Pitfalls and bloopers
Update October 2007: English, a tricky language
Recent Dutch subtitling mistakes in English/American television shows, films and documentaries.
You can have fun with these blunders, but subtitlers and translators can also profit by studying them. They will learn to be on their guard against these disastrously funny mistakes.
A blunder that can compete with the famous "telephone call" in The Onedin Line: in a television series, Lincoln was assassinated during the American Civil War, "while he was watching a show". In the subtitle this had become, "while he was watching tv".
In a subtitle "They sicked the dog on me" became something like "they caused the dog to be nauseated by me". Of course, they set the dog on him.
In a subtitle where a man is sitting in a car someone said, "he cracked the window", meaning he opened it just a little bit. According to the subtitler, the man smashed the window.
In an episode of Dr. Phil, a man tells about the contact his son has with a paedophile through the Internet. The paedophile tells all kinds of tales and the man says, "he bought it hook line and sinker", meaning the boy believed it all. But the subtitler was on another track, according to him the boy had "bought fishing gear".
A viewer mailed us that he had seen "chop-chop" (hurry up) translated in a subtitle as "hack hack".
"Pans of hot grease" became in a subtitle "pants full of hot grease" (Gilmore Girls).
"I'm gonna have my hair cut. If I'm late, Kenneth gives me bangs" became "...Kenneth beats me up" (Thirtysomething).
"Remember the Donner Party?" became "Remember that party at the Donner's?". The Donner Party, though, was a group of pioneers that resorted to cannibalism to survive.
"They're still getting antibodies from the mother"
became, "They're still getting antibiotics from the mother" (Animal Planet).
"His family lives and breathes horses", meaning horses were central in their lives,
became, "They also breed horses"
"I'll kick that door in if you give me a little sugar", meaning he would kick the door in for a kiss, became, "...for a cup of sugar" (Friends).
"Bring him to the station" in a police context, was mistaken for "train station".
In the film The Queen, following the death of princess Diana, Tony Blair tells the Queen, "give my condolences to the princes", the bereaved sons, but the subtitler translated, "to the princess", who had just died.
"The suit was custom-made" became in the subtitle, "The suit was made by Mr Custom".
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What happens when you translate literally
English is an idiomatic language. While translating from English into other languages translators and subtitlers have to be on their guard. A few examples that can serve as useful reminders:
Static... -
On the DVD Alive, about the plane crash of the Uruguayan rugby team in the Andes mountains, a Touchstone Pictures production, one of the survivors finds a transistor radio, brings it to his ear, and cries out: "I hear static." In the subtitle, this became: "I hear static electricity."
Where does this come from? - This was translated literally in a Dutch subtitle while there was nothing coming from anywhere. The person who said it was just annoyed at the outburst of another character. The subtitle should have been the idiomatic equivalent of "Why do you suddenly react this way?"
You can't pull this off. - No sock or other garments were to be taken off, in spite of the literal translation. The translation should have been the idiomatic equivalent in the target language of "You will never be able to do this."
Are you getting cold feet? - Feet didn't play any role in the scene.
I'm speaking from experience here. - The literal meaning of "here" was neither here nor there.
What are you looking at? - The literal translation ignored the anger and the tone of "What do you want?"
My kid brother - In the many cases there's not a "little" brother in sight. Often it's said about a younger brother, who can be quite big. So it can be a little joke.
We've done it - The literal translation eliminated the jubilant feeling of accomplishment.
Welcoming party - it wasn't a party with drinks or dancing.
Dog fight - there were no dogs fighting high in the air, but fighter pilots.
He hit on me - No injuries were sustained.
Did you pack a gun? - No gun was put into a suitcase.
Kids - Often mistakenly translated as "children", but of course kids can be teenagers.
Bathroom - Often "toilet".
He's not such a bad fellow after all - "after all" hardly ever is meant literally.
It's just - Often translated literally, making it meaningless. An equivalent in the target language is a must.
What happened? - When someone is telling a story and at an exciting point the listener says, "What happened?", the translation often is word-for-word, which makes it seem as though the speaker hasn't listened at all.
Act of God - Not literally but so to speak.
The pitcher struck out all. - He didn't hit anyone.
Beast of prey - This isn't the victim but the eater.
Friend - Can be female.
You're a son of your father - This doesn't look like an expression, but it is. Literal translation is a shame.
Lip, "don't give me your lip" - wasn't said by someone who didn't want to be kissed but by someone who was angry because of the other's offensive tone.
Morning coat - To go out in, not a dressing gown.
Sea dog - Not an animal but a man who is a real sailor.
Sleeping policeman - Neither an undercover agent nor a lazy cop, but a speed bump.
Sponger - Not a window-cleaner, but a scrounger.
Speechless - Also euphemism for being drunk.
Son of a bitch - often just an exclamation of surprise.
The police are - subtitlers often forget that "police" is plural in English but can be singular in the target language.
Let me spell this out for you - this hardly ever means something is going to be spelled as in s-p-e-l-l-e-d.
Ambiguity
A lot of words and phrases in English can have more than one meaning, the one often totally different from the other. A few examples that often lead to mistakes:Provisions - Food. The literal translation of this word into "provisie" on Dutch television suggested poor Pierce Brosnan as Robinson Crusoe was talking about "commission" instead of the food he had on his island.
Address - Can be where someone lives, but also a speech.
There is nothing to it - Does this mean "it's boring" or "it's easy"?
Cinema - Can mean a particular cinema, but also the world of cinema.
Estate - Means property, big house, but also an inheritance.
Factory - Can be a police station in Britain.
The extreme stuff
In extreme circumstances, under pressure of a deadline or while working out complex subtitling problems, extreme bloopers can occur. Studying them will make you much more alert to the dangers one runs when subtitling.
Wish him many happy returns for me. - This was translated as, "Wish him many more reincarnations."
After all he put you through - This was said to someone who had been given a hard time by her boyfriend. Still the subtitle read, "after all, he connected you/put you through (by telephone)".
Rest easy. - A soldier was shot dead, another soldier closes his eyes and says, "Rest easy." The Dutch subtitle said: "Take a nice little break."
An anachronism. In The Onedin Line, situated in the pre-steamship era, when Alexander Graham Bell hadn't been born yet, from a sailing ship a character shouts to the shore, "I'll call you." The subtitler translated: "I'll phone you."
Axe-murderer - Without a script, a subtitler translated, "ex-murderer". In this case one might say, Wait a minute, once a murderer, always a murderer.
In the direction of the sound - Again, without a script subtitlers have to be extra on their guard. Here the subtitles contained a mysterious kind of noise in the direction of which people in a helicopter flew. But the scene was near Plymouth where there is a sea arm called the Sound.
Roger Evans, your cousin three times removed - The translated text in the subtitle in Sister Sister was, "Roger Evans, your cousin, who has already moved three times."
Sometimes he didn't know which bar we were in. - Chet Baker was a great trumpet player but not a genius in musical theory, still the subtitler mistook the musical "bar" for a café and translated, "Sometimes he didn't know which café we were in."
No one likes to eat pea soup at five. - This could have been "5 o'clock", but it was "at the age of 5".
Read someone's rights - Can and has been interpreted (possibly without a good script) as "read his rites"; instead of being arrested someone was administered the last sacrament.
After the death of his family... (about a nine-year-old boy) - This was translated as if the boy had a wife and children, while of course "family" often means "parents".
Send me a carbon copy - Incredibly, this was translated as "send me a copy of coal".
They mate for life (about swans which stick together their whole life) - This is often mistranslated in subtitles, usually implying vehement or continuous copulating, in comic contrast with the almost conventional nature of swans.
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