Amazing subtitles

One of my favourite TV programs is "American Idol" and I video each episode. I wonder if anyone else here has the opportunity to view this on "Fox" cable TV channel? One strange feature of it is the Japanese subtitles. The show isn't dubbed but only subtitled. I was watching it with my wife yesterday, and I pointed out to her that about half or more of the subtitles are mistranslated.

Yesterday was "Best of the rest" (episode eight of season six - we're a few weeks behind the USA). We went back and forward through the video and found mistaken translations almost everywhere. For example, during the audition, one of the contestants said how much she liked Simon, and Randy said "I don't like that you like him, but with age will come wisdom and you'll see the light." This was translated in the subtitles as "年を取れば声に深みが増す". I offer this as just one example of apparent either deliberate mistranslation or appalling incompetence - quite seriously about half the translations, especially of the judges' comments, are off the mark - if this thread gets going I'll give lots more examples. I just wonder why they do this kind of thing - is it because the Japanese translators actually don't understand the English or is it because they are just putting things there at random because translating it correctly would be too much trouble?


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