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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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Confused Canadian
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
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 Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 1:22 am Post subject: |
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| Zyzyfer wrote: |
| Quoted for emphasis, though Lee Mi Do I do not know. Just heard that movies are untouchables upon mention at my last job. Again, quoted for emphasis, sums everything up on both ends rather nicely. If you think you can do better with a deadline editing shitty subtitles for TV shows, I've got a great part-time job for you... |
You bring up a good point. Even when companies get a native speaker to proofread the subtitles, it's often done through e-mail. So, you get a file, and if they line doesn't make sense (grammatically or otherwise), you have to do your best to fix it 'blind'. More often than not, you don't have the luxury of asking the translator to explain what they were trying to say. Proofreaders often have a short deadline too.
Also, many translators work from home, so they don't have the ability to ask co-workers or native speakers to explain slang or idioms. Not to mention, you have to become an 'expert' in jargon when you translate certain movies. Watch an episode of ER. Imagine trying to explain EVERY SINGLE WORD used in the show, including medical jargon, abbreviations, etc.
Ex:
Malucci: Pulse is weak.
Kerry: Spin a crit right away.
or
Luka: No, 10 liters by mask for now. Send a trauma panel, type and cross for 4, and get X-ray in here for a chest. And a one shot IVP.
As a native speaker, I can get the gist of what's being said in the second example (give him oxygen, run a bunch of tests, X-ray him, and I assume something about an IV), but I have no idea what the first one means. After surfing the internet for a while, you'd probably be able to make sense of these examples and understand what those lines mean. Now, you just have to find the correct terms to use in the target language. 
Now, your next job is to translate an episode of Numb3rs. All the math theory in those episodes is something we ALL easily understand, right? It might be that there are only 5-10 lines of math theory, but you've got to figure out what they mean, and then again, find the proper terms in the target language. Sometimes, those 5-10 lines can take almost as much time and effort as the rest of the simple dialogue from the script.
With more time, more money, and a bit of effort, the industry could be greatly improved. Of course, that can be said of a number of industries. I don't expect anything to change soon. |
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ardis
Joined: 20 Apr 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 3:08 pm Post subject: |
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| I feel like subtitles will always be a little off, no matter what language. I have seen some Korean films where the English is not right (but I guess the 'feeling' behind them is the same), and the same goes with English-language films and Korean subtitles. When I had to watch Spanish-language films with English subtitles in college, it was the same thing, again. No translation is ever going to be 100% accurate. |
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samd
Joined: 03 Jan 2007
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| Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 10:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Great thread. |
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crazy_arcade
Joined: 05 Nov 2006
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| Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 4:29 am Post subject: |
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Translating and doing subtitles for a movie does not seem like it would be fun at all.
I did a part-time job in which all I had to do was transcribe an hour long English video. I didn't have to do any translation and it took a hell of a long time and was so boring. Although, I'm sure people who do it develop a method.
I also don't think subtitles need to be perfect. As long as the general idea is there, and with the context, the story remains easy to follow.
Also, I don't agree with the translating of "*beep*" and it being cultural. I see no shortage of students who will say "shippal" in front of absolutely anyone. There's no reason why language should be glossed over for some sort of fake cultural "illusion." |
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kermo
Joined: 01 Sep 2004
Location: Eating eggs, with a comb, out of a shoe.
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| Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 5:13 am Post subject: |
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The most brutal example of translation I've witnessed was the UK version of The Office. There were double-entendres in every other sentence, and cultural references/puns all over the place. I don't think it ran for very long in Korean TV.
"House" is a good example of how to manage the medical jargon (they actually throw definitions on the screen in addition to the dialogue.) |
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Confused Canadian
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 5:52 am Post subject: |
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| kermo wrote: |
The most brutal example of translation I've witnessed was the UK version of The Office. There were double-entendres in every other sentence, and cultural references/puns all over the place. I don't think it ran for very long in Korean TV.
"House" is a good example of how to manage the medical jargon (they actually throw definitions on the screen in addition to the dialogue.) |
They did the same thing with Friends from time to time, in an attempt to explain a joke. It's okay once in a while, but if it's every other line, the screen just ends up being filled with subtitles.
As for The Office, I can imagine that being a nightmare to translate. Humor is the hardest thing to translate between any language, especially where puns and double-enendres are concerned. |
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little mixed girl
Joined: 11 Jun 2003
Location: shin hyesung's bed~
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 9:37 am Post subject: |
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i noticed the shortened/wrong translations in korean when i watched movies too.
i thought that there was someone on this forum who's wife did some movie translations?
from what i remember of him writing, the translators are only given a few days to translate the whole movie and it's really a rough translation.
then they clean it up and get better translations for the DVD... |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 7:03 pm Post subject: |
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I've noticed that subtitles are changed sometimes to omit anything that might offend the Korean nationalists. During The Dark Knight, they mention some illegal goods were obtained via Korean smugglers. The subtitles simply said 'smugglers'.
Also, I watched the terrible Keanu Reeves vehicle "Street Kings", and I noticed during the scene where meets with some Korean gangsters that the subtitles were edited. Basically, he starts insulting them and making crude jokes about eating dogs and the Korean War. None of it was translated into Korean.
Why are these people so sensitive to any form of negative light being shone on them? |
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