Dune 2's Fremen Language Subtitles Aren't Always Direct Translations, Villeneuve Reveals - Screen Rant - Translation

Summary

• The Fremen language in the Dune movies is not always directly subtitled, adding depth to character interactions.
• Villeneuve meticulously crafts the Dune world, from languages to visual effects, capturing complex essence.
• Dune: Part Two is getting rave reviews so far, which will hopefully lead to the film's successful box office run.

Denis Villeneuve reveals that the Fremen language in Dune: Part Two is not always directly subtitled. Directed by Villeneuve, Dune: Part Two continues the story of the 2021 sci-fi film by following Paul Atreides as he seeks vengeance on those who ruined his family. Dune: Part Two features a leading cast including Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, and Anya Taylor-Joy.

Now, Villeneuve explains on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that the subtitles the film uses for the Fremen language are not always direct.

The director was asked how the Fremen language had to translate not only individual words, but idioms. One such idiom comes when Zendaya’s Chani says to Stellan Skarsgård’s Vladimir Harkonnen “you’re insane,” but “in Fremen language it is ‘you’re drinking sand.’” Check out the full quote from Villeneuve below:

There was like a whole poetry and whole inner logic to the language. For example, when Zendaya says at one point to Stellan Skarsgård, her character Chani says to Skarsgård, ‘you are crazy, you’re insane.’ She says ‘you’re insane.’ But the way she says it in Fremen language is ‘you’re drinking sand.’ That of course for a Fremen, is the ultimate madness.

The Fremen Language Reflects the Meticulously-Crafted World of Dune: Part Two

Frank Herbert’s original Dune is nearly 900 pages long. Dune has often been considered an impossible novel to adapt given its sheer complexity and amount of world-building involved in it. From complex politics to made-up languages, the enormity of Herbert’s Dune presents an immense adaptation challenge to any filmmaker.

As evidenced by the description of the Fremen language, Villeneuve has taken over this intricate world with impeccable grace. Earlier in his interview with Colbert, Villeneuve related a story of a dialect coach on set who corrected an actor’s pronunciation of a Fremen word. Even though the Fremen language is made up, Villeneuve agreed to do the take again to accurately portray the world of Arrakis.

Dune: Part Two has also committed to its world-building by way of its skillful use of visual effects to portray everything from the sandworm to the titular dunes of Arrakis. So far, these efforts are being met with massive critical praise for Dune: Part Two, which holds a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. Hopefully, Villeneuve's well-crafted world will amount to box office success as Dune: Part Two enters theaters for its opening weekend.

Source: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert/YouTube

Dune: Part Two

Dune: Part Two is the sequel to Denis Villeneuve's 2021 film that covers the novel's events by Frank Herbert. The movie continues the quest of Paul Atreides on a journey of revenge against those who slew his family. With insight into the future, Atreides may be forced to choose between his one true love and the universe's fate. 

Release Date

March 1, 2024

Studio(s)

Legendary Pictures

Distributor(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Budget

$122 Million

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MV Times announces 'O Tempo' - Martha's Vineyard Times - Translation

This week we are starting a translation service into Portuguese for our readers from the growing Brazilian community, making The Martha’s Vineyard Times the first news organization on the Island to serve the community in this way. 

Our new Brazilian edition will be available online and we are calling it “O Tempo,” or “The Times” in Portuguese, which is the national language of Brazil. We will also be offering a translation capacity for other languages, such as Spanish and Serbian, for the increasingly diverse community that makes up the Island. 

“We need to reach out to the Brazilian community and invite them to be a part of our coverage of issues that directly impact their lives, such as education and housing and climate change,” said The Times’ publisher Charles M. Sennott. 

“We also want to celebrate this vibrant Brazilian community and its culture,” Sennott added. 

The translation can be found on the website, mvtimes.com, by clicking on any article page and looking for a small icon of an American flag and “EN,” for English. Click on that button and there is a small Brazilian flag with an option for drop down menu for Portuguese, and nine other languages. The translation is a service of GTranslate, which is powered by AI, or artificial intelligence. 

The service is far from perfect. We will be looking to you, our readers, for feedback on the translations and how we can make them better. It is clear that AI can be a big part of the future of how newspapers serve their communities, but we believe that is only true if the efforts are driven by human beings who live in the community.

What is clear is that a larger and larger percentage of our community is Brazilian, and we want to serve this part of the Island and open up a dialogue. So how did the Brazilian community start coming to Martha’s Vineyard? Over the last four decades, Brazilians developed a pipeline of immigration that was built upon an earlier wave of Portuguese immigrants that arrived in the 18th and 19th century through the whaling industry and on fishing boats. The Portuguese settled on Cape Cod, bringing with them their language and culture. 

Brazilian immigrants have followed in that wake. Brazilians now represent an estimated 20 percent of the Island’s year-round residents, or about 4,000 people. In the schools, a recent survey revealed that more than 30 percent of the students are enrolled in English Language Learning, with the vast majority of them hailing from Brazilian families where Portuguese is spoken in the home.

Too often the Brazilian community has existed largely out of view and has mostly been seen laboring as landscapers, carpenters, and cleaners. But there are also thriving business entrepreneurs and a whole network of professionals in this community. And there is a culture of music, food, and dance that is thriving, as the Times’ shares in the Community section this week. The hope is that the translation service will open a dialogue across the Island so we can all learn more from each other.

“The translation will be great for the Brazilian community. News is everything. If you know what’s happening you can speak up for your people,” said Meiroka Nunes, who runs a cleaning service but also manages a Facebook group called “Brazukada,” which is a lifeline of communication for the Island’s Brazilian community with 11,000 active members. 

Nunes added, “It will be good for Brazilians to get involved with American culture because they don’t know what’s going on and this is important because people will educate themselves. And information is power. If you have good information you know where to go, what to do to solve a problem.”

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Dune 2's Fremen Language Subtitles Aren't Always Direct Translations, Villeneuve Reveals - Screen Rant - Translation

Summary

• The Fremen language in Dune: Part Two not always directly subtitled, adding depth to character interactions.
• Villeneuve meticulously crafts the Dune world, from languages to visual effects, capturing complex essence.
• Dune: Part Two is getting rave reviews so far, which will hopefully lead to the film's successful box office run.

Denis Villeneueve reveals that the Fremen language in Dune: Part Two is not always directly subtitled. Directed by Villeneuve, Dune: Part Two continues the story of the 2021 sci-fi film through following the story of Paul Atreides as he seeks vengeance on those who ruined his family. Dune: Part Two features a leading cast including Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, and Anya Taylor-Joy.

Now, Villeneuve explains on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that the subtitles the film uses for the Fremen language are not always direct. The director was asked about how the Fremen language had to translate not only individual words, but idioms.

One such idiom comes when Zendaya’s Chani says to Skarsgård’s Vladimir Harkonnen “you’re insane,” but “in Fremen language it is ‘you’re drinking sand.’” Check out the full quote from Villeneuve below:

“There was like a whole poetry and whole inner logic to the language. For example, when Zendaya says at one point to Stellan Skarsgård, her character Chani says to Skarsgård, ‘you are crazy, you’re insane.’ She says ‘you’re insane.’ But the way she says it in Fremen language is ‘you’re drinking sand.’ That of course for a Fremen, is the ultimate madness.”

The Fremen Language Reflects the Meticulously-Crafted World of Dune: Part Two

Frank Herbert’s original Dune is nearly 900 pages long. Unfolding over hundreds of pages, Dune has often been considered an impossible novel to adapt given its sheer complexity and amount of world building involved in it. From complex politics to made up languages, the enormity of Herbert’s Dune presents an immense adaptation challenge to any filmmaker.

As evidenced by the description of the Fremen language, Villeneuve has taken over this intricate world with impeccable grace. Earlier in his interview with Colbert, Villeneuve related a story of a dialect coach on set who corrected an actor’s pronunciation of a Fremen word. Even though the Fremen language is made up, Villeneuve agreed to do the take again for the sake of accurately portraying the world of Arrakis and beyond.

Dune: Part Two has also committed to its world building by way of its skillful use of visual effects in order to portray everything from the sandworm to the titular dunes of Arrakis. So far, these efforts are being met with massive critical praise for Dune: Part Two, which holds a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. Hopefully, Villeneuve’s well-crafted world will amount to box office success as Dune: Part Two enters theaters for its opening weekend.

Source: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

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"Yo peeps": Chat GPT is the latest translation of the Bible - CBS News - Translation

MIAMI — The man behind "The New Testament for Gen Z: Unofficial ChatGPT Translation for Gen Z" Bible uses the pen name "Broseph Smith." He and CBS News Miami's Tania Francois have been emailing questions and answers back and forth over the past few days. 

Smith says he's 20 years old and lives in Washington state. He declined a TV and Zoom interview.

Tania Francois: What inspired you to do this?

Broseph Smith: I can't remember the exact text, but I was reading a piece of scripture that was difficult for me to understand. Not long before, a friend introduced me to ChatGPT, and it dawned on me to ask ChatGPT to rephrase the scripture into modern language so I could understand the verse better. It worked remarkably well so I tried updating an entire chapter. The updated text was so much easier for me to understand that I decided that I would like to "translate" the entire New Testament for my personal study. I compiled it into a book format so others could benefit too. I never thought it would be popular but it turns out that I wasn't alone struggling to comprehend the old-time language of the KJV [King James' Version].

Francois: Why just the New Testament?

Smith: I began with the New Testament because it was the scripture I was studying at the time.

Francois: Is there an Old Testament coming?

Smith: Yes! I've just finished with the Old Testament for Gen Z. I hope for it to be published by the time you run your story. I'll let you know as soon as it is live.

Francois: How many books have you sold?

Smith: A little over 6,000 people have purchased a copy of the New Testament for Gen Z since I published it last August.

Francois: Are you making a profit from this?

Smith: Yes. After printing costs I do make a few dollars on each book.

Francois: If some of the proceeds is going to charity… which?

Smith: Yes. I donate a portion of the profit to a charity for humanitarian aid.

Francois: How did you make it? Seems self-explanatory… you put the KJV into ChatGPT, is that really it?

Smith: Yes. Although time-consuming, the process was indeed simple. I input KJV text into ChatGPT and asked it to rewrite the text verse-by-verse to make it easier for someone of my age to understand. The more difficult part was learning how to publish the book itself.

Francois: Will/are you doing other religious books? The Torah? Or the Koran?

Smith: With the exception of the Old Testament which should be published very soon, I do not plan on doing further religious books. I took on these projects primarily to help myself understand the Bible better. The Koran or Torah are not tenets of my religion, but I would certainly encourage people of those faiths to use ChatGPT as a tool if they are struggling to understand their respective scripture.

Francois: What do you say to critics who think this takes away from the sanctity of the Bible?

Smith: I understand why people may be skeptical. My intention was not to replace traditional versions of the Bible or to undermine their sacredness, rather add an interpretation that allows people of my age to better connect with God and our faith. However I'll be the first to say that this should not be used as your primary Bible. It is best to think of this version as a study guide, to help those who may be lost with the English of the 1600s.

Francois: What do you say to people who are applauding this effort?

Smith: By and large, the feedback among those who have actually purchased and read the book has been quite positive. The most common feedback is either praise by those who struggled to understand traditional versions of the Bible, or by parents who are thankful their teen is now studying the Bible.

Francois: Would you combine old and new to make one?

Smith: I hadn't really thought of that yet. I suppose now that I have the Old Testament ready too it seems logical to combine into a single volume.

More from CBS News

Tania Francois

Tania Francois returned to CBS News Miami in November 2022 as the Executive Producer Impacting Communities or EPIC.

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