Yesterday, I brushed "Spider-Man: Far From Home" for the second time. Like the "Green Book" a few months ago, the second brush is still for subtitles.
From the perspective of translation quality, Spider-Man’s theater subtitles include mistranslations, omissions, and over-translations. There are also some notable points. We will talk about them in detail later.
However, this time in Spider-Man, there have been multiple occurrences of "with lines without subtitles", "with subtitles without lines" and "lines and subtitles are out of sync". It can be said that this is the most serious subtitle accident I have ever seen.
After returning home, I sorted out:
1) Subtitles for major accidents;
2) Mistranslation that affects the understanding of the plot or is unreasonable;
In addition, there are some interesting translations worth discussing (including examples of localized translation), and a few lovely language eggs.
The English original text and Chinese subtitles below are based on shorthand and memories. If there are any errors, please correct me.
[Some lines involve spoilers]
The biggest subtitle incidents occurred in three parts: Prague, Berlin and London.
Let's first come to Prague with squares.
1. You're up, kid. Translates as "it has reached the position we expected, set a trap".
Revised translation: It's up to you, kid / it's up to you, kid.
Comment: The scene is that the fire monster just appeared, the mysterious guest started flying around, whizzing green light. At this time, the above subtitles appeared inexplicably, without lines. Immediately after the mysterious guest cue Spider-Man, he said, "It's your turn, you are on it." This sentence only has lines and no subtitles.
This was the first time I felt something was wrong with the whole movie, but I didn't expect it to be just the beginning .
2.-- Spiderman, keep your distance. - I'm trying!
Translated as "Spider-Man, come and help", "Okay, I'm here."
Retranslated: "Spider-Man, don't get too close", "I want it too/I'm working hard".
Comment: ...what's your hand, doorknob?
The scene is a mysterious guest fighting a fire monster (to be honest, the name fire monster is not very personal as a monster, can't you give a cool fake name, Furiosa or the like). Mystery has always emphasized keeping monsters away from the crowd, which is actually a foreshadowing. Keep your distance here has the opposite meaning. How could the mystery call Spider-Man to approach him , is it to enjoy the beautiful drone together?
3. Cuz I was... I was only, like, 67% sure. Translated as "because I was only 60% sure".
Retranslation: Because I was only 67% sure.
Comment: What kind of hatred and what kind of grievance, how can MJ's confidence value drop by 7%?
The scene is that the little spider finds himself in a disaster, and expresses his identity with MJ in a hurry. MJ asked several rhetorically, "Are you sure you are not kidding me, are you kidding me?" Then he said this sentence. The single digit accuracy here is actually very cute, which is in line with MJ’s nerdy character . The subtitles forced her down to the passing line, which is simply inhumane.
The next paragraph is Berlin , where the mysterious guest pretends to be Fury, using holographic scenes to berageously abuse the little spiders, which is a great illusion I think . But there has been a very, very, very serious subtitle accident here.
Below are two excerpts of 11 lines of subtitles, none of which is correct. 7 lines do not match the content of the line at all, 2 lines match but miss translation, 1 line matches but the timeline is delayed, and 2 lines have no lines.
The following is a comparison between this line and subtitles:
4. I thought we were close. "Don't blame yourself for Ferry's death"
Fury always had to die, but not you. "I was going to kill him"
I am trying to help you walk away. "But, Peter, you should trust your instincts"
Now you're making me do this. (Still this line of subtitles) "But, Peter, you should trust your instincts"
……(MJ falling down the building)
I created Mysterio to give the world someone to believe in. "The world needs a savior, Peter"
I control the truth. "But that person is not you"
Mysterio is the truth. "In your heart, you know what I said is right"
... (come to the grave of Iron Man)
Deep down you know I am right. "The death of Tony Stark is the world's greatest contribution"
(No lines) "I will get everything Iron Man had in the past"
(No lines) "The mystery guest I created is a perfect hero"
You made your choice. "Never make mistakes"
The following is the revised translation:
I thought we were close "I thought we were close"
Fury always had to die, but not you.
I am trying to help you walk away. "I want you to leave"
Now you're making me do this. "Now you're making me do this."
I created Mysterio to give the world someone to believe in. "I created Mysterio to give the world someone to believe in."
I control the truth. "I hold the truth in my hand"
Mysterio is the truth. "Mysterio is the truth"
Deep down you know I am right. "From the bottom of your heart, you know I am right."
You made your choice. "You made your choice"
Comment: All lines are wrong. The look and feel of the theater in this section is incredibly poor. The last few lines had no lines but subtitles were put on, and it was a scene almost silently. The little spider was beaten to roll around on the snow. At this time, there were inexplicable subtitles, which made it very jumpy.
The only guess is that there are cut clips here, but the subtitles are not cut clean. When the genuine resources are released, you can compare them. However, no matter what excuses are given to the translator, it is still impossible to understand how this level of accident happened.
Finally, come to London.
5. No more phones in the bathroom. Urinals, or stalls, okay? "Don't take photos in the toilet. Either the small or the large, okay"
Retranslation: Stop taking photos in the toilet. Whether it's a urinal or a pit, you know.
Comment: The scene is a London airport. The male partner who can't have a name (yes, I forgot his name) exposes the little spider by real name, and is mad by the whole class. After that, Mr. Dell, who was disconnected all the way, ran to him and said this to him.
Here we learned two terms for men's toilets. Urinal, hush the pool. Stall, can refer to all kinds of cubicles, in this case, it refers to squatting pits. These two words follow the previous bathroom, which is to add, "No matter where you are in the bathroom, don't take pictures again. You can't take pictures in small pools, and you can't take pictures in large pits!"
It's like saying: "You can't eat garbage, whether it's dry garbage, wet garbage, recyclable garbage or hazardous garbage, you can't eat it~ "
Next, let's sing a chorus of "London Bridge Collapses", to the climax of the whole show, Little Spiders vs. Drones (error).
In this paragraph, there are 2 lines with lines without subtitles, 1 line with subtitles without lines, and 1 line does not match.
6. When the little spider rushes to the center of the storm, cheer himself up:
Come on, Peter. (No subtitles)
Retranslation: Come on, Peter.
7. The little spider hung on the drone after rushing into the storm as happy as a three-year-old:
Wow that's awesome. (No subtitles)
Revised translation: Wow, that's awesome.
8. Mysteriously and politely hunt down the little spiders:
(No lines and subtitles) "How many drones are there?"
9. The little spider frantically called Harpy while avoiding the bombing:
Say something, please, just let me know you are alive. Translated as "哈皮哈皮回话".
Revised translation: Say a word, please, please tell me you are still alive.
The above is a major subtitle accident in this movie.
Last time I sorted out the errors in the subtitles of the "Green Book", I said that the salary level of the entire translation industry is obviously too low . I still hold this view. But in this "Spider-Man" accident, every link from translation to proofreading was negligent. Regardless of time constraints or temporary cuts, such subtitle quality is unacceptable.
Supplement the content verified later:
It is said that in order to set an earlier schedule in the Mainland, Sony could only submit it for review in advance. After the translation, the film track was changed without any notification, and a large number of 3D lenses retained a 2D plane, resulting in a very poor impression of the Mainland. I saw the Weibo of the subtitle translator and said that Sony can't be blamed. I also believe that Sony will not smash its own brand. That can only be blamed on the technical review, otherwise it will be on the file side... I dare not speak.
But no matter what, if the industry’s normal situation is that the time for subtitle production and review is too tight, which makes it difficult to control the quality, then it may also be necessary to consider whether the process should be changed to allow enough time for subtitles. After all, although it is a good thing to be released in advance, if you see such a hot pot of subtitles so many days in advance, there is nothing to be happy about.
After talking about translation accidents, let's talk about the translation itself.
This time the translation can clearly see the translator's own style, especially some localized colloquialisms and idioms . Some I think are very cute, some I think are over-naturalized, but the following examples are not right or wrong, only personal likes and dislikes, and everyone is welcome to discuss.
10.
- This place is sinking. - I think you mean charming.
- "This place is flooding." - "The trickling water is so emotional."
Comment: The scene is that the whole class arrives at a hotel in Venice. The students complain that the hotel looks like it is flooded, and the teacher (Mr. Harrington) who leads the team has a big face.
Here the translator translates the simple charming into the literary "flowing water and more sentimental", which is an over-translation, but with Mr. Harrington's very full face, it is not too drama, it is quite interesting. Similarly, the subtitle turns the other sentence after it into "How can you not wet your shoes in Venice", which is also very cute.
11. What a coincidence. "It's a coincidence that sesame seeds fell into the eye of a needle"
Comment: The scene is that Little Spider saw Fury with a toothbrush in his mouth and almost petrified. Little Spider said, "Ah, ha, ha, ha, what a coincidence... Wait a minute, is this really just a coincidence?" The translator here turned it into an allegorical phrase, which is also a very localized translation.
My point is that there is no need to translate this way. Even if it is localized, it is difficult to imagine a 16-year-old Chinese high school boy who would say such allegorical words in daily conversations. This localized treatment does not conform to the image of the character, and will only make the audience feel that it is jumping off the scene.
However, this translation is not a big problem, it will not affect the understanding, and some viewers will find it funny.
12. All we did was delay the inevitable.
Comment: The scene is a story of a mysterious guest telling (blindly) "their planet" in Chen. The translator turned the delay the inevitable into "Jiaobo throwing stone."
The source of this word is "Xunzi·Yibing", Huanwen's temperance is not suitable for the benevolence and justice of Tangwu, and if you encounter it, if you encounter it, you can throw it at the stone. The general meaning is that even fragile things are bound to be defeated when attacking hard stones. It is not completely consistent with delay the inevitable, but it is not too different. The translator can think of this idiom, it is very cultural.
However, I think this translation is inappropriate. One principle of subtitle translation is to control the audience's understanding cost within a reasonable range . Because the subtitles flashed by on the big screen, the audience was not allowed to look up the dictionary in the movie theater (except when the character likes to drop the book bag).
From this point of view, words like "Jiaobo throwing stones" will most likely hinder the audience's understanding of the plot, and shouldn't appear in the movie subtitles. Honestly translated as "the general situation is over, we are just postponing the inevitable failure", it is enough. If you want to be a bit more eloquent, "Man-armed as a car" is better to understand than "Jiaobo throwing stones", but I don't think it is appropriate to do this.
13. I'm doing my best, Julius! "I'm doing my best, Julius"
Comment: The scene was on a London bus. The teacher (Mr. Harrington) finally found that the situation was critical, and he would belch if he didn't withdraw, and urged everyone to get off the bus. Another teacher (Mr. Dell, whose name is Julius) kept disconnecting and was unwilling to take the students off the road. Harrington was so angry, he went back with these words.
It is also an unnecessary translation, but this time I decided to remain silent. Because... Although the word "gōng power" is difficult to pronounce, it is accompanied by Mr. Harrington's constipation expression, which creates a sense of comedy inexplicably.
The above is a discussion of translation style and scale. I don't stand in line with foreignization and domestication, but as a translator, you should not use your skills as a goal at any time. That's for sure. How it should be translated depends on the purpose and occasion of the translation.
From this point of view, movie subtitles have a certain degree of freedom, can handle the tone more flexibly, and relax the limits of accuracy. Properly doing some localized translations is also very flattering and can even add to the laughter. But what translation needs most is to grasp a certain degree. If you turn it well, it's a punchline or a golden sentence. If you turn it over, it's just showing off your feathers.
Finally, there are a few very cute words that I want to share with you.
14. The Blip translates as "Shuo Mie"
Comment: For the first time in this movie, the Thanos Snap Finger incident was given a new name: The Blip.
The word blip refers to the beep sound emitted by an electronic device, or the light spot displayed on the radar screen to track the target. The term can also refer to short-lived deviations that suddenly appear in a megatrend. For example, a one-time accident, a one-time blip. Some film critics believe that calling Thanos disaster in the movie The Blip also implies weakening the impact of this catastrophic event on mankind.
It’s pretty cool to translate this word into "Shuo Mie", which not only implies the original meaning of blip (light spot), but also points to the content of the event ("Extinction", the extinction of Thanos, the extinction of destruction), and it also retains the event. The sense of ephemeral.
15. You do not ghost Nick Fury. Translated as "You do not ghost Nick Fury".
Comment: This sentence may be a stalk that runs through the entire movie. The first time it appeared, Harpy snarled after seeing the little spider hung up on Fury's phone.
Ghost, here is a very colloquial expression, refers to cutting off all contact with a certain person, especially referring to black boyfriends and girlfriends. Translated into "pull black" is very appropriate.
16. Peter-tingle translates as "Peter Yi Ji Ling"
Comment:...Ha, ha, ha.
How do you think about this word?
Regarding this subtitle, I actually saw other comments. I have not seen dizziness while watching 3D subtitles, but someone mentioned this on Weibo, and I don’t know if it’s different from the cinema.
When I watched this "Spider-Man" for the first time, I felt that there was a key plot that was obviously not enough. It was a deduction item, but it was funny and sensational. The plot was reversed until the eggs were reversed, which still surprised me.
But subtitles.
Let’s have a snack on the subtitles.
View more about Spider-Man: Far from Home reviews
