Do you watch movies if you don't understand the original language ?

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livelove
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Do you watch movies if you don't understand the original language ?

Post by livelove »

Seeing how much is lost in translation (with big bloopers only being the tip of the iceberg), I am torn about whether to watch movies whose original language I don't understand.

How do you deal with this question ?

My current operating procedure:

  • if I understand the original language: no problem (obviously)
     
  • if it's in Spanish: I intend to learn this language later, so for the time being I don't watch Spanish movies so that I can see them in the original language later
     
  • if the movie's original language is any other language I don't understand: well ... that's where I am currently hesitating. If I watch something, I would like to see it completely, including the actors' voices, intonation, and the original text spoken. Some dubbings are palatable while others are terrible. The problem is, you need to know the original text to even know if the dubbing deviates from it, otherwise you'll never find out. And sometimes there are so many subtleties lost in translation that if you watch the dubbed or subtitled version you really have seen a different film altogether.

I would welcome any advice. Thank you.
Last edited by livelove on Fri Dec 14, 2018 10:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Adds
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Re: Do you watch movies if you don't understand the original language ?

Post by Adds »

Dubbed films might as well not even exist as far as I'm concerned.

The solution is easy: subtitles.

ribcage
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Re: Do you watch movies if you don't understand the original language ?

Post by ribcage »

I like dubs so I can focus on the visuals. Not knowing the language, I won't pick up on the nuances of the native speech anyway so if using subtitles doesn't mean I gain in aural experience but lose visually because I'm reading instead of watching I'll take a dub. That's my stance but unfortunately many dubs are far too wonky to endure, and I'll have to switch to subs. Even further, some subs are just as wonky and there's many films I've had to watch with both subs and dubs at once to find coherence ( I'm looking at you, Shaw Brothers).

However, if I really liked a movie and wanna rewatch it I'll try out the subbed version on the next go around.

livelove
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Re: Do you watch movies if you don't understand the original language ?

Post by livelove »

thanks for participating, but sorry you both misunderstand this thread.

This is NOT a dubbing vs subtitles thread.

BOTH are translations from the original language, so both suffer from the same problem.

(Granted, if you watch a film with subtitles, you hear at least the actor's voices and intonations. Both can be significantly different in dubbing. The robot voices of the Transformers are hilarious in some languages ;).
But you still read a translation. So technically you'll loose slightly less information than in a dubbing, but personally, if I don't understand the words, I can't really interpret the intonation either, both go hand in hand.)


My question is what to do generally if the movie is in an incomprehensible language.

paulofilmo
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Re: Do you watch movies if you don't understand the original language ?

Post by paulofilmo »

But you still read a translation. So technically you'll loose slightly less information than in a dubbing, but personally, if I don't understand the words, I can't really interpret the intonation either, both go hand in hand.)

i can't say i've felt a loss of intonation with subs. this is much more problematic for me with literature/poetry/stand-up/rap, etc.

or something like a japanese anime that has a lot of wordplay (e.g. yakitate!! japan). or cyrano de bergerac ('90), despite Anthony Burgess's help. or when tarkovsky quotes his father's poems.

but, most films don't rely on the texture/imagery of spoken language. well. and yet. how would you translate guy ritchie? trainspotting? etc. hmm

ribcage
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Re: Do you watch movies if you don't understand the original language ?

Post by ribcage »

A friend of mine watched a Bollywood horror movie without any idea what was being said and managed to get a fair idea, he claims, of what happened maybe. And he watched all 2.5 hours. But he doesn't make a habit of this kind of thing

VinegarBob
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Re: Do you watch movies if you don't understand the original language ?

Post by VinegarBob »

livelove wrote:My question is what to do generally if the movie is in an incomprehensible language.


I'll watch it with subtitles without a moment's hesitation. I've seen films from over 100 different countries, and a lot of my favourite films of all time are in foreign (to me) languages. And Tarkovsky and Bergman are two of my favourite directors. It's a complete non-issue for me.

In my experience when you watch a lot of subtitled films you get into a groove of paying attention to both the visuals and the subtitles. After a while you don't really notice that you're reading subs.

CosmicMonkey
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Re: Do you watch movies if you don't understand the original language ?

Post by CosmicMonkey »

The thing is though, while subtitles tend be pretty close translations to the original, dubs will often be changed quite a bit in order to better lipsync. If you want to try this out for your self watch a foreign film with both subtitles and dub, and you'll immediately notice what I mean. If you're worried about missing nuance due to mistranslation then it'd be better to stick to subs. Not to mention the previously stated fact that most dubs have poor voice acting and fail to capture the nuance and intonation of the original performances.

To answer the question though, yes, if English subtitles are available than I'll watch a film in any language. I've been watching them since I was a kid, and besides most of the world has gotten used to watching American films with subtitles and dubbing, it's awfully arrogant of the Anglophone world not to do the same. If only an English dub is available, as is the case with some anime, I'll be more hesitant to watch it but probably will anyways. Have I missed some nuance as a result of translation? Almost certainly, but I can't think of an instance where it's been significant enough to affect my enjoyment of a movie.

coffee
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Re: Do you watch movies if you don't understand the original language ?

Post by coffee »

The decision is also depends on the things which are lost in the translation. If you want to watch a romantic Bollywood piece I say go for it. Subtitles are allright.

I can also say that knowing a language doesn't guaranteee understanding every nuance. I think I can understand English but there are tons of cultural references in many movies. Sometimes these are in very unexpected movies, such as a mob or a coming-of-age film. So a dubbed film could be better if the translation is really good.

paulofilmo
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Re: Do you watch movies if you don't understand the original language ?

Post by paulofilmo »

VinegarBob wrote:In my experience when you watch a lot of subtitled films you get into a groove of paying attention to both the visuals and the subtitles. After a while you don't really notice that you're reading subs.


i agree. but, i just watched a clip from mauvais sang, and i think it is a different experience (w, w/out subs).
ideally everything would be silent and we wouldn't have to succumb to the allure of filthy language

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq9g69T2y8w
https://youtu.be/Cq6ibDZ3N3w?t=108


and yet

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