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Off topic: Concrete Examples of Translation Errors
Thread poster: Simone Leccese
Mr. Satan (X)
Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
K9 Oct 3, 2023

Anne Maclennan wrote:
In the Dr. Who series the doctor has a robot dog. In the English original the dog is called “K9” - pronounced “kay nine” which gives the sound of the English word, “canine” = dog. The French version of the series has called the dog “K9”, pronounced “Ka neuf”. The translator has obviously missed the play on words or sounds in the original name of the dog.


Was the show dubbed or subbed? I assume it’s the former, considering France is mainly a dubbing country. But it’d be nice to have some clarifications.

FYI, in subtitling it’s a perfectly valid technique to leave the name in the original language. If it must be translated, the safest option is for the client or agency to provide an official translation in the form of a KNP (key names and phrases) list. This is especially important for TV series where consistency across episodes is crucial. In some scenarios, the linguist is allowed to translate or localize a name at their discretion, but only if it is both plot pertinent and contains a particular meaning. When the invented name got approved, it then needs to be documented in the KNP list for future reference.

[Edited at 2023-10-03 10:23 GMT]
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:52
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Shiver me timbers Oct 3, 2023

Anne Maclennan wrote:

In the Dr. Who series the doctor has a robot dog. In the English original the dog is called “K9” - pronounced “kay nine” which gives the sound of the English word, “canine” = dog. The French version of the series has called the dog “K9”, pronounced “Ka neuf”. The translator has obviously missed the play on words or sounds in the original name of the dog.


I wonder how they did with the nautical terms in the Captain Pugwash series - especially with the crew member Master Bates.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR3ZUCGhA_g
 
Tony Keily
Tony Keily
Local time: 13:52
Italian to English
+ ...
Your Reddit post Oct 3, 2023

In noticed that in your Reddit post you say: "I'm a student writing a thesis focusing on translation errors and was trying to look for a specific example of a real case of an error demonstrating bad work management (deadlines too tight, agency failing to cooperate in providing more context... that sort) during the process."

The emphasis here is quite different and I'd say that there are no specific types of error caused by bad TSP management except for 'errors you wouldn't have othe... See more
In noticed that in your Reddit post you say: "I'm a student writing a thesis focusing on translation errors and was trying to look for a specific example of a real case of an error demonstrating bad work management (deadlines too tight, agency failing to cooperate in providing more context... that sort) during the process."

The emphasis here is quite different and I'd say that there are no specific types of error caused by bad TSP management except for 'errors you wouldn't have otherwise committed'!

Maybe you'll find this interesting:https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi3-YO62NmBAxVWXfEDHQEmDqgQFnoECBcQAQ&url=https://www.eca.europa.eu/Other%20publications/EN_TERMINOLOGY_PUBLICATION/EN_TERMINOLOGY_PUBLICATION.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3ZriGalMlGBNtQbFQaInLG&opi=89978449

It's an ECA publication on misused words and expressions in English. ▲ Collapse
 
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Concrete Examples of Translation Errors







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