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English as She Is Spoke

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Re: English as She Is Spoke

#31

Post by joshspankit »

howlgarnish wrote: post #23
codazoda wrote: post #13

Now I wonder, was the poorly translated game translated that way on purpose? From memory: > Someone set us up the bomb! > Make your time, ha ha ha.

That would be Zero Wing of "All your base are belong to us" fame, and no, that was just a bad translation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_your_base_are_belong_to_us Random anecdote: in 2005, when "all your base" was still in peak meme, I happened to be in Kuta Square in Bali with a friend when Jemaah Islamiyah blew up one of their devices. Rattled but unharmed and unclear on what exactly had just happened, we retu…

Was that dialog on the TV news??

Re: English as She Is Spoke

#32

Post by joshspankit »

russellbeattie wrote: post #21

An interesting cultural phenomenon is taking place because of automated translation services like Google Translate. I learned of it in another thread on HN a few months ago. People are realizing that what they write will be translated by machine and are adjusting their written language accordingly. This is one of those interesting side effects of tech on culture that is not immediately obvious, I think. It's basicall…

This seems like a dangerous short-term tactic.

What happens when the translation software gets better or just changes? Suddenly your text comes out wrong again.

Re: English as She Is Spoke

#33

Post by dheera »

joshspankit wrote: post #27

I hope this is not too off-topic, but I really wish there were more (excellent) “literal translations”. Yes: it would be tricky and unpalatable for much of the audience, but I personally find it fascinating to get in to the “mind” of a language and would like the opportunity without having to memorize (something I find particularly challenging) the “words” of a language. Movie and TV subtitles especially.

A lot of times literal translations eventually become a part of the destination language as well.

Examples include "long time no see" which is now common in English but has roots in either Chinese or Native American languages.

Likewise, the phrasing "chicken-egg problem" originated in Western culture but is now often used literally in modern Chinese, e.g. "雞和蛋的問題".

Re: English as She Is Spoke

#36

Post by exolymph »

joshspankit wrote: post #27

I hope this is not too off-topic, but I really wish there were more (excellent) “literal translations”. Yes: it would be tricky and unpalatable for much of the audience, but I personally find it fascinating to get in to the “mind” of a language and would like the opportunity without having to memorize (something I find particularly challenging) the “words” of a language. Movie and TV subtitles especially.

YES. I'm stoked about David Bentley Hart's New Testament translation for that reason: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/030024844X/ref=ox_sc_sav...

> Reproducing the texts' often fragmentary formulations without augmentation or correction, he has produced a pitilessly literal translation, one that captures the texts' impenetrability and unfinished quality while awakening readers to an uncanniness that often lies hidden beneath doctrinal layers.

Re: English as She Is Spoke

#38

Post by ignoranceprior »

joshspankit wrote: post #27

I hope this is not too off-topic, but I really wish there were more (excellent) “literal translations”. Yes: it would be tricky and unpalatable for much of the audience, but I personally find it fascinating to get in to the “mind” of a language and would like the opportunity without having to memorize (something I find particularly challenging) the “words” of a language. Movie and TV subtitles especially.

I think Interlinear Texts tries to do something similar, showing the original language and literal word-for-word meaning in English:

https://interlinearbooks.com/

Re: English as She Is Spoke

#39

Post by amyjess »

dheera wrote: post #33
joshspankit wrote: post #27

I hope this is not too off-topic, but I really wish there were more (excellent) “literal translations”. Yes: it would be tricky and unpalatable for much of the audience, but I personally find it fascinating to get in to the “mind” of a language and would like the opportunity without having to memorize (something I find particularly challenging) the “words” of a language. Movie and TV subtitles especially.

A lot of times literal translations eventually become a part of the destination language as well. Examples include "long time no see" which is now common in English but has roots in either Chinese or Native American languages. Likewise, the phrasing "chicken-egg problem" originated in Western culture but is now often used literally in modern Chinese, e.g. "雞和蛋的問題".

The proper word for such translations, by the way, is "calque".

Another famous calque is "groudhog", which comes from the Dutch aardvark. Yes, the two animals are completely unrelated: the Dutch referred to them both as aardvark though, and only one of them got calqued into English.

Re: English as She Is Spoke

#40

Post by howlgarnish »

joshspankit wrote: post #31
howlgarnish wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would be Zero Wing of "All your base are belong to us" fame, and no, that was just a bad translation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_your_base_are_belong_to_us Random anecdote: in 2005, when "all your base" was still in peak meme, I happened to be in Kuta Square in Bali with a friend when Jemaah Islamiyah blew up one of their devices. Rattled but unharmed and unclear on what exactly had just happened, we retu…

Was that dialog on the TV news??

No, it was us realizing that somebody actually set us up the bomb, instead of it being an LPG canister explosion in a restaurant etc.
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