#Staff Column
2022.06.14
Lost in Translation – The Challenges of Video Translation
Columnist | Introducing the columns written by member of Amorepacific Group
History of Translation Part 2. Lost in Translation
Columnist | Hwanhee Rhee
Amorepacific Talent Development Team
Amorepacific Talent Development Team
#INTRO_Lost in Translation – The Challenges of Video Translation
There is a saying, lost in translation , meaning you’ve missed a part of the meaning from the original language in the translation process. This is slightly different from mistranslation, and it refers to the situation in which you fail to convey the full meaning of the original text due to the intrinsic difference between the two languages and other various restrictions in translation.
Such restrictions are often found in video translation because most of the things translated are spoken words, meaning that the text takes a colloquial form that reflects their cultural peculiarities. Translators must also think about the number of characters that can be displayed on the screen, so you have no choice but to cut out some parts of what’s said in the video. In this regard, I’d like to focus on video and theater translation today.
There is a saying, lost in translation , meaning you’ve missed a part of the meaning from the original language in the translation process. This is slightly different from mistranslation, and it refers to the situation in which you fail to convey the full meaning of the original text due to the intrinsic difference between the two languages and other various restrictions in translation.
Such restrictions are often found in video translation because most of the things translated are spoken words, meaning that the text takes a colloquial form that reflects their cultural peculiarities. Translators must also think about the number of characters that can be displayed on the screen, so you have no choice but to cut out some parts of what’s said in the video. In this regard, I’d like to focus on video and theater translation today.
#1_The flavor of the language that you can never convey properly
I’ll begin with the story of the movie Joker , which was released in 2019. The movie received rave reviews, won numerous awards, and was loved by many moviegoers around the world. What made the film stand out, along with the provocative setting and the storyline, as well as the excellent acting, was the considerable amount of language and text used in the movie.
I’ll begin with the story of the movie Joker , which was released in 2019. The movie received rave reviews, won numerous awards, and was loved by many moviegoers around the world. What made the film stand out, along with the provocative setting and the storyline, as well as the excellent acting, was the considerable amount of language and text used in the movie.
In the early part of the film, Arthur, the main character in Joker suffering from a mental disorder, shows a sentence in his notebook to his counselor.
“I hope my death makes more cents than my life.”
Arthur is a clown and a nameless stand-up comedian (closer to an aspiring comedian), and this sentence was one of the jokes he made for his stand-up comedy. It’s a pun for “I hope my death makes more sense than my life (나의 죽음이 나의 삶보다 가치 있기를).” Both in terms of the meaning of the sentence itself, and the significance of comedy to the character, this is an important sentence that reflects the theme that pervades the movie.
It was translated into Korean like this in the theater version.
It was translated into Korean like this in the theater version.
“나의 죽음이 나의 삶보다 ‘가취’ 있기를 (I hope my death makes more valoo than my life).”
This is a typical example of being lost in translation that is simply inevitable. Puns are just not easy to translate in the first place and the sentence also carries the weighty philosophy of the film. When the picture was released, that sentence received much attention, and sparked some controversy over its translation. People who criticized the translation argued that “Making the play on words appear as a typo can be very misleading,” because cents from the original script is a word that exists. Considering the context of the sentence, this sounds like a rational argument.
Surprisingly, however, it could also be a perfect translation that clearly perceived the theme of the movie. In the Korean dictionary, there are five meanings presented for 가취. Among the five, 가취, a combination of 가, meaning to add , and 취, meaning to own , refers to things you get in addition when you buy something . Nobody knows whether the translator knew the word 가취 had such a meaning, but if that means what I just explained, it would maintain both the meaning and the similarity in pronunciation with the Korean word for value. It is also in line with how the word cents is used in the movie instead of money to make it sound more casual.
However, we cannot say outright that this is the greatest translation that will go down in the history of translation. The original text twisted sense (value) with cents (money, worth). They not only sound similar but are also easy words. The word 가취 used in the Korean translation might perfectly maintain the similarity in meaning (whether the translator intended that or not), but the word 가취 is obviously not something we use in everyday language, nor is it something that you’d choose to use in a joke for a comedy show. Another translation, “나의 죽음이 나의 삶보다 값이 있기를 (I hope my death is worth more than my life),” was well-received on the internet, and since the word 값이 (worth) is often used to mean value, this may be a more fitting translation than 가취. One way or another, it’s a sentence that reminds us that translation is never an easy thing to do and that it is difficult to avoid getting lost in translation .
Surprisingly, however, it could also be a perfect translation that clearly perceived the theme of the movie. In the Korean dictionary, there are five meanings presented for 가취. Among the five, 가취, a combination of 가, meaning to add , and 취, meaning to own , refers to things you get in addition when you buy something . Nobody knows whether the translator knew the word 가취 had such a meaning, but if that means what I just explained, it would maintain both the meaning and the similarity in pronunciation with the Korean word for value. It is also in line with how the word cents is used in the movie instead of money to make it sound more casual.
However, we cannot say outright that this is the greatest translation that will go down in the history of translation. The original text twisted sense (value) with cents (money, worth). They not only sound similar but are also easy words. The word 가취 used in the Korean translation might perfectly maintain the similarity in meaning (whether the translator intended that or not), but the word 가취 is obviously not something we use in everyday language, nor is it something that you’d choose to use in a joke for a comedy show. Another translation, “나의 죽음이 나의 삶보다 값이 있기를 (I hope my death is worth more than my life),” was well-received on the internet, and since the word 값이 (worth) is often used to mean value, this may be a more fitting translation than 가취. One way or another, it’s a sentence that reminds us that translation is never an easy thing to do and that it is difficult to avoid getting lost in translation .
Now that we have looked at the text in Joker, I’d like to introduce some of the spoken language, a line by Arthur in the movie.
“I used to think that my life was a tragedy ... but now I realize, it's a f**king comedy .”
It was translated as “난 지금까지 내 인생이 비극 인 줄 알았는데… X 같은 코미디 였어.” There is nothing wrong with this translation, but the thing is Arthur is a comedian. He is someone who cannot hide his obsession to use humor and comedy in everything he says. This is another line that uses rhyme often seen in comedy scripts. The tragedy and comedy rhyme has its origin in Charlie Chaplin’s famous rhyme (“Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot”). The translation for the theater version must be right, but it could not maintain the taste of the original rhyme from tragedy and comedy , and the identity of the lead character.
According to the dictionary, the English word comedy means a comedy-like situation and an entertaining play (that is intended to make people laugh, 희극). In Korean, comedians are all called 희극인 (comedy actors). The Korean word for comedy is written in Korean by following the English pronunciation of the word. It is a widely used word in Korea when referring to a humorous and funny situation . When we hear the word comedy, we can easily think of the meaning of an entertaining play, but it is not easy for us to recall the former meaning of comedy when we hear the word for an entertaining play (희극). This is probably why the translator could not translate comedy into an entertaining play (희극) to keep the rhyme. In a situation where being lost in translation is unavoidable, the translator seems to have thought that it would be better to give up on maintaining the rhyme in favor of staying faithful to the original sentence.
According to the dictionary, the English word comedy means a comedy-like situation and an entertaining play (that is intended to make people laugh, 희극). In Korean, comedians are all called 희극인 (comedy actors). The Korean word for comedy is written in Korean by following the English pronunciation of the word. It is a widely used word in Korea when referring to a humorous and funny situation . When we hear the word comedy, we can easily think of the meaning of an entertaining play, but it is not easy for us to recall the former meaning of comedy when we hear the word for an entertaining play (희극). This is probably why the translator could not translate comedy into an entertaining play (희극) to keep the rhyme. In a situation where being lost in translation is unavoidable, the translator seems to have thought that it would be better to give up on maintaining the rhyme in favor of staying faithful to the original sentence.
#2_The ultimate boss of complex translation, song translation
At the beginning, I mentioned the limit on the number of characters used in video translation. For theater translations, you must use up to 15 characters per line and two lines maximum. This is not an easy task when translating Woody Allen movies or the Before Sunrise series in which there are so many lines, and the narrative is mainly led by dialogue between the actors. If you have ever thought that the subtitles were not fully reflecting the long lines of actors, or if you have ever found that a word has not been included in the subtitle when you happened to catch the word, these are all inevitable examples of subtitles being lost in translation caused by lack of enough space on the screen.
Musicals are probably the cream of the crop when it comes to subtitle restrictions. Poetry is the most difficult form of writing you can translate, and musical lines are mostly comprised of poems. It may be less complex to translate a movie adaptation or the subtitle for the performance by the original musical team from the US or the UK but translating a Korean adaptation of a foreign musical makes you quiver even at the thought of it. Now, let’s take a look at the cases of Les Misérables in which you can make a great comparison with the movie adaption, and Jekyll and Hyde , a musical famous for its number, This is the Moment.
At the beginning, I mentioned the limit on the number of characters used in video translation. For theater translations, you must use up to 15 characters per line and two lines maximum. This is not an easy task when translating Woody Allen movies or the Before Sunrise series in which there are so many lines, and the narrative is mainly led by dialogue between the actors. If you have ever thought that the subtitles were not fully reflecting the long lines of actors, or if you have ever found that a word has not been included in the subtitle when you happened to catch the word, these are all inevitable examples of subtitles being lost in translation caused by lack of enough space on the screen.
Musicals are probably the cream of the crop when it comes to subtitle restrictions. Poetry is the most difficult form of writing you can translate, and musical lines are mostly comprised of poems. It may be less complex to translate a movie adaptation or the subtitle for the performance by the original musical team from the US or the UK but translating a Korean adaptation of a foreign musical makes you quiver even at the thought of it. Now, let’s take a look at the cases of Les Misérables in which you can make a great comparison with the movie adaption, and Jekyll and Hyde , a musical famous for its number, This is the Moment.
First, we’ll look at Valjean’s death in Les Misérables , a part about the death of the protagonist, Jean Valjean. Here, Valjean is about to die and says good-bye to his daughter Cosette and her lover, Marius. Below, you can see that there is a stark difference between the movie subtitles and the musical subtitles. Compare the original lyrics and the subtitles of the movie adaptation (directed by Tom Hooper and starring Hugh Jackman).
▲Translation from Netflix
This is an acceptable translation that did not omit anything. It managed to keep the rhyme as well as the poetic expressions. How about the translation then for the musical premiere in Korean?
▲Translation from Peter Lee, Lost in Musical Translation: The Case of ‘Valjean’s Death’ in Les Misérables , 2011
You can see that the translator gave up a lot to match the number of syllables with the English lines. It’s not an exaggeration to say that they are completely different sentences. Above all, Cosette’s lines are strikingly different. In this case, however, the goal here is to sing according to the original English song, so it’s critical to have the same number of syllables. To do that, you must decide on what aspects you are to give up. The translator for the Korean premier of Les Misérables appears to have given up the emotional and poetic aspects of the lines to deliver the situation in the musical accurately to the audience at least in this scene.
Let’s now move on to the opposite case, the lyrics for This Is the Moment . It is a hit number from Jekyll and Hyde , a globally acclaimed musical that is enjoying phenomenal popularity, especially in Korea. This Is the Moment is now the most famous musical number in the country. Thanks to the sweeping popularity of the number, and the lyrics about committing everything you have to the moment, it is widely used in weddings to congratulate the lovebirds. The composer of the original song was surprised to hear that it is sung at weddings in Korea.
▲Korean Translation from Jekyll and Hyde OST album
This is the first and the last part of the number. The last part in particular looks as if they are completely different songs. In this scene, Jekyll sings this number as he prepares for a test that will “completely separate the good and eliminate the evil.” When he cannot find a suitable subject, he makes the big decision of becoming the subject himself. In the theater translation for Korean performance, strong expressions like screams and outcries and lines that show he is about to perform a test were all left out and only expressions that show his emotions and strong determination were kept and maximized. As a result, it became a great song choice for weddings. This is odd, considering the storyline and the ending of the musical or the original novel Jekyll and Hyde . Anyway, it is bittersweet to know that the number became the biggest hit, and the musical itself ended up becoming one of the best musicals in Korea despite the fact that the original musical was not so successful in its home country.
#Closing – The limitations of translation
“The original work and the translated work are different.
If you think that they must be the same, that becomes a nightmare,”
If you think that they must be the same, that becomes a nightmare,”
Again, I quote what the translator Young-mok Jung said, which I mentioned in Part 1 of this column. The cases I introduced in today’s column show us what he meant by a nightmare. We cannot find the Korean word that perfectly matches the relationship between English words sense and cents , nor we can translate in a way that maintains both the meaning and the rhyme of tragedy and comedy . Cosette who sings in Korean cannot articulate her sadness from letting her father go in a poetic manner, while Korean Jekyll, unlike the American Jekyll, will keep on singing the number that makes a good congratulatory song at weddings.
It’s regrettable that we cannot fully understand the intention of the original work in translations, but it may be a little comforting to put ourselves in the international audience’s shoes with Korean content becoming an international phenomenon today. A case in point is the translation of Jjapaguri into Ram-dong in the Korean movie Parasite , which was praised by Korean fans as a so-called transcending translation. Ram-dong is a clear, witty translation for the international audiences, but they may not be able to empathize with the fact that Jjapaguri is a popular dish made of cheap ingredients and how paradoxical it is to add pieces of loin end on top of Jjapaguri. Nevertheless, Parasite became the best movie of the year beloved by many. Just like the way we love Joker , Les Misérables , and Jekyll and Hyde.
As more people wish to gain a deeper understanding of the content we view, we are seeing more controversy over translations. Searching for the original text to learn deeper insights of a piece of work is a wonderful thing and people who attempt to do so will get a chance to broaden their view on the content. However, I hope that they do not use it as a channel to blame the translator. A constructive discussion will bring about better output. An apparent mistranslation must be criticized and revised, but there is no translator in this universe who can phase out all interpretations lost in translation.
It’s regrettable that we cannot fully understand the intention of the original work in translations, but it may be a little comforting to put ourselves in the international audience’s shoes with Korean content becoming an international phenomenon today. A case in point is the translation of Jjapaguri into Ram-dong in the Korean movie Parasite , which was praised by Korean fans as a so-called transcending translation. Ram-dong is a clear, witty translation for the international audiences, but they may not be able to empathize with the fact that Jjapaguri is a popular dish made of cheap ingredients and how paradoxical it is to add pieces of loin end on top of Jjapaguri. Nevertheless, Parasite became the best movie of the year beloved by many. Just like the way we love Joker , Les Misérables , and Jekyll and Hyde.
As more people wish to gain a deeper understanding of the content we view, we are seeing more controversy over translations. Searching for the original text to learn deeper insights of a piece of work is a wonderful thing and people who attempt to do so will get a chance to broaden their view on the content. However, I hope that they do not use it as a channel to blame the translator. A constructive discussion will bring about better output. An apparent mistranslation must be criticized and revised, but there is no translator in this universe who can phase out all interpretations lost in translation.
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