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Can I completely change the name of the play?
Thread poster: linadia
Nelson Agelvis
Nelson Agelvis
Local time: 12:39
Spanish to English
+ ...
Adapt the translation to the market Jul 17, 2004

Hollywood movie titles for Latin America are translated observing a specific market purpose. Latin American audiences want the title to say what the movie is about (if possible), hence the aforesaid example of "Jaws" = "Tiburón"[Shark]. More important than translating the exact wording is TRANSFERING the intention of the title by taking into account the market it is intended for. Take a look at other Arabic translations (especially movies and books) and see what the trend is in the intention vs... See more
Hollywood movie titles for Latin America are translated observing a specific market purpose. Latin American audiences want the title to say what the movie is about (if possible), hence the aforesaid example of "Jaws" = "Tiburón"[Shark]. More important than translating the exact wording is TRANSFERING the intention of the title by taking into account the market it is intended for. Take a look at other Arabic translations (especially movies and books) and see what the trend is in the intention vs. exact wording war, and transfer the intention accordingly.

Good Luck!
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RafaLee
RafaLee
Australia
Local time: 02:39
Spanish to English
+ ...
In the case of the Latin soap operas in Indonesia Jul 19, 2004

In Indonesia, a lot of telenovelas (South American soap operas) titles have to be changed to conform the Indonesian cultural values.

For example:
- The Indonesian version of "Morena Clara (Clara the Brunette)" is " Si Cantik Clara (The Beautiful Clara)". I think (correct me if I am wrong) the original title implies the unique brunette beauty. However, Indonesians will not get this implicature because almost all Indonesians are brunette.

- The Indonesian version is
... See more
In Indonesia, a lot of telenovelas (South American soap operas) titles have to be changed to conform the Indonesian cultural values.

For example:
- The Indonesian version of "Morena Clara (Clara the Brunette)" is " Si Cantik Clara (The Beautiful Clara)". I think (correct me if I am wrong) the original title implies the unique brunette beauty. However, Indonesians will not get this implicature because almost all Indonesians are brunette.

- The Indonesian version is "La Picarra Sonadora (The Cheeky Dreamy Girl)" is "Gadis Pemimpi (The Dreamy Girl)". I think it is wise to omit the "Cheeky" part (Picarra) because the literal Indonesian translation of "Picarra" can be a double-entendre which means "Prostitute"!
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Lorenzo Lilli
Lorenzo Lilli  Identity Verified
Local time: 17:39
German to Italian
+ ...
why not? Jul 19, 2004

You may discuss the issue with the editor, however... why not? The title cannot sound like a literal translation. Just one example (there are lots more) of a title translated from English into Italian: Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" was translated "Quarto Potere" ("4th power", a reference to press as an institutional power).

 
Heinrich Pesch
Heinrich Pesch  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 18:39
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
They do it all the time Jul 24, 2004

A typical example of a completely new title and better than the original ist the movie "On the waterfront" starring Marlon Brando. In Finland it is known as "Alaston satama" which means "Naked Harbor".
But I believe mostly the title is decided befor the translator gets the dialogue, because the title is the most important isue.

[Edited at 2004-07-24 07:49]


 
Gabriela Mejías
Gabriela Mejías  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 13:39
English to Spanish
+ ...
Un tranvía llamado deseo (en Argentina) Jul 26, 2004

Kim Metzger wrote:

linadia wrote:

I've translated a French play and the title translation does not look good to the reader of the target language (Arabic).

Can I complletely change it to another title of my own creation, that would be more attractive to the Arabic reader or this would be a violation of the auther's rights, as the title is a key-identifier of any literary work?

Thanks a lot


Hi linadia,
I don't know about the legal ramifications (maybe you'd need the author's consent) but I can tell you that translated literary works are routinely given titles that are not even close to the original title. In other words, it wouldn't make sense to translate a title literally if it didn't convey the idea of the play or poem or novel, etc. to the target audience.

The German title of the American novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" is "Wenn die Nachtigal Singt" - when the nightingale sings. There are no mockingbirds in Germany (they're lovely creatures) so the translator chose a bird that Germans would be familiar with.

The German title for Tennessee Williams' "Streetcar Named Desire" (a masterpiece) is Endstation Sehnsucht - last station desire.

Cheers, Kim

[Edited at 2004-07-13 23:41]


 
Anthony Green
Anthony Green  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 17:39
Italian to English
+ ...
Sometimes advertisers get it wrong though Aug 4, 2004

Gillette have a slogan which goes something like "the best a man can get", which in Italian has been localised as "il meglio di un uomo" which always makes my skin crawl with embarrassment - literally it means "the best of a man" and just seems so pompous and ridiculous.
Any other advertising localisation mistakes you know of?

Anthony


 
ljilja
ljilja  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:39
Spanish to Serbo-Croat
+ ...
sorry, my english is baaaaad, Aug 5, 2004

if there is any possibility to ask the autor, it would be the best solution. I meen, the title is a part of the play, and I always immagine how the wrighter thinks for months what to put. Of course, you can change it, but only if you have a good reason. Why don´t you give us an explanation, so we might "vote". Anyway, good luck. That' s a hard job.

 
linadia
linadia
French to Arabic
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I'm keeping the title with a slight change Aug 8, 2004

Thank you all for your replies, they're most informative with very interesting examples.

Actually I finally decided to keep the title, just change it from an interrogative form to an indicative one. As it's in Arabic I'm not sure I can explain it properly.

Any way, I hope it won't sound too alien to the Arabic ear.

Thank you so much again

nadia


 
Richard Benham
Richard Benham  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 17:39
German to English
+ ...
In memoriam
A few remarks Feb 1, 2005

In "A Streetcar Named Desire", which I read recently, there is reference to an actual streetcar (which I would call a tram) named "Desire"--i.e. the last stop is called "Desire". This ties in well with the German "Endstation Sehnsucht", except that the German misses the obvious metaphor: being knocked over by desire (possibly someone else's) can be as devastating and as irresistible as being knocked over by a streetcar.

I really don't see a problem with "Blood Wedding" as a translat
... See more
In "A Streetcar Named Desire", which I read recently, there is reference to an actual streetcar (which I would call a tram) named "Desire"--i.e. the last stop is called "Desire". This ties in well with the German "Endstation Sehnsucht", except that the German misses the obvious metaphor: being knocked over by desire (possibly someone else's) can be as devastating and as irresistible as being knocked over by a streetcar.

I really don't see a problem with "Blood Wedding" as a translation of "Bluthochzeit": it is far more poetic than "Shotgun Wedding".

Ond of the most famous title translations is "All Quiet on the Western Front" for Erich Maria Remarque's "Im Westen nichts Neues". Not exactly a complete rewrite, but catchy enough to become a phrase in its own right in English, whereas "Nothing new in the West" or "No news in the West" would have hardly done the job.

I find, however, that sometimes translators give completely different titles just for the sake of it. This is evident on SBS Television in Australia, which shows a lot of sub-titled foreign movies. For example, a Portuguese movie with a title meaining "A Piranha in the Bidet" (which makes pretty graphic good sense in English) became "My Family and Other Disasters" (poor old Gerald Durrell must be turning over in his grave at the number of badly translated movie titles that have been based on that of his book "My Family and Other Animals"!), while "Un Dollaro Bucato" became "Blood for a Silver Dollar". What was wrong with "A Holey Dollar"? (OK, that's a bit of an Australianism--the "Holey Dollar" was a Spanish dollar with a hole in it, in circulation in Australia early in the colonial days.) There was a picture of a silver dollar with a hole in it displayed throughout the credits....
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trufflejus
trufflejus  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:39
Spanish to English
+ ...
song title Jan 9, 2006

I apologize for going off on a tangent. Perhaps this should be a separate post. However, it is analogous to what you all have been discussing. Shouldn't a song title be translated when there is an exact match in the target language? Does that take away from the localization of the source phrase, especially if it is slang? Would a dignified compromise be to place the translation in parentheses after the original title?

[Edited at 2006-01-09 23:55]


 
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Can I completely change the name of the play?







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