# How come certain foreign-language titles are NEVER translated into English? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 25, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-certain-foreign-language-titles-are-never-translated-into-english/177432 "2003-05-25T18:17:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SnugTheJoiner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@SnugTheJoiner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnugTheJoiner)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-certain-foreign-language-titles-are-never-translated-into-english/177432/1 "2003-05-25T18:17:25Z")
LES MISERABLES closed on Broadway last week after a sixteen-year run. This got me wondering. Did you ever notice that certain works written in languages other than English NEVER have their titles translated into English while others customarily do? LES MISERABLES, for example. On the other hand, we trot merrily off to see THE MAGIC FLUTE, generally called that by American and English opera companies even when it’s sung in German! SO-- How would YOU translate the following titles into English? LA TRAVIATA LES MISERABLES COSI FAN TUTTE And please don’t give me a dissertation about how ya gotta call it COSI FAN TUTTE 'coz there’s no suitable English phrase that matches the meter of the music and yadda yadda yadda. I know that already. I’m looking for translations that are euphonious, true to the original meaning, and emotionally satisfying. Pencils ready? Begin! I look forward to your ideas. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-certain-foreign-language-titles-are-never-translated-into-english/177432/2 "2003-05-25T18:20:12Z")
It’s strictly for the enjoyment and amusement of music store clerks who get people coming in looking for “Lame Is Rob”. ---
**Author:** ![SnugTheJoiner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@SnugTheJoiner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnugTheJoiner)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-certain-foreign-language-titles-are-never-translated-into-english/177432/3 "2003-05-25T18:38:55Z")
LOL ruadh! I have a friend who once worked in a record store. One of his customers came in and asked for “The Taco Bell Cannon.” Another asked for the original-cast recording of Handel’s MESSIAH. (I am not making these up!) ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-certain-foreign-language-titles-are-never-translated-into-english/177432/4 "2003-05-25T18:45:24Z")
I worked in record stores for years, trust me, I believe you 😃 At one of my record store jobs I had to do a lot of data entry for the classical department. This is a LOT tougher than it might seem at first. Whether or not to translate titles was one of the issues. Basically, the classical manager simply decided on his own which ones to translate and which ones not to; usually it boiled down to whichever he thought would be the more recognisable title. That’s about as far as I can get at a serious answer to your question. ---
**Author:** ![j.c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@j.c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j.c)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-certain-foreign-language-titles-are-never-translated-into-english/177432/5 "2003-05-25T19:05:48Z")
I’d guess that when the English-language distributor believes the snob appeal and name-recognition factors of using the original-language name outweigh the convenience factors, they stick with the original. There may also be cases where copyright is better protected in a variety of markets when one name is used. But I gots no idear. This is a great questions, though. Let’s hope some has a real answer so we can all add it to our personal MPSIMS lists. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-certain-foreign-language-titles-are-never-translated-into-english/177432/6 "2003-05-25T19:07:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SnugTheJoiner \* > \*\*LES MISERABLES closed on Broadway last week after a sixteen-year run. > > This got me wondering. Did you ever notice that certain works written in languages other than English NEVER have their titles translated into English while others customarily do? LES MISERABLES, for example. On the other hand, we trot merrily off to see THE MAGIC FLUTE, generally called that by American and English opera companies even when it’s sung in German! > > SO-- How would YOU translate the following titles into English? > > LA TRAVIATA > > LES MISERABLES > > COSI FAN TUTTE > > And please don’t give me a dissertation about how ya gotta call it COSI FAN TUTTE 'coz there’s no suitable English phrase that matches the meter of the music and yadda yadda yadda. I know that already. I’m looking for translations that are euphonious, true to the original meaning, and emotionally satisfying. Pencils > ready? Begin! I look forward to your ideas. \*\* _La Traviata_–“The wayward one” The word “traviata” is the past participle of the verb _traviare_, which means “to go astray” or “to wander.” In Italian, as in most Romance languages, one can use an adjective to substitute for a noun, which is difficult to do correctly in English. Similarly, _Les Miserables_ means “The wretched ones.” _Cosi fan tutte_ roughly translates to “Everybody does it.” Literally, it means “Things everyone does.” ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-certain-foreign-language-titles-are-never-translated-into-english/177432/7 "2003-05-25T19:18:28Z")
To add to **gobear** ’s answer, the usual English translation for _Cosi fan tutti_ is “Women are like that”. But it wouldn’t surprise me if **gobear** ’s version is more accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-certain-foreign-language-titles-are-never-translated-into-english/177432/8 "2003-05-25T20:21:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\*_Cosi fan tutte_ roughly translates to “Everybody does it.” Literally, it means “Things everyone does.” \*\* _ **Così** _ (note the accent mark) does not mean “things.” (That would be _cose_.) It means “so” or “thus.” “Everybody does so” would be a literal translation; the rendering I’m most familiar with is “They All Do It.” ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-certain-foreign-language-titles-are-never-translated-into-english/177432/9 "2003-05-25T20:49:31Z")
Ah. That will teach me in future to double check my sight translations with a dictionary. Thank for the correction. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-certain-foreign-language-titles-are-never-translated-into-english/177432/10 "2003-05-25T22:22:06Z")
Because if you translated _Die Fledermaus_ as “The Bat,” people would confuse it with Batman. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-certain-foreign-language-titles-are-never-translated-into-english/177432/11 "2003-05-25T22:59:24Z")
Thinking about the issue a little more, this is an interesting question, largely because I can’t see any pattern. After all, for example, the default references in English are _Die Meistersinger_ and _The Flying Dutchman_, though few who are even vaguely interested would be thown by instances of either _The Mastersingers_ or _Der Fliegende Hollander_. And it’s not just operas or musicals. It’s normally _Un Chien Andalou_, _L’Age d’Or_ and _Belle de Jour_, but _Land Without Bread_, _The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie_ and _That Obscure Object of Desire_. Why? There is the case that we should always use the name in the original language, simply to avoid ambiguity. But one quickly hits examples in the likes of Chinese, where issues of transliteration will loom large. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-certain-foreign-language-titles-are-never-translated-into-english/177432/12 "2003-05-25T23:52:02Z")
Of course, some of the familar translations lose something. For instance, “Les 400 Coups”, in French, is a slang term for various methods of bad behavoir, especially as done by children to parents. “The 400 Blows”, on the other hand, doesn’t have this meaning. ---
**Author:** ![SnugTheJoiner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@SnugTheJoiner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnugTheJoiner)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-certain-foreign-language-titles-are-never-translated-into-english/177432/13 "2003-05-26T00:01:18Z")
Hmm. I REALLY like gobear’s use of “wayward one”–it’s appropriate, accurate, and has just the right hint of sorrow to it. And it’s alliterative! All those “w’s” echo the “ah” sounds of the original very nicely. So I think THE WAYWARD ONE gets the Snug Award for LA TRAVIATA’s Official New English title. On the other hand, while the “The Wretched Ones” and “They All Do It,” etc., are excellent LITERAL translations, they’re just not emotionally satisfying. In brief, I doubt that those titles have what it takes to seduce audiences. (Remember: Bums on seats! Bums on seats!) Any other suggestions for these titles? When a literal translation doesn’t seem interesting enough, don’t be afraid to resort to idioms! Think outside of the box! Experiment! I await new postings with bated breath! Damn, this is fun. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-certain-foreign-language-titles-are-never-translated-into-english/177432/14 "2003-05-26T02:42:46Z")
Two of my favorite foreign films-- _Mondo Cane_ and _My Life as a Dog_– have essentially the same title. Not sure why one was translated into English and the other wasn’t. Might’ve been the artistic and promotional atmosphere at the time of their releases.