Re: Amazing subtitles

Dave Fossett wrote:
Jim Breen wrote:

Ben Bullock wrote:
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?

I suspect it's the former.

I think it was in the recent film "Black Dahlia" I saw the line "You
must have a lot of fun" translated as "ファンがたくさんいるだろう" in
the Japanese subtitles.

I will also be interested to see how Robin Williams' line "Stop spanking
that monkey!" gets translated in the Japanese version of Night Museum
when it opens in Japan later this month.


（あの）猿をいじめちゃダメだよ・・・

I don't think they'll translate the alternative meaning,
even if it's understood, that is.
By the way, I try to ignore mistranslations in order to keep
my heart rate from going up but I just can't watch Boondock
Saints where the punchline of the joke is "Coke" as in Coca
Cola but the translator doesn't get it and puts in
"Cocaine"instead.
I think that there are plenty of doubtful translations made
on purpose to fit the screen and to make the Japanese more
natural but at the same time it seems that in an average
movie the translator hasn't got the first clue 5~10
times.Perhaps this is especially so when translating
(modern) USA idiom.

pieter
.