Choose your agency and translator carefully
Tons of series, untapped markets, urgency at its peak, and the clock always ticking: the fast-paced world of translation and subtitling can make it all too easy to slip up when selecting a translation service provider. Here are two fundamental tips: always communicate in a language you’re comfortable with and think long and hard before deciding between a company or a freelance translator. Don’t forget that cheap can be very expensive.
Generally speaking, a company usually has a solid understanding of the target audience they’re catering to. Translating the script for the Spanish series Entrevías, full of subtexts and complex slangs, is a whole different ballgame compared to translating The Last of Us, which is far less localized. When we have only one translator, the work can get bogged down more than usual and our client’s time is always scarce.
Lastly, it’s crucial to carefully consider whether agencies using Computer-Aided Translation (CAT) tools are the right fit for the job you have in mind. If you’re looking at literary translation, for instance, it might not be all that useful. Choosing CAT tools over human translation depends on the type of text, the industry, the target audience, and also the translator’s skill set. When it comes to this aspect, the final say always lies with the human.
Humor is a very serious job, isn’t it, Homer?
““Why, you little…” This iconic dark humor scene between Homer and Bart from The Simpsons, translated into Spanish as “¡Ven acá, maldito demonio!” has made waves throughout the Hispanic world. But to deliver these “classics”, translators have had to put in serious, persistent, and painstaking work. Translating humor is akin to rebuilding it.
Spanish translator María José Aguirre de Cárcer, who has worked on translating comedy series like Seinfeld and The Simpsons, knows this all too well. She shares that one of the typical challenges posed by Homer is “when there’s a joke with a play on words and I don’t think the literal translation will be understood, I use different words. I explain to the director why I chose that expression and propose one or more solutions to ‘save’ a joke that wouldn’t be understood if translated literally from English to Spanish.”
When it comes to subtitling humor for series and movies, it’s crucial to have team members who have a natural knack for comedy. Sometimes, the reinterpreted jokes created by Matt Groening have even surpassed the original, like Bart Simpson’s “Eat my shorts!” translated as “Multíplicate por cero” in Spanish. Translating humor can be most complex when a play on words is tied to the image. At times, it can take hours to find phrases that fit the sequence. Understanding a character’s slang or attitude might
require the professional in charge to extensively browse fan sites that are familiar with those specific words and consult several dictionaries. What’s strongly discouraged is for translators to give in to the temptation of including jokes that refer to the local culture receiving the product or that are trendy in the country where the subtitled series or movie will be shown because it confuses the viewer and, secondly, because this type of subtitling tends to age poorly. Thus, subtitling humor is a very serious job indeed.
Please, don’t do it: Not Juan Lennon nor Omar Simpson
Translating a title often gives translators a real headache. What’s the secret? First off, it’s common sense, bearing in mind that literal translations can often be nonsensical.
And then, it’s about being professional and serious. Here’s an example: several blogs and translators’ forums have noted that Breaking Bad was translated in Hungary with a clear sexual innuendo, skewing the tone of the series starring Bryan Cranston.
In Poland, they opted to call the drama created by Marc Cherry, whose original title is Desperate Housewives, Ready for Anything. The intention is clear, and the poor judgment continues. In Japan, they were tempted to title the popular series Buffy, The Vampire Slayer as Buffy: The Cross in Love.
And when it comes to the names of the protagonists of movies and series, another question arises: is it necessary to change them? The options are to do it literally, for instance, Walter Blanco for Walter White in the case of Breaking Bad. Following this logic, John could become Juan or Paul could become Pablo. If absolutely necessary, a translator can make the name sound similar or start with the same letter. One of the worst decisions was made by those in charge of the Arabic version of The Simpsons, where Homer was unceremoniously renamed Omar, while Bart became Badr and Marge became Mona. It’s like watching a Beatles documentary, where the translator wrote Juan Lennon in the subtitles. Just don’t.
