'Squid Game' is the latest example of when subtitles are a little off - NPR - Translation

Netflix's Squid Game is a huge hit, but some say its subtitles are inaccurate. Podcast host Youngmi Mayer and translation professor Denise Kripper explain why things got lost in translation.

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

If you haven't already watched "Squid Game," you have probably heard about it. Netflix's new survival drama is set in South Korea, and its premise is not a happy one.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Each of its players are deep in debt, but if they win, they'll have enough prize money to pay those loans off. The catch - losing costs you your life.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SQUID GAME")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character, non-English language spoken).

GARCIA-NAVARRO: "Squid Game" is yet another example of how Korean media is dominating the global market, but some viewers have noticed its English subtitles are a little off.

YOUNGMI MAYER: I'm Youngmi Mayer. I am a comedian based in New York City, and I'm also the co-host of "Feeling Asian" podcast.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Youngmi Mayer is fluent in Korean. And while watching "Squid Game," she noticed that the show's English captions didn't quite reflect what the characters were actually saying. She took her thoughts to TikTok - where else would you take this? - along with a scene from the show.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SQUID GAME")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character, non-English language spoken).

MAYER: Translation says, oh, I'm not a genius, but I can work it out. What she actually said was, I am very smart. I just never got a chance to study.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And because of those inaccuracies, Youngmi Mayer says that audiences may not understand the show's cultural references.

MAYER: That is a huge trope in Korean media - the poor person that's smart and clever and just isn't wealthy.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Now, translating subtitles for TV can be tricky. There are rules.

DENISE KRIPPER: There's space limitation that you have to keep in mind.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Denise Kripper is a translation scholar and assistant professor at Lake Forest College in Illinois. She also has experience translating TV shows from English into Spanish.

KRIPPER: Translation in subtitles is usually two lines, and there's a certain number of characters that you cannot pass.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: There's also trying to fit it all within the constraints of character limits and scene speed. But Kripper says there's another challenge, one that's far trickier. Languages have different structures and different metaphors, so it can be really hard to accurately convey meaning. Jokes can be especially difficult, like this scene she had to translate from the sitcom "Friends."

KRIPPER: Chandler is waiting for the phone to ring, to hear from some woman, I think.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Meanwhile, Ross and Phoebe are doing a crossword.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FRIENDS")

DAVID SCHWIMMER: (As Ross Geller) Four letters - circle or hoop.

MATTHEW PERRY: (As Chandler Bing) Ring, damn it, ring.

SCHWIMMER: (As Ross Geller) Thanks.

(LAUGHTER)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Denise Kripper says an exact translation of the scene doesn't really work in Spanish.

KRIPPER: To ring - the phone to ring is one word in Spanish, and a ring that you can wear on your fingers - a totally different one. So, again, this is a lot to work with for such a short amount of time, right?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Kripper says in cases like this, the translator may have to change the dialogue in a scene rather than translate word for word and leave viewers confused. Youngmi Mayer says she knows translators are limited in what they can do but worries viewers who rely on subtitles when they watch fast-paced shows like "Squid Game" are getting short-changed.

MAYER: It just seems like maybe this is a time for us to just pause and rethink and restructure the old way of translations. Those metaphors and deep, like, very intelligently written ideas and ideologies that the writer's trying to express to us - they're getting literally just taken out of the script because the translation can't translate that in real time.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: In the meantime, "Squid Game" fans who want to have a fuller understanding of the context of the show can do like Youngmi Mayer did when she watched "Breaking Bad" - or, really, any of us who enjoy parsing episodes of any series - and just pick up a smartphone, Google and never miss a pop culture reference again.

(SOUNDBITE OF JUNG JAEIL'S "UNFOLDED..."

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English translation of iconic Bangla kids' collection Thakurmar Jhuli - The Tribune - Translation

Sutapa Basu’s translation of Thakurmar Jhuli, an iconic work of children’s literature written more than 100 years ago by Dakshinarajan Mitra Majumdar has been released recently. The book has been published under Readomania’s children’s imprint, Reado Junior.

 Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar collected folktales from villages and towns across Bengal and rendered them into a unique Bengali collection of children’s fiction, titled Thakumar Jhuli. Enjoyed by children over the ages, the anthology became synonymous with the cultural heritage of the region.

Basu’s translation promises to take readers to an enchanting land sprinkled with flying horses, speaking birds, cunning foxes, indestructible monsters, bold princes, and even bolder, beautiful princesses.

The book reflects the region’s cultural heritage in its semi-realistic illustrations and icons reminiscent of the rice-paste alpona patterns, a familiar sight at all auspicious occasions in Bengal.

The translator says, "This edition subtitled Princesses, Monsters and Magical Creatures is a translation and not a transliteration. I intended to and have adhered strictly to the original narrative. Nevertheless, a few adjustments have been unavoidable, primarily due to differences in linguistic nuances between the two languages."

Sutapa Basu is a best-selling author. Her latest book, The Curse of Nader Shah won the Best Fiction Award by AutHer Awards, 2020 instituted by JK Papers and The Times of India.

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Korean Experts Break Down The Translation Issues From Squid Game - LADbible - Translation

If you are one of the millions of people worldwide who have been enjoying Squid Game recently, you might be interested to know that some people believe that you've not been getting the whole message correctly. You can see their take on what viewers are missing out on below:

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So obviously, the show is from South Korea, and therefore most people are watching it with subtitles, or with dubbed audio.

However, you're very much at the mercy of the translators by that stage and some of the people who actually speak Korean say that there are some parts of the show that are lost.

One such person, who goes by the name of Youngmi Mayer, explained what's going on over on Twitter.

not to sound snobby but i'm fluent in korean and i watched squid game with english subtitles and if you don't understand korean you didn't really watch the same show. translation was so bad. the dialogue was written so well and zero of it was preserved
- youngmi mayer (@ymmayer) September 30, 2021

She said: "I want to do a scene breakdown on TikTok to show you what they could've translated to I might work on it today just so you can see what I mean and see what you missed.

"Such a shame. Translation is extremely important."

In a video shared about the show, she explained how certain characters - in this case, a 'low-class gangster' character - are represented differently in the translation.

For example, at one point the subtitles read 'I'm not a genius but I can work it out', whereas the actual Korean was 'I'm very smart I just didn't get a chance to study'.

That's important, apparently, because it's the 'entire purpose' of the character, and represents a trope of Korean culture, according to Youngmi.

Anyway, it's been a wildly successful show, so perhaps they'll be able to update it with different translations at a later date.

also i want to point out that the reason this happens is because translation work is not respected and also the sheer volume of content. translators are underpaid and overworked and it's not their fault. it's the fault of producers who don't appreciate the art
- youngmi mayer (@ymmayer) September 30, 2021

Not everyone thinks it's so rubbish, though.

Euijin Seo, a Korean language teacher, told Buzzfeed that you can't exactly call it 'bad', as: "All dialogues in the show are extremely Korean-ish, reflecting Korean culture,"

He continued: "The process of translation must have been tough because there are tons of terms in Korean that cannot be directly translated into English."

So, there's obviously nuances of the dialogue that we're not getting, but essentially the show is the same regardless of the translation.

Credit: Netflix

Why would Netflix deliberately make the show different for different cultures, after all?

Either way, it's the biggest show in the world just now, so they're probably not too worried about the issues that some folks have with the translation.

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This Korean American Woman Pointed Out Inaccurate Translations In The English Version Of "Squid Game," And It's Starting A Big Online Debate - BuzzFeed - Translation

"Our job as the dubbing actor is to faithfully maintain the spirit and tone and most importantly, the mouth flaps [the way the mouth moves up and down] of the character, so that it matches to the original as close as possible. A lot of times, a translator will revise the script on the spot, as they try to figure out synonyms that will still match with the meaning of what the original dialogue is, while still matching the flaps of the language."

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New Nevada Law Protects Limited-English Proficiency Consumers by Requiring Translation of Certain Financial Legal Documents - JD Supra - Translation

How to provide financial services to limited-English proficiency (“LEP”) consumers has become a pressing legal issue. Both federal and state laws provide requirements and limitations regarding translations of financial documents. Earlier this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) published a comprehensive statement encouraging financial institutions to provide services to LEP consumers. The CFPB also took enforcement action against a company for, among other things, deceptively marketing to Spanish-speaking consumers. Following the trend to protect LEP consumers, a new Nevada law, effective October 1, 2021, makes it a deceptive practice to not  provide translations for certain financial contracts, agreements and disclosures (“Nevada Law”).

Under the Nevada Law, enacted as Assembly Bill No. 359, any person, who in the course of business, advertises and negotiates certain transactions in a language other than English must provide a translation of the contract or agreement that results from the advertising and negotiations. The translation must include every term and condition of the contract or agreement.

Which transactions are covered?

Subsection 3 of Section 4 of the Nevada Law requires that translations be provided for a contract or an agreement with an LEP consumer that results from either of the following:

• A loan or extension of credit secured by property, other than real property, used for personal or household purposes
• A lease, sublease, rental contract or other contract or agreement for a term of at least one month and that involves a dwelling, apartment, mobile home or dwelling unit used as a residence
• An unsecured loan used for personal, family, or household purposes

Who is exempted from the translation requirements?

According to subsection 4 of Section 4, the translation requirements do not apply to banks or savings and loan associations that have physical locations and engage in a transaction other than the issuance of a credit card or automobile loan.

Under Section 5, a financial institution that is required to make disclosures under Regulation M (Consumer Leasing) or Regulation Z (Truth-in-Lending) will be deemed in compliance with the Nevada Law if it provides translations for those disclosures in the same language of the contract and provides the translated disclosure to the contracting parties before execution.

What is not required to be translated?

As detailed above, the law requires that every term and condition be translated. However, under Section 8 of the Nevada Law, the following text does not have to be translated:

• Names and titles of persons
• Addresses
• Brand names, trade names, trademarks, and registered service marks
• Make and model of goods or services
• Numerals, dollar amounts expressed in numerals and dates
• Individual words or expressions that do not have a generally accepted non-English translation

What are the consequences for not complying with the translation requirements?

Section 9 of the law provides the aggrieved party (e.g., LEP consumer) the right to rescind the contract or agreement if the financial institution fails to comply with the translation requirements.

Takeaways

As state attorneys general and legislatures take more measures to protect LEP consumers, financial institutions should revise their LEP policies and guidelines to ensure compliance with state and federal laws and regulations. The consequences for failure to comply with these regulations can be substantial as the new Nevada Law and recent CFPB enforcement activity show.

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How to use the translation app on iPhone - The Catholic Transcript - Translation

The translation app, as its name suggests, is a tool that facilitates in understanding the meaning of words and phrases in different languages. The application allows translations in 11 languages ​​that can be downloaded for offline consultation.

For people who travel, study or are interested in other languages, the app is very useful for understanding texts and even interpersonal conversations. Its voice feature, improved in iOS 15, acts as a real-time translator — you no longer need to tap the microphone to talk to someone else.

In addition to An apple Extended translation for the entire system. Now any specific word or phrase can be translated while you are using a file Iphone, whether in The WhatsApp or in Safari. This makes the app more efficient and possibly a better option than Google Translate.

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Check out the main functions of translation on iPhone below.

How do you translate words?

Step 1: Open the translate app. Then select the two languages ​​for which you want to get a result.

Choose the desired languages ​​in the translation app – screenshot: Thiago Furquim (Canaltech)

Step 2: Tap the microphone to speak or select the text box to type the word or phrase you want to translate. Then press “Go”.

See the meaning of words in other languages ​​in the app – screenshot: Thiago Furquim (Canaltech)

If you want to know the broader meaning of the word, click on the “Dictionary” button (represented by a book) below the text box.

The dictionary gives the broad meaning of the translated word – screenshot: Thiago Furquim (Canaltech)

Press the “Favorites” button (represented by a star) to bookmark the translation and come back to it later.

Add subtitles to favorites to save in the app – screenshot: Thiago Furquim (Canaltech)

How to use chat

iOS 15 now allows for a seamless conversation with a speaker of another language via subtitles. to do this. Follow next steps:

Step 1: In translation, click on the “Conversation” tab.

Click on the “Chat” tab in the app – screenshot: Thiago Furquim (Canaltech)

Step 2: Just press the microphone button once to chat with another person and receive translation from the app.

Talk to someone and get real-time translation of the dialogue – Screenshot: Thiago Furquim (Canaltech)

To make the conversation easier, you can change the screen orientation using the Face to Face feature. Thus, each side assumes one side of the iPhone to facilitate interaction between interlocutors. To do this, press the button on the left side of the microphone and select the “Face to Face” option.

Change the screen orientation on the indicated button to facilitate dialogue – screenshot: Thiago Furquim (Canaltech)

How to translate anywhere on iPhone

iOS 15 allows you to translate texts and words anywhere on your iPhone. So you don’t need to multitask or search the app whenever you want to know the meaning of a word in another language.

To do this, just select a text in the system and click “Translate”.

Check translation of a word anywhere on iPhone – screenshot: Thiago Furquim (Canaltech)

How to download languages ​​for offline translation

We don’t always have an internet connection enabled on our iPhone, do we? To get around this problem, if you urgently need to translate something, learn how to download languages ​​on iPhone and use Translate Offline app.

Step 1: In the Translate app, open one of the language boxes at the top of the screen. Then click on “Manage Languages…”.

In the translation app you can download languages ​​for offline use – Screenshot: Thiago Furquim (Canaltech)

Step 2: Click the Download button next to the language you want on your device.

Download languages ​​for offline access in translation – screenshot: Thiago Furquim (Canaltech)

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Popular book by Breslov rabbi now available in Mandarin translation - Israel Hayom - Translation

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Popular book by Breslov rabbi now available in Mandarin translation  Israel Hayom