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Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subjects

Anything about Willow & Tara, Alyson Hannigan and Amber Benson.

Re: Subtitling kicks dubbing rear

Postby Hemiola » Fri Aug 16, 2002 6:50 am

Since we're talking about local practices, here in the US it is customary to show foreign (=non-anglophone) films with subtitles. This is true on both public television (PBS) and on "pay-cable" channels. Foreign films that are not shown on television are usually exhibited in small "art-house" cinemas, where they are invariably sub-titled.



I think this American dislike of dubbing came from years and years of exposure to truly awful dubbing of foreign films in the 1950s/60s. The worst offenders were, of course, the infamous "Chinese martial arts" and "Japanese monster" movies:D . These were so bad that comedy shows frequently made fun of them, showing dialogue coming out of people's mouths after they'd already stopped speaking, and characters speaking hilariously inappropriate dialogue (example: a man assaulting a resisting woman in a "martial-arts" movie saying to her "Whoa! You're a real spitfire!").



Curiously, this practice has created an odd American tendancy: if a foreign film first shown in "art-houses" or on PBS/Cable proves to be popular, the tendancy is not to give it wider cinematic and/or broadcast distribution, but to produce an anglophone re-make with an American cast!!!!!! This has, to say the least, produced some "mixed" results, depending on the producer/director/cast involved. In this way, we got the rather poor re-makes of "Cousin, Cousine" (as "Cousins") and "Les Visiteurs" (as "Just Visiting"), but also a rather cute version of "La Cage aux Folles" (as "The Birdcage"). It's a "hit-or-miss" process:D .

Hemiola
 


i am, you know... Yours

Postby pikachu1060 » Sun Aug 18, 2002 8:50 am

Oh my god, i was watching some season 4 episodes on DVD, and just for fun, i watched all the WT scenes first in english with the subtitles, and then in French, so that i could compare... And i noticed this awful mistake they did... I already noticed it long ago, but i kinda forgot about it.



Anyway, in "who are you", they translated correctly the part when willow says "I kind of like having something that's just, you know, mine" (je voulais juste quelque chose qui soit... rien qu'à moi), but then, when tara says "i am you know... yours, they translated that by "je le suis... des vôtres", that is, "i am, you know... one of yours" (meaning "on your side"). And so, all the french viewers didn't get the real meaning of that. That's too bad!

Chris
------------------
There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands
You seek problems because you need their gifts
Richard Bach - Illusions

pikachu1060
 


Re: i am, you know... Yours

Postby Hemiola » Sun Aug 18, 2002 11:09 am

Ah, pikachu, but something interesting happened in France the following week--



In the "previously on Buffy" segment of the episode for the following week, they actually corrected the mistake, showing Tara saying "Je suis, tu sais...à toi".



I know this because it was pointed out to me by one of my French contacts:) .

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"C'est ça, beau brun. Viens me chercher."

The French version of "That's right, big boy. Come and get it." from "Anne"

Hemiola
 


Re: i am, you know... Yours

Postby pikachu1060 » Sun Aug 18, 2002 2:06 pm

Yeah, i know they corrected it in the "previously on buffy" some episodes later, but still, it's a pretty huge mistake... I also noticed some others this afternoon, but i already forgot about them... Bad me! It's like, in one episode, i can't remember which one, anya says "back when i was a demon...", and they translated this by "du temps où j'étais un vampire" (back when i was a vampire...). But the thing is that anya never was a vampire. Guess the people who do the dubbing doesn't even know what the show is about!

Chris
------------------
There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands
You seek problems because you need their gifts
Richard Bach - Illusions

pikachu1060
 


Re: i am, you know... Yours

Postby Gara2077 » Sun Aug 18, 2002 3:28 pm

Hi,



I usually just lurk here, but I wanted to add to this thread. I’m from Spain and I could tell you horror stories about the dubbing here. I’ve never seen the episodes in their original version, so I hadn’t realized how bad it was until this summer (when we’ve been able to see, for the first time and after two years, the last half of season three, season four and now the beginning of season five), when I decided to start reading the transcripts after watching the episodes, basically because sometimes the characters said things that simply didn’t make sense. I was amazed at the amount of things that were translated wrong, left out or simply changed without reason.



Just an example, in last Friday’s episode, Real Me, they changed Tara’s words to Dawn after finding the owner of the Magic Box dead. Instead of ‘Best non-scoobies like you and me stay out of the way’ she said ‘Las bobas como tu y yo no podemos estorbar’, which translates to ‘The stupid ones, like you and me, shouldn’t be in the way’. Pathetic.


Gara

Gara2077
 


Re: i am, you know... Yours

Postby pikachu1060 » Sun Aug 18, 2002 3:39 pm

Lol, yeah, i know the feeling;) Really pathetic, and frustrating, cause as long as you don't get to see the episode in english or to read the transcripts, you know you miss stuffs, but you don't know exactly which ones... But you know, with the DVDs, it's really lot of fun to compare the english and the french version;) Also, i noticed once that they didn't make the right carachter speak. It was not really important though, so it didn't really matter. Anyway, the characters were kinda far in the screen, so you couldn't see who was talking, and they made anya speaks in french, while in the original version, it's buffy who was speaking. I don't know if they just made a mistake or if it was on purpose, but if so, i really didn't get the point...

Chris
------------------
There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands
You seek problems because you need their gifts
Richard Bach - Illusions

pikachu1060
 


Re: i am, you know... Yours

Postby Gara2077 » Sun Aug 18, 2002 3:59 pm

Well, I've been thinking about buying the DVDs for some time now, but the problem is they haven't released them with the spanish version, and as much as I hate the dubbing sometimes, I've grown accostumed to the voices and I would really like to have both versions. But considering there don't seem to be any plans to release the DVDs with the spanish version in the near future I might finally decide to buy the english one.


Gara

Gara2077
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby frenchrose888 » Sun Aug 18, 2002 4:18 pm

While a lot of good points were made by everyone, I just have to disagree with this :





Quote:
So, for OMWF, they had to dubbed it... Cause most part of the audience are teenagers, and they like the show, but aren't addicted like we are.




No, they didn't have to dub it, I'm sorry. They could have done it Moulin Rouge style, that is dub the rest of the episode, and switch to the original soundtrack and add subtitles during the songs. I haven't seen it in french yet, and my God, why on Earth did they go and hire Claude Lombard ? It's like a 'Lucille, Amour et Rock n Roll' Nightmare.



Anyway, back to my point : no, most of the audience does not necessarily consist in teenagers, that is a misconception. However, even if most viewers were indeed teenagers, so what ? Young people who are still at school learning english have a better chance of understanding than the older generations. I'm french, I'm just twenty, I learned english in school, and I understood OMWF just fine. And pearhaps, if the people who just like the show got the chance, every once in a while, to maybe hear the original voices when it matters, or have the lines translated correctly, maybe they'd come to be addicted like us.*g*



Also, on the 'je suis des vôtres' fiasco... I'm not so sure that was a mistake, I'm fairly certain it was intentional. In every WT scene in S4 and 5 - and in many others as well - the translators made their best to get rid of all the relationshippy lines, to in a way, de-sexualize the WT relationship. They did it as well in season 3 with most of Faith's dialogue, they do it systematically with all the sex related jokes. They do it on purpose for the simple reason that M6 - and Série Club - (french networks airing the show) want something that can be aired at anytime of the day, be it 23h30, 18h00 or whatever.



So, they need something that will be 'tous publics' aka extreme G. They did it on TF1 back then when they aired Xena. They 'erased' each and every 'subtext line' from the show.



Now I'm french and I have to tell you, it's very true, french people are lazy and do not want to make the effort to learn another language, which is a pity, really. I don't get why, I'll never get why, but hey, we're a dumb country anyway.*g*



Rant over, thank you.



Rose

'Magic, thy name is Tara.' - Mariacomet, The Stone Circle.

frenchrose888
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby pikachu1060 » Sun Aug 18, 2002 4:52 pm

Quote:
no, most of the audience does not necessarily consist in teenagers, that is a misconception. However, even if most viewers were indeed teenagers, so what ? Young people who are still at school learning english have a better chance of understanding than the older generations.




Don't get me wrong, i'm totally on your side on this topic. I'm a fervent defender of subtitles. And i do think that watching subtitles movies/shows on tv can help people learn languages which is a great thing. And i hate belgium (well, the french part of belgium) and france for airing only dubbed shows/movies. But i heard so many times people who were used to the dubbed version saying they wouldn't watch the show in the original version cause the voice are awful... Obviously, the voices are far better in english since they are the actual voices, but once you get used to the dubbed voices, it's kinda true that it's disturbing to watch the show in the original version. But after some time, i think you can get used to both. Actually, i'm used to both, and though i obviously prefer the english version, i can watch the french version without any problems (though i don't like seeing only the dubbed version. But i really enjoy seeing both so that i can compare). Anyway, back to the point... French people are used to the french voices, and i really thing they are kinda stubborn and wouldn't watch it in english, even for an episode like OMWF. But again, don't get me wrong. I am not criticizing french people. I have some french cousins, i love them, and i like french people (though i must admitt i sometimes like telling stupid jokes about french people, as they do for us, belgian;) ). It's part of their upbringing. They always got to see the dubbed version, and for the major part, they like it and wouldn't watch a subtitle movie. So, i do think (but maybe i'm just wrong) that if M6 had decided to subtitled OMWF, some viewers would have decided not to watch it... In my opinion, the best thing would have been to both subtitle and dub it, as on série club, and air both. Obviously, knowing M6, they'll just air the dubbed one, which is a pitty. I think that especially for an episode like OMWF, it would have been great if people did actually have the choice to watch it in either version.



As for willow and tara de-sexualizing stuff, yeah, it makes sense, though i think it's really a bad choice. I mean, they can't get rid of the kisses and the snuggles, right? So what's the point of avoiding a sentence like "i am you know, yours"? I mean, it's not like it's a big deal...

Plus, i hate it when they change the meaning on purpose. I'm part of those who think that the creator point of view has to be respected, and if he decided to make them say that, it should be there in the french version... Like i hate when they cut off some scenes... It's totally disrespectful to the original creator of the show... And they do it quite often on TF1 (don't know about M6)... i just hate it, and again, i don't see the point, cause sometimes, they do it for really banal scene (i mean, without any sexual-violence stuffs).



Anyway, that was just my humble opinion...

Chris
------------------
There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands
You seek problems because you need their gifts
Richard Bach - Illusions

pikachu1060
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby Cordy » Sun Aug 18, 2002 5:03 pm

Quote:
I’m from Spain and I could tell you horror stories about the dubbing here.




oh yes!! I'm Spanish too, but I used to see Buffy in English and I am ashamed of the translation. Dawn and Anya have hardly the same awful voice. Tara doesn't stutter and seems very confident talking.



oh oh!! And the called Miss Kitty "don felino fantastico", how can they?





----------------
 

...love is love no matter what gender or animal you may be!!

- Amber Benson (05/12/00 - Bronze)

Cordy
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby Gara2077 » Sun Aug 18, 2002 5:11 pm

Hola, compatriota



I don't really like Tara's voice in spanish. I've heard videos of Amber speaking and some small clips from episodes and she doesn't sound like that at all. But there's no much we can do about it.



P.S. Are you the Cordy form Magia en el Campus?


Gara

Gara2077
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby frenchrose888 » Sun Aug 18, 2002 5:41 pm

Hey pikachu1060, don't worry I know you were making a general point and not necessarily voicing you personnal preference, I wasn't attacking you, I hope there's no tension between us.*g*



We actually agree on a lot of things, I too have heard a lot of people telling me that they too wouldn't go to the trouble of watching a sub-titlted version - it's the majority, you're right. But, you know, before I realized that I was missing on a lot of stuff - thank you, the Internet*g* - I didn't really feel the need to try and see the original version of BtVS. I actually think that on Série Club, with their double airing, a lot of people actually watch both versions, even if only once in a while. I mean, how can people choose between oranges and apples if you don't offer them the apples, you know ? If the M6 people had half a brain, they would air both versions, just like Série Club does.



Besides, OMWF really is a special case, I mean, it's not any episode, it's a musical for god's sake. And it's probably the best Btvs episode ever. And now, how will people perceive it here ? As a joke, a stupid joke, because it's been slaughtered. That's why the idea that BtVS is a stupid show is so widely spread in France : because the people airing it make their best to make it stupid.



Oh, and feel free to criticize, make fun of, and throw stuff at french people. I mean, we're really dumbasses, I mean sometimes I feel like masquerading as a foreigner so I could make fun of the french, so... *g*



Finally, yes it is stupid to get rid of the 'coupley' dialogue, but yes, they could also get rid of the kisses and hugs, if they suddenly felt like it. They id it on Angel, where they simply cut out the entire sex scene at the end of 'Reprise', thus leaving a lot of viewers scratching their heads, trying to figure out how in Hell Darla and Angel conceived Connor since they never saw them having sex. France is a little slow that way, people need to have it all spelled out. Thank God, they haven't really done anything like that on Buffy, but still, the changes they make disminish the emotional impact of W&T... I mean, 99% of the people I know who were watching BTVS S4 had no idea what suddenly happened in New Moon Rising, because they had erased all traces of the girls' relationship up to that point. So, it still does have an impact on viewers. Moreover, they sometimes change lines to accomodate what they feel is appropriate : the famous example of the french translation of 'I'm all skanky.. And I think I'm kinda gay' comes to mind.



And, finally, about being used to the dubbing voices : I've seen 3 full seasons of Buffy without knowing anything else but the dubbing voices, so maybe one could say in a way I got used to them. But they actually influenced my feelings on the characters. For example, I so loathe Xander's french voice that from the first time I heard him talk, I hated him. And Willow, my beautiful Willow, everyone I know thinks she's a total airhead, because of her dubbing voice. And the second I heard the original cast's voices, I just knew that this was 'it', you know, the real deal, and that never again I would accept the pathetic substitute they were feeding us.



Rose

'Magic, thy name is Tara.' - Mariacomet, The Stone Circle.

frenchrose888
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby pikachu1060 » Mon Aug 19, 2002 12:54 am

Hey frenchrose, glad to see you're not mad at me for what i wrote in my previous post and that we agree on the topic;)

And again, i agree with you on everything you said. It is true that with willow's french voice, people tend to think she's a total airhead, without mentioning how tara's french voice influenced on the perception people get of her.



As for people not understanding what was happening with WT or how connor got there because of the bad dubbing or cut scene, that's really a shame. Actually, at first, i intended to watch angel on TF1, cause again, i like seeing both version. But when i saw how they massacred it, i simply decided i would wait for the DVDs to see angel french version. I just can't stand it...



Actually, since i'm able to read fast enough, i always have prefered to go to the cinema and watch the subtitled version, but i think that's because i have the "chance" to live in a bilingual city. Since they are both dutch and french people here in brussels, the major part of the movies at the cinema are subtitled both in french and in dutch, so that everyone can attend the same screening. But that's not true for the south of the country. Once you leave brussels and go to the french part, in each cinema, they air the dubbd version. Just like in french. And really, i'm so glad to live in brussels just for that. But unfortunately, for the tv, we got only dubbed versions, while the dutch part got to see only subtitled movies. And i think i mentioned that earlier on the thread, but we see a huge difference between french speaking people and dutch speaking people as far as the linguistic skills are concerned. And god knows how i hate being french speaking...

But again, it's part of the mentality of french people, and when i actually tell my friends that i have both french and english version of the show, they look at me like if i was crazy and ask me why on earth i need both...



As for the "i think i'm kinda gay" line, i don't actually remember how it was translated, but i'm gonna go and check;) think it's gonna be fun;)

Chris
------------------
There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands
You seek problems because you need their gifts
Richard Bach - Illusions

pikachu1060
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby Hemiola » Mon Aug 19, 2002 5:54 am

Now, now, pikachu and Frenchrose, don't be dissin' France and the French. As a "half-Canadian" whose field of study in college was French Language and Literature, I am a true Francophile and deeply in love with French culture. Besides, here in America, in spite of all the French jokes we tell (and we tell a lot of them;) !), we have never forgotten that France was our first and oldest ally:) . Besides, whenever I've traveled abroad, it is invariably Americans who think they can make themselves understood by speaking English slowly and loudly:D .



Anyway, I certainly agree about the inappropriateness of the French voices, since one of the joys of the original version is the unique and beautiful, sweet voices of Alyson Hannigan and Amber Benson:grin . It never ceases to amaze me that the French will dub something even when the subject of the film works against it!!!! For instance, I have been told that the recent film "The Messenger" (Milla Jovovich playing Joan of Arc) was completely dubbed, when it would have been perfectly logical to leave the English invaders speaking in their native language with sub-titles (in rare instances, this has been done in the past: I saw "Patton" in France in 1970, and the German-speaking parts were left in German, but sub-titled).



In answer to your question, I believe the famous "kinda gay" line was translated as "et je crois que j'ai des moeurs douteuses" (="and I think I have questionable morals")!!!!!!

Hemiola
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby Cordy » Mon Aug 19, 2002 8:32 am

Quote:
P.S. Are you the Cordy form Magia en el Campus?




The one and only

----------------
 

...love is love no matter what gender or animal you may be!!

- Amber Benson (05/12/00 - Bronze)

Cordy
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby pikachu1060 » Mon Aug 19, 2002 10:02 am

Quote:
It never ceases to amaze me that the French will dub something even when the subject of the film works against it!!!! For instance, I have been told that the recent film "The Messenger" (Milla Jovovich playing Joan of Arc) was completely dubbed, when it would have been perfectly logical to leave the English invaders speaking in their native language with sub-titles




Well, yeah, i agree. But the thing is, when we have an english movie (or whatever language), we dubbed everything in this language, and if some dialogues happen to be in an other language with subtitles in the orignal version, (like german in an english movie), we let it in that language with subtitles. But there's a problem with english movies who have french dialogue in it. Like in home alone, when the parents are in paris, they are dubbed in french, and the audience don't get why they don't understand what people at the airport are saying, since people in paris speak french as the parents do since they are dubbed. So, it's totally ridiculous. The same for french kiss, with meg ryan, who speaks french but doesn't get anything that french people are saying to her. Soooo stupid!

But don't get me wrong, i love french culture and literature. I love french movies (yeah, the best comedy are french!)... The only thing i hate is this silly habit of dubbing movies... But i guess it won't ever change :(

Chris
------------------
There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands
You seek problems because you need their gifts
Richard Bach - Illusions

pikachu1060
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby Hemiola » Mon Aug 19, 2002 10:41 am

In fact, I heard that the dubbing of "Restless" had disastrous consequences, since instead of leaving the dialogue of Giles and Anya in French (with peculiar accents--the guy who spoke Giles' lines was Mexican!) during Xander's dream sequence, they insisted on having him talk some totally unrelated nonsense. WHY??????

--------------------------------------------------------

"Le hippo a piqué ses pantalons!"

Willow to Buffy about the pantsless monkey on the table in one of the dream sequences of Season 2:)

Hemiola
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby pikachu1060 » Mon Aug 19, 2002 11:29 am

yeah, that's true... and this again is so stupid. I guess the best way of doing it would have been to dubbed it in a third language, like in german or japanese or whatever, but a language that makes sense... Again, this is one of the numerous stupidity you have when you watch a dubbed show...

Chris
------------------
There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands
You seek problems because you need their gifts
Richard Bach - Illusions

pikachu1060
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby BFR from Paris » Sat Sep 07, 2002 10:20 am

Bonjour à tous! (Hello all!) ;)



I'm back from a well-deserved 3-week vacation and catching up with the board (gulp!) :)



Anyway, about the whole "dubbing vs subtitling" debate, I'm all for the subtitling (but it's my job, so I'm partial ;) ), although it's true that here in France, most people prefer watching dubbed versions (we're lazy people)...



A few years ago, when I was a huge X-Files fan, I used to compare the original scripts with their French translations and I was amazed by all the mistranslations, which could totally be misleading and confusing (and god knows X-Files is already hard enough to follow! :laugh )



As for Buffy, I'm torn (I'm torn with Buffy, as Amber would say he he) because some dialogues and characters are kinda funnier in French (Cordelia, for instance) ;)

So I guess I have no problem watching it in either versions (but I do like having a choice, which Série Club didn't give us for season 6 :mad )



I haven't seen the 4th season in French, so I can't talk about the de-innuendoing (I like to invent words) of W/T dialogue, but in the 6th season, they actually made some of the lines spicier ;)



Example : in "Normal Again", Buffy's "once you've fallen for Willow, you stay fallen" was translated by "quand on a goûté à Willow, le reste paraît fade" (literally : "When you've tasted Willow, the rest seems bland") :grin

Somehow, I'm sure the translator did it on purpose :laugh



There was also a comment by Willow in season 2, which in French went something like "l'amour, ça doit être gai" ("love should be gay", "gai" in French having a double meaning - either "joyful" or "gay"), which made me smirk :p



Anyway, I could talk about this for hours so I'll stop now ;)



Christine



PS : what exactly are those jokes that Americans tell about French people? ;) ;)

BFR from Paris
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby AutumnT » Sat Sep 07, 2002 10:42 am

Quote:
(literally : "When you've tasted Willow, the rest seems bland";)
LOL. I like the French. They're racy. :)



Autumn

-----------

Buffy Season 6: It grated, like something forced in where it doesn't belong.

AutumnT
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby Hemiola » Sat Sep 07, 2002 11:15 am

Welcome back, BFR!:) Please keep us posted on any unusual French phrasings in Season 6.



For instance, I would really like to know how the French version translated the Buffybot's "That'll put marzipan in your pieplate, bingo!" line from "Bargaining 1":grin .

Hemiola
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby xita » Sat Sep 07, 2002 11:25 am

oh I love that, I am sure Tara had plenty of helping of Willow to know the taste very well. :rollin

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Childie -"Not all girls are raving bloody lesbians, you know!"

George - "That's a misfortune of which I am perfectly well aware."

The Killing of Sister George

xita
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby Katharyn » Sat Sep 07, 2002 12:13 pm

Oh that is wonderful... the taste of Willow.



*sigh*



Off to a happy place to start thinking about writing smut.



Thanks



Katharyn

-----------------

Katharyn
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby kbk3022 » Sat Sep 07, 2002 12:18 pm

That quote would be really funny, if it weren't Buffy saying it, the fact that she says something about the taste of Willow is a little disturbing to me. To the french fans it implies a lot about Buffy and Willow.



Kasey


- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"You should come around here on Halloween,
you'd really see something then...
we all jump off the roof and fly."


kbk3022
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby BFR from Paris » Sat Sep 07, 2002 1:13 pm

Kasey : I don't think the French fans went imagining things upon hearing that line, not everybody has a perverted mind like us Kitties ;)



Don't be disturbed and just enjoy the sauciness of the allusion (which btw may not have been intentional) :p



PS : I just watched a rerun of "Superstar" (4x17) and Jonathan's voice in French is low and deep, it's really... strange :lol



And might I add that I like Willow's hair best towards the end of season 4 :grin but that's OT, sorry ;)





BFR from Paris
 


Re: WT kissing in French

Postby BFR from Paris » Wed Sep 18, 2002 4:30 am

Hello!



Okay, last night I watched a rerun of "Restless" (4x22) dubbed in French and OMG!!!

In Xander's dream, when Willow & Tara are heard kissing, the kissing noises are "dubbed" in French and they sound sooo much hotter than the original!! :thud



I'll try to tape the rerun of the rerun on Saturday and make an audio clip of that ;)



Also in that episode, Giles and Anya, instead of speaking "French" to Xander (I didn't understand all of it :laugh ), speak gibberish, kinda like on a cell phone when the line is bad ;)



And might I add, watching that episode when you're high is an interesting experience... and Tara looks yummy!!! :drool



Have a nice day!



Christine

BFR from Paris
 


French

Postby themagicpixie » Wed Sep 18, 2002 6:13 am

My sister is studying a French degree and lived in France last year (we are from the UK). She had a TV but said French TV was so bad she hardly ever watched it, she watched DVDs instead!



That's an English person's perception of French TV. She didn't like the dubbing of EVERYTHING and neither did I. Alyson Hannigan isn't really playing Willow if you can't hear the way she delivers the line. In England I must have seen 2 TV shows that were dubbed - both were kids' TV shows, they must have thought some would find it difficult to read the subtitles.



I went to stay with my sister and the first night there "The Body" episode of "Buffy Contre Les Vampires", which I think translates as Buffy versus The Vampires (surely then Season 4 should have been Buffy versus the Evils of Science, Season 5 Buffy versus The Key-Obsessed God and Season 6 Buffy's Producers versus Anyone Who Ever Liked The Show Before And Isn't a 12-Year-Old-Boy Who Enjoys Violence And Shouldn't Be Encouraged. Anyway). The episode title was translated to "Les Orphelines" (which I think means orphans). Interesting as Buffy and Dawn aren't technically orphans. I mean Joyce wasn't really Dawn's mother anyway, and in any case Hank is still alive, but I guess in effect they're orphans as Hank doesn't really seem to give a damn anyway and they end up having to look after themselves.



It's very strange to watch such a powerful episode in another language. I had no idea whether it was hitting the same notes or not!



BTW what are they saying in "Restless", can anyone translate the French into English? Is it just nonsense?



What would have been funny is if they had translated the French into English for the French version...



themagicpixie
 


Re: French bits of "Restless"

Postby BFR from Paris » Wed Sep 18, 2002 7:42 am

Quote:
BTW what are they saying in "Restless", can anyone translate the French into English? Is it just nonsense?




When Giles speaks French, I don't understand much of what he says, but I'll try to translate the scene :



Giles : "You need to ???, your friends are all there [...] ??? can't hurt you".



(Xander : "I don't understand")



Giles : "Ah dis donc, ce n'est pas le temps pour les jeux idiotes", which is totally incorrect in French :laugh but roughly means "we don't have time to fool around"



Enters Anya, whose French is much better ;)

She says : "Xander, you must come with us now, they're waiting for you."



Giles : "That's what I was trying to tell him."



(Xander : "I can't hear you.")



Anya : "It doesn't matter. I'll escort you."

Giles : "Let's go."



There you go, you see it's not crucial dialogue ;)



And about French TV, your sister's right, it mostly sucks :puke

That's why I have cable, at least we get good movies and TV shows ;)



However, having seen a little English TV, I dare say it's not better imho :p

BFR from Paris
 


Subtitles or dubbing?

Postby saule77 » Wed Sep 18, 2002 10:46 am

I remember seeing the first couple of seasons of Buffy at home in France and not thinking twice about dubbing. That was the way things were. It was before cable and satellite TV were in almost every home in the country and "regular" TV for mass audience (hence the dubbing) was all that was available.



Thing is, I have since lived in England for a year and in Ireland for another 3... And Buffy in English is the only way to go.



Going home for holidays every so often, I tried once to watch a Buffy episode in French again. Cringe factor off the scale...

NEVER again! I had to switch it off after 2 minutes. Not 3, 2!

Maybe it's because I have seen then in English so many times (proud owner of the last 4 series on video / DVD) and probably know most of the dialogues by heart but I just couldn't...



Unfortunately, it's the same for all shows originating from English-speaking countries aired in non English-speaking countries.

Whether the show is dubbed or subtitled, so much is lost in the translation anyway. Most jokes or play on words simply cannot be translated. Same thing for a lot of the pop culture that shows like Buffy use profusely. It simply doesn't work.



But at least, with subtitles, you can hear the general tone of the actor's voice, which is part of their performance. At least, the voice matches the face (see the Jonathan reference a few posts above this one: Jonathan with a deep voice? :rollin ) and the emotions are conveyed as well as the message (i.e. dialogue for the sheer sake of story telling).



Bottom line is: the level of entertainment is just not the same...



Season 7: "Is this supposed to be some sort of sick joke?"
"Please continue with the story of failure"

saule77
 


Re: Audio clips of WT in French & other translation subj

Postby jeepchick scully » Fri Sep 20, 2002 9:33 pm

Haha, I can't believe I didn't see this post sooner. If only my school didn't block out this board I could share with my french class...



By the way, I also think the German chick doing Scully's voice is pretty damn sexy.

jeepchick scully
 

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