For the sake of this question, ill talk about the language of the country i live in, finland. The two movies are not related however the themes are similar. Im a little obsessed with bad translations of movie titles so much so i named my book after one of them. Bad santa if youve seen the film, then you know this czech translation is only scratching the surface. A frequent visitor in top lists for movie title translation fails is the supposed french version of the title the matrix. A pear flower press begonia originally from a poem which means to be married to a woman many years younger than oneself. Movie titles and translations in portuguese portuguese. The 28 funniest englishspanish movie title translations on. Aug 03, 2017 movie title translations dont always have cut and dry solutions. Jan 16, 2018 the funniest movie title translations in japanese. However, as much as we try to fall in love with japan. Funny foreign film titles list of 50 bad film title translations. The title in this case even helps us to walk away from this one as fast as possible. However, a worrying amount of proof suggests otherwise.
Click to page 2 for seven more funny movie translations. Dec 10, 20 not so bad of a title and we think the japanese version actually sounds cooler than the original. On the use of english titles, yin 2009 also examined the translation of english film titles in china, and found that there is the need of translating english film titles because movie titles are. Movie titles can change from country to country for many reasons, such as specific cultural references that go over peoples heads or marketing ploys. Bad movie title translations by the morning rush a podcast. Movie titles and posters usually get changed to suit different markets, even between english speaking countries, but sometimes the original meaning gets skewed in the most ridiculous, or. The 28 funniest englishspanish movie title translations on the. Translations of foreign titles of american movies complex. But we were wondering why they decided to change the translated title of the 2004 remake.
The 10 most hilarious movie title translations taste of. Movie titles with bad spanish translations 25 movie titles in spanish that were legit lost in translation. Check out these 21 worst and funniest movie title translation. Sadly, there are no funny alternative titles for lost in translation though it is called lost in tokyo in israel. Well, germany, youve explained this movie with characteristic precision. Movies quiz badly translated movie quotes random movies or translation quiz can you name the movie by its badly translated quote. Good movie title translations quicksilver translate. Movie titles with bad spanish translations popsugar latina. See, thats why marvel makes the big bucks if you name your superhero movie something vague like steel or the spirit its probably gonna flop, but anyone can get behind a clear concept like a man of iron or the captain. And dont get me started on the titles of nonenglish movies in sweden, the translations of some modern french movies are as horrendous as the 80s. The worst italian translations of movie titles le peggiori traduzioni italiane.
So stop trying and wanting to get a literal translation for movies titles. In thailand, little fockers is known as zany soninlaw, zippy grandkids, sour fatherinlaw. How movie titles get lost in translation atlas obscura. English to spanish conversion of 14 movie titles that went wrong. Even though no one knew who the hell these guys were before this year, guardians of the galaxy was always a pretty good, selfexplanatory title. Oct 16, 2014 im a bit more ok with these translations as its reasonable that a book in swedish has a swedish title, and for the sake of marketing its probably good that the movie retains the books title. The czech republic makes a good point with their title. It would be a dumb title and would either attract peoples attention in both french and spanish. Movie titles with bad english translations fabulania. Titles dont always make sense when translated literally, so studios often seek out localization services instead. Movie title translations in portuguese posted by polyana on nov 25, 2011 in movies, vocabulary since i grew up in the us, i rarely know international movie names here in brazil. Bad santa implies billy bob thorntons father christmas only wants a bit of fun, he doesnt mean any harm.
In spanish, translates to the night of the cold noses. Sep 02, 2015 how movie titles get lost in translation. Rate 5 stars rate 4 stars rate 3 stars rate 2 stars rate 1 star. We translated them back to english and this is what the movies are now titled. Bad santa hilarious movie title translations zimbio. Youd think the people in charge of these things would be a little more focused on conveying the right message, but many of these movie title translations in spanish fell short. Movies in latin america get translated to what some consider a more accurate version of the title. Celebrate the chinese release of marvels interplanetary unusual attacking team with these film titles that got lost in translation. Sometimes even when i go to the movie theater, ill even get confused because i wont know what tickets to ask for because i looked the movie up in english on a.
Movies the 100 worst movie titles ever staff 11072012. Apr 12, 2018 a frequent visitor in top lists for movie title translation fails is the supposed french version of the title the matrix. Finland has a real habit of changing movie titles around, and as the op points out, adding stupid phrases to the end of the name. To prove it, here are 28 movie title translations, translated back into english. The 28 funniest englishspanish movie title translations. Funny foreign movie quote translations hollywood reporter. You wont believe how painful this is when you are a true movie fan. What are the worst movie titles translated into your. Sometimes though, neither leaving the name alone nor translating it directly make any sense, as in the case of silver linings playbook, a title thats somewhat confusing even. Feb 19, 2014 things get lost in translation, which leads to some interesting and altered movie titles. Runner, an old atari arcade game that was developed in english first the actual phrase is koin ikko ireru and is supposed to mean insert coin, one of the most common. Hollywood movie titles often have double meanings for englishspeaking audiences the original title also plays off the idiomatic meaning of bad as cool in the us, something which. Uproarious movie title translations of major hollywood features are the hallmark of pirate dvds all over the developing world, available from any bootlegger you come across.
Some movie title translations range from the hilariously bad to the downright unintelligible. The task of translating a film title for overseas audiences would seem like a fairly simple one, handled by one of those fancy types who speaks. May 30, 2016 sometimes movie titles get lost in translation. On the translation of english movie titles the film, a popular art with both artistic and commercial values, is one of the most influential mass media. When american movies get sent abroad, foreign markets often have a difficult time with the cultural context, making the movie fit into their particular. Even if you search for good movie title translations try it you get things like. Posted on august 24, 2017 august 24, 2017 by brian oaster. Idioms and turns of phrase that make perfect sense in one language will be utter gibberish in. May 10, 2017 chances are, you have already encountered movie lists with a similar catchy, clickbaity title. The unbelievable trip in a crazy airplane german release of airplane. Film looks like a piece of mirror, which reflects all the respects of human society, including the material world and the spiritual world as well. Language barriers, cultural differences and even politics can prompt film names to change around the world. Nov 21, 2008 on their journey around the international film markets, films have a habit of changing names, as local distributors target the flicks at their audiences. Why movie translations are the most important of all.
A pretty good example of a changed meaning which sill keeps the spirit of the original title is the. There are lots of bad translations, the best known example is the sting which was translated literally to zadlo, as it is the organ of some insects. Oct 08, 2012 i admit the title translation they made in mexico for that one was bad. Aug 28, 2019 while its true that many movie title translations come from either machine translation which is often notoriously bad or from inexperienced translators who dont understand the cultural nuances of titles, the fact is that translating movie titles isnt nearly as simple or straightforward as it may sound. Things get lost in translation, which leads to some interesting and altered movie titles. A title about zaniness that doesnt sound zany itself is like a dad joke thats only funny because it falls so. The pear flower is white old man, and the begonia is red young woman.
The 37 worst translated movie titles ever buzzfeed. Abroad in japan summarizes some of the strangest and funniest japanese translations of movie titles, and we have more selections below. The only thing better than an intentionally funny movie is an unintentionally funny movie title translation. These are some examples of bad german movie titles for sometimes bad movies we have to endure each and every day. On the translation of english movie titles yin asian. Go to eastern europe, or japan, and youll find posters that have absolut. The 20 worst translations of films in the world cultures connection. There are some great movie titles in the annals of film history. The paper also discusses the film title translation principles and the different techniques. I wont even begin to talk about some of the terrible dubbing or subtitling i have seen but lets take a look at some titles. Translating a movie title can be extremely difficult. Its always some photoshop of the stars, and maybe an explosion thrown in if its an action movie. We were talking in the article movie titles translation.
English to spanish conversion of 14 movie titles that went. Many of the titles explain literally what happens in the movie, some dont have exact translations back into english, and a few have a little more style than their american counterpart. A collection of ridiculous italians titles translation for foreings movies with english translation sponsored links. The task of translating a film title for overseas audiences would seem like a fairly simple one.
Interplanetary unusual attacking team guardians of the galaxy 30 funny chinese movie title translations. Why doesnt the italian translation of the american movie title the good, the bad and the ugly follow the same word order s that when expressed in its original english. Mar 16, 2011 movie title translations can have amusing results, as studios juggle linguistic and cultural details to create locallyappropriate titles. My guess is it was changed to this in order to associate it with a 1998 film called very bad things. While some instances of movie title translation stay fairly close to the original, others can lead to confusing and often hilarious results. According to some internet dwellers, the movie was released under a title that translates to the young people who traverse dimensions while wearing sunglasses. The english meaning for trick was lost, making no sense in the polish title. The task of translating a film title for overseas audiences would seem like a fairly simple one, handled by one of those fancy types who speaks more than one language. Discussion screenwriters, directors and marketing teams all wreck their brains in search of a word or short phrase to encapsulate the years of work put into a film with hopes of attracting the wider public to go and see it. Games with famous bad translations into japanese legends. Hollywood movie titles in france are often given easier english substitutes to make them more accessible to french audiences, instead of simply being translated into.
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