How words change meanings in subtle ways

@Fleura (29128)
United Kingdom
May 8, 2021 2:36am CST
My daughter (‘Big One’) recently discovered some YouTube personality who makes amusing videos by translating songs and the like into various different languages, using Google translate, and then does the same to translate them back into English - of course the results are usually rather amusingly different to the original. Most of them are good for a laugh for a few minutes but one that has really stuck in our minds is when she did the same with the phrase ‘Arise, and follow your dreams’. The outcome of the translation process was ‘Get up, and get what you want!’ Yes the meaning is essentially the same, but somehow the feeling is subtly changed from dreamy, wishy-washy new-age inspiration to a much more immediate order! All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2021.
16 people like this
12 responses
Anna
@LadyDuck (458233)
• Switzerland
8 May 21
I often have a good laugh at the "English auto translate" subtitles when I watch YouTube cooking videos in Italian. Last week they translated "fatten your hands" instead than "grease your hand" and "wrap the food in movie" instead of "wrap the food in foil".Not exactly the same.
6 people like this
Anna
@LadyDuck (458233)
• Switzerland
9 May 21
@Fleura I often think that it is a shame that there are so poor subtitles, some people need them because they are deaf, but you cannot even understand what is going on most of the time reading only the subtitles.
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (29128)
• United Kingdom
9 May 21
@LadyDuck Indeed, if I was deaf I would stick to reading the news!
2 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (29128)
• United Kingdom
8 May 21
Oh yes those are terrible, and not just the translations either - thankfully I rarely watch TV but on the rare occasions I have seen the TV news the simultaneous subtitles produced some utter rubbish! I wonder how deaf viewers follow what is going on!
2 people like this
changjiangzhibin89
@changjiangzhibin89 (16533)
• China
8 May 21
It was a specious literal translation with no emotional coloring.
5 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (29128)
• United Kingdom
8 May 21
Quite right - the emotional nuances are totally missing.
2 people like this
Belle Starr (Iz)
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
8 May 21
I notice the same thing when I read translation of French, it is quite different from my personal understanding of the words. More forceful I guess is the best was to describe it.
3 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (29128)
• United Kingdom
8 May 21
It seems to miss all the subtlety.
2 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205792)
• Walnut Creek, California
10 May 21
@Fleura That's the way I see it. All nuances are (or can be) lost.
2 people like this
Morley Hunt
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
8 May 21
That’s why translation is always subject to interpretation. Sometime it sounds much blunter than the intended meaning was. I thing translated idioms are usually very entertaining
5 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205792)
• Walnut Creek, California
10 May 21
Do you remember the commercial that poked fun at Indians by using the term "a piece of easy cake"? I can't remember what it was for.
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (17849)
• London, England
8 May 21
I don't know, dreams is a bit more poetic, whilst getting what you want sounds more confrontational. Still, what is in a word!
4 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (29128)
• United Kingdom
8 May 21
You're right, one is kind of inspirational, the other is an order!
1 person likes this
Prabhat Singh
@Prabhatsingh (3537)
• India
8 May 21
LOL. That does sound like exactly how you are describing. I mean one is more of a big talk like I will do it and stuff in the future. the other one sounds more like we will do it now, like an order. Nice. great observation.
2 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (29128)
• United Kingdom
8 May 21
Yes that's exactly it - and the video is funny because she acts out the way they sound, if you see what I mean!
1 person likes this
Prabhat Singh
@Prabhatsingh (3537)
• India
8 May 21
@Fleura So I definitely do. I can see that.
1 person likes this
simplyme
@m_audrey6788 (58485)
• Germany
8 May 21
Yes. You`re right. Translation sometimes don`t exactly get what you are pointing out.
2 people like this
Arthur Chappell
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
10 May 21
sounds fun
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (29128)
• United Kingdom
10 May 21
Yes they were rather fun. Unfortunately I can't remember the person's name. I'll have to see if I can find her.
Fleur
@Fleura (29128)
• United Kingdom
10 May 21
Here she is - 'Twisted Translations' - here she is doing Billie Eilish's 'Bad Guy'
Google Translate Sings: "bad guy" by Billie Eilish (PARODY)
www.youtube.com
Get your "My Soul? Mostly Gingerbread" MERCH: https://shopmalinda.com/WATCH MY NEW MUSIC VIDEO: https://youtu.be/xis-LZLB81ISUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/sub2Mali...
Fleur
@Fleura (29128)
• United Kingdom
10 May 21
And here is 'The Sound of Silence'
Google Translate Sings: "The Sound of Silence" (Simon & Garfunkel)
www.youtube.com
SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/sub2MalindaCHECK OUT MY MUSIC CHANNEL: https://bit.ly/2GsRyrqPATREON: http://bit.ly/MKRsupportMERCH: http://shopmalinda.com/Follow m...
1 person likes this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205792)
• Walnut Creek, California
10 May 21
Heh. That sounds like fun. Does he sing them? It would be fun to sing a "double-translated" version of smutty longs like Led Zepplin's "Black Dog."
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (29128)
• United Kingdom
10 May 21
Yes she does - she's a pretty good singer actually. She seems to mostly do newer parodies or film scores but here is 'Bohemian Rhapsody'
Google Translate Sings: "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen
www.youtube.com
CHECK OUT MY MUSIC CHANNEL: https://bit.ly/2GsRyrqSUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/sub2MalindaSUPPORT: http://bit.ly/MKRsupportMERCH: http://bit.ly/MKRmerchAnd shout...
1 person likes this
Valerie J. Routhieaux
@just4him (306354)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
9 May 21
It's good to laugh at the translations of words and phrases.
1 person likes this
Hanni Harel
@Hannihar (129482)
• Israel
9 May 21
@Fleura Thank you for sharing that with us. I like the song Hallelujah sung both in English and in Hebrew. I am sure this is not what you are talking about but wanted to add that.
1 person likes this
CarolDM
@CarolDM (203452)
• Nashville, Tennessee
8 May 21
It is amazing the difference a word can make.
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (29128)
• United Kingdom
8 May 21
I don't know for sure - because my knowledge of other languages is certainly not extensive - but I think it might be worse for English because it has so many words with meanings that are very similar, but not quite the same!
1 person likes this
CarolDM
@CarolDM (203452)
• Nashville, Tennessee
8 May 21
@Fleura English can be very confusing.
1 person likes this