[-] LtDan@lemmy.zip 1 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

It's either AI conquering their position or an inexperienced human translator who probably hasn't seen the film they're translating, one of the two. Consistency is also key, since characters may use that term multiple times in the movie at different intervals, so maintaining the same correct translation is vital to avoid confusion.

However, what happens is that there are different word choices for the same term. For example, in Japanese there's two words that mean "weapon" in English but have different connotations:

  • 兵器 (ordnance, as in military hardware) - think of tanks, missiles, nukes
  • 武器 (arms, think of sidearms or rifles) - basically a weapon you can use

The issue is that when watching a war film with subs, they get used interchangeably when that's not correct, despite both words having the same definition: what matters is context. There was a scene in one war epic where the soldier said to the enemy "drop your weapons!" (武器を捨てろ) but the subs used the wrong variant 兵器 when the enemy is only armed with a normal rifle.

I mean, are there words in Finnish despite having the same meaning or translation in English: they are used differently based on a associated context and can subtitles still get it wrong?

[-] LtDan@lemmy.zip 1 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

Speaking of that, there was another scene from that movie I've mentioned where Harrison Ford's character was reading through government files and one of them had the subheading Infantry Battalion as it was about the possibility of sending boots on the ground, which again in Japanese was translated as 歩兵小隊 (Infantry Platoon) when the correct word is in fact 大隊 (Battalion) as a platoon is smaller than a battalion. How does the translator not know the difference between the two?

It's the same with military ranks as well: like I was watching an episode of 24, there was a scene where Jack Bauer contacts a surviving sailor on the submarine as the CTU were about to stop terrorists from deploying nukes. The sailor had a petty officer rank which was subtitled as 軍曹 (sergeant, in the army) when he's in the navy! It should've been subtitled as 兵曹長, like the how does the translator not know the difference between a sergeant & petty officer?

Yeah, technical terms can be a bitch to translate when the translator isn't experienced.

[-] LtDan@lemmy.zip 2 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

Like what I wrote in the thread: I was watching a Harrison Ford movie with Japanese subtitles and they translated “cook it” (as in “press the detonator”) said by a military commander during a certain scene leading up to an action sequence (special forces were about to raid a cartel compound in Colombia) literally as 料理しろ which literally means “Let’s cook” (like in cooking food at a kitchen) which sounds completely stupid when you take visual context into account. Subtitles can suck, even in Finnish for example since it's a different language from English.

[-] LtDan@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Does that explain why Brazilian people are bad at speaking English? Also, there's no "Th" sound in Portuguese. Don't tell me, do they dub foreign songs into Portuguese too?

[-] LtDan@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago

Subtitles isn't only relating to dialog, but visual context (when you see a character doing something, the translation should also match their actions).

[-] LtDan@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago

No wonder why English proficiency in France is bad despite being the most visited country.

[-] LtDan@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago

I'm mainly talking about the reverse (English movies with French subtitles) as mentioned on the main thread, but can that also be wrong? Like for example, you can watch a movie set in the American South (full of it's own slang) spoken in US English and won't be translated well in French.

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submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) by LtDan@lemmy.zip to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

For example, whenever I watch an American movie with Japanese subtitles: the translation kind of sucks since there are words translated literally word by word making zero sense or lack of taking account of visual context from a scene. Depends on who translated the dialog, it could be that translators didn't watch the movie or understand the context in specific scenes.

I recall watching Clear & Present Danger (Harrison Ford) with JP sub, there was a piece of dialog where the commander of a special forces unit gave the orders on planting explosives in which he ordered them to "cook it" basically implying on detonating the trigger but the subtitles translated this as 料理しろ which is incorrect when you account the scene's context.

Whether you speak German, French, Spanish or etc. are the translated subtitles crap when it comes to movies where colloquialisms (slang), jokes (humor) or wordplay (puns) are thrown into the mix while listening to the original English dub? It's because subtitles only convey a message but can miss nuances from spoken dialog via the source language.

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submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by LtDan@lemmy.zip to c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.world

I know that Japanese allows this: there are words in reverse order where the placement of 2 kanji can be "flipped" within the same word while retaining a related definition, i.e. 栄光 (glory) & 光栄 (honor), more examples range from:

  • 別離 (parting) & 離別 (separation)
  • 関連 (connection) & 連関 (relation)
  • 礼儀 (manners) & 儀礼 (ettiquette)
  • 陸上 (landing) & 上陸 (ground)
  • 発散 (emission) & 散発 (sporadic)
  • 進行 (advance) & 行進 (parade)
  • 議会 (assembly) & 会議 (meeting)
  • 木材 (lumber) & 材木 (timber)
  • 王国 (kingdom) & 国王 (monarch)
  • 火花 (spark) & 花火 (fireworks)
  • 明言 (statement) & 言明 (assertion)
  • 論評 (criticism) & 評論 (critique)

You get the picture, but can you do the same thing with the English language for example? As well as other European languages in general?

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submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by LtDan@lemmy.zip to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

I know for example: there was a guy who got bitten by a tick in Australia and yet doctors still think "nothing is wrong" just because Australia doesn't recognize Lyme Disease since their argument is "no scientific proof that ticks in our country transmit the bacteria" which sounds stupid when there are cases of people having Lyme Disease there.

And he's not the only one: as a woman shared the symptoms he had, but Australia FOR SOME reason is still in denial as their counterargument sticks on "NO SCIENTIFIC PROOF THAT OUR TICKS HAVE IT" so she spent money on getting the results in another country where Lyme Disease is officially recognized paid from her own pocket.

In comparison:

  • is Lyme Disease recognized in the United States?
  • If so, how common is it amongst the population?
[-] LtDan@lemmy.zip 22 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

The amount of pharmaceutical ads are crazy when I’ve visited the US, sometimes with bogus claims. Their ad campaigns for pretty much everything is over the top since they’re using aggressive tactics.

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submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by LtDan@lemmy.zip to c/europe@feddit.org

I mean, as a European: have you visited the US and noticed that they don't even include tax within the price (meaning you'll pay more at checkout since that's where it only appears)? It's ridiculous, most countries include VAT within the price of their goods and services but. At least within the EU, VAT is included within the price making it final without any arithmetic.

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submitted 4 days ago by LtDan@lemmy.zip to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

What is it like being an alumni of a school that's underfunded or neglected? Even if the school is "good" (as in well funded or private), does the learning environment reflect that? Also, the dark side of American schools (shootings) dampens peace of mind for parents since at any given moment some gun wielding individual can storm in murdering those inside (students, teachers, custodians, etc.)

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submitted 5 days ago by LtDan@lemmy.zip to c/AskUSA@discuss.online

When you take the salary of an average (not wealthy or poor, but middle class) New Yorker living in the heart of the city into account, is it even enough to not only pay rent (on top of a deposit in advance for first time renters) including bills utilities, internet, maintainence fees or muncipality fees & not forgetting food on the table. I've heard that NYC has the reputation of being the most expensive in the globe. Is that true?

26

Let me empathize the question better: as in restaurants adding a surcharge imposed towards customers just because the logistics of bringing in the ingredients to cook dishes is being impacted (usually come in bulk from supply trucks) alongside the cost of fuel going up.

I know its the same thing for rideshare (as drivers need gas, so they charge passengers more on the app for this reason). In my country, they added a 5% surcharge for customers who dine in at restaurants and 10% for food deliveries, which is just ridiculous (but I get it).

I mean, my country has it's own oil reserves but whether they'll be used during this time remains unclear, and they're kind of seldom on exporting that towards the global market since for the most part, crude oil is imported from the Gulf states (like Oman or Kuwait).

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submitted 6 days ago by LtDan@lemmy.zip to c/europe@feddit.org

I've seen multiple videos equivalent of Americans pointing where (country) is on the map, and there was an instance where the host asked the woman where the continent Africa is located (points to Asia) like WTF? That's not even close at all.

I know there's bias towards those types of videos since there are accusations of the host "handpicking" select strangers framing them as if they are representative of the US. But the truth is that their education system isn't good as it lacks funding.

When you put it into perspective: how many Europeans can correctly locate & name countries adjacent to them within their own continent and globally? Is the education system within the EU that good or effective at teaching kids that subject?

15
submitted 6 days ago by LtDan@lemmy.zip to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

I mean, even though USD is a popular currency: does the PPP hold up in Switzerland? The thing is that, despite having $10,000 (CHF 7905) in their budget, that still won't cut it since there is a bottle of liquor that costs CHF 100,000 ($126,755) for example.

Don't even mention restaurant prices, it's ridiculous that buying from the supermarket is cheaper. Have you been there? If so, is it even a wonderful country to visit despite how expensive it is for tourists? (Explains why barely anyone goes there).

LtDan

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