doubling down on whatever literal translation for "so" they choose. Agree, but I don't think those are "cultural translations" but more like "idioms translations", which mostly makes sense to do. What I originally wrote about are things like Family Guy original voice-overs + subtitles making a joke about some typical father figure in Hollywood for example. Then the Latin Spanish subtitles will have translated that joke but replaced the specific actor with some typical father figure from the Mexican movie industry, while the Castilian subtitles would have replaced it with someone from the Spanish movie industry.
- close04 2y ago
  I think I've encountered cases like this watching Netflix movies originally in my native language but subtitled in English. But in every case I can remember the substitution made perfect sense. Without adapting the translation the natives will immediately understand the reference while you, the non-native with no sense of who they're talking about are left wondering what's the real message. Calling someone a "Mother Teresa" might miss the mark somewhere in China. Same if an Italian movie made references to food like Casu Marzo and the average American would probably miss a lot of the context. Just recently I saw this in a series where some workers in the oil extraction industry were staring at a pan of paella asking what it is and calling it jambalaya. Paella is world famous, how about khash? That's why I said I understand the usage but it should only be done if it really helps the comprehension, not just the principle of gratuitously adapting to one language.
  - diggan 2y ago
    > Without adapting the translation the natives will immediately understand the reference while you, the non-native with no sense of who they're talking about are left wondering what's the real message. Calling someone a "Mother Teresa" might miss the mark somewhere in China. Same if an Italian movie made references to food like Casu Marzo and the average American would probably miss a lot of the context. Right, but isn't that why the American is watching this Italian movie anyways, to get a wider understanding of Italian culture? I don't watch foreign movies with the expectation that they're adapted to my local culture, then there wouldn't be much point in watching it.
    - close04 2y ago
      > isn't that why the American is watching this Italian movie anyways I don't know. I always though people would prefer to hear the original voice of the actor, since speech is a big part of the acting. But movies are dubbed in a lot of countries. And most people from those countries I spoke to said that they find the idea of subtitles very odd because it's distracting them from the movie. I am sure many if not most people simply want to understand what's the message behind the conversation on the screen first and foremost. Learning something new only works if while you try to keep up with the dialogue, you also keep track of all the expressions you heard for the first time, to look them up later. This is why I think it's the translator's job to balance translation and adaptation. Directly translate the original where context helps you understand the meaning so you get the "original" experience, and adapt where leaving just the 1:1 translation will make you lose the thread or miss some details.
techjamie 2y ago
That's a good example of translation where there's only really so many ways to do it. A bad example like people are talking about is the original 4Kids Pokemon where every time someone brought out an Onigiri (rice ball), they would call them jelly donuts.

diggan 2y ago

> But for example you'd want the English "so so" to be translated in Spanish as "más o menos" instead of doubling down on whatever literal translation for "so" they choose. Agree, but I don't think those are "cultural translations" but more like "idioms translations", which mostly makes sense to do. What I originally wrote about are things like Family Guy original voice-overs + subtitles making a joke about some typical father figure in Hollywood for example. Then the Latin Spanish subtitles will have translated that joke but replaced the specific actor with some typical father figure from the Mexican movie industry, while the Castilian subtitles would have replaced it with someone from the Spanish movie industry.

close04 2y ago
I think I've encountered cases like this watching Netflix movies originally in my native language but subtitled in English. But in every case I can remember the substitution made perfect sense. Without adapting the translation the natives will immediately understand the reference while you, the non-native with no sense of who they're talking about are left wondering what's the real message. Calling someone a "Mother Teresa" might miss the mark somewhere in China. Same if an Italian movie made references to food like Casu Marzo and the average American would probably miss a lot of the context. Just recently I saw this in a series where some workers in the oil extraction industry were staring at a pan of paella asking what it is and calling it jambalaya. Paella is world famous, how about khash? That's why I said I understand the usage but it should only be done if it really helps the comprehension, not just the principle of gratuitously adapting to one language.
- diggan 2y ago
  > Without adapting the translation the natives will immediately understand the reference while you, the non-native with no sense of who they're talking about are left wondering what's the real message. Calling someone a "Mother Teresa" might miss the mark somewhere in China. Same if an Italian movie made references to food like Casu Marzo and the average American would probably miss a lot of the context. Right, but isn't that why the American is watching this Italian movie anyways, to get a wider understanding of Italian culture? I don't watch foreign movies with the expectation that they're adapted to my local culture, then there wouldn't be much point in watching it.
  - close04 2y ago
    > isn't that why the American is watching this Italian movie anyways I don't know. I always though people would prefer to hear the original voice of the actor, since speech is a big part of the acting. But movies are dubbed in a lot of countries. And most people from those countries I spoke to said that they find the idea of subtitles very odd because it's distracting them from the movie. I am sure many if not most people simply want to understand what's the message behind the conversation on the screen first and foremost. Learning something new only works if while you try to keep up with the dialogue, you also keep track of all the expressions you heard for the first time, to look them up later. This is why I think it's the translator's job to balance translation and adaptation. Directly translate the original where context helps you understand the meaning so you get the "original" experience, and adapt where leaving just the 1:1 translation will make you lose the thread or miss some details.

techjamie 2y ago

That's a good example of translation where there's only really so many ways to do it. A bad example like people are talking about is the original 4Kids Pokemon where every time someone brought out an Onigiri (rice ball), they would call them jelly donuts.