# Lost in the translation (Soy serio, y no me llamo Shirley) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 15, 2005, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-the-translation-soy-serio-y-no-me-llamo-shirley/317030 "2005-08-15T01:39:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-the-translation-soy-serio-y-no-me-llamo-shirley/317030/1 "2005-08-15T01:39:12Z")
How do studios deal with the dubbing/subtitling of movies that rely largely on puns and double-meanings? Example: In _Airplane!_, one of the reporters says “alright guys, let’s get some pictures”. Hilarity ensues when - instead of taking _fotos_ with their cameras - the gang of reporters snatch up the actual pictures off the wall of the office. I guess you had to be there. But a joke like this would have been worthless in Spanish because photographs (probably) don’t translate into the same word as pictures hanging on a wall. And (apropos to the subject line), is there a word that could be used in place of ‘surely’ (such as ‘certainly’ or ‘of course’) in order to make the Shirley joke work in other languages? ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-the-translation-soy-serio-y-no-me-llamo-shirley/317030/2 "2005-08-15T02:44:27Z")
In _UHF_, there’s a pun on “surprise”/“supplies” (a supply closet is opened and a Japanese character inside says “surprise!” but it sounds like “supplies.”) I watched the movie with the Spanish audio track once when I was bored, and they said “Solpleza!” which makes no sense. ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-the-translation-soy-serio-y-no-me-llamo-shirley/317030/3 "2005-08-15T04:12:50Z")
They try to come up with something equivalent in the target language. This is where it becomes a question of _localization_ rather than straight _translation_. And it’s not just wordplay and puns: many cultural references have to be modified to suit a local audience as well. (Just like they did with the American version of “The Office”.) When I lived in France, they showed the whole TV series of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, in “VO” (English, in this case) but with French subtitles. MP is _full_ of word play and silly puns that only work in English. In most cases, the hapless translator had bravely tried to come up with a similar pun that worked in French and fit the context; inevitably, it was a lot less funny than the English version. (I remember he’d had real trouble with “No thyme Toulouse” [no time to lose] ) Ironically, the point where the translator just gave up was when the Python boys went off with a bunch of fake French, during the “flying sheep” sketch as I recall. The subtitles at this point said: “N. de T.: Je n’y peux plus rien. Debrouillez-vous…” - “Translator’s note: I can’t help you now. You’re on your own…” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-the-translation-soy-serio-y-no-me-llamo-shirley/317030/4 "2005-08-15T04:36:51Z")
In my experience in Spanish they may make an attempt, but it often misses the mark. Sometimes they don’t even try, but just do a straight translation which doesn’t make sense. (Most movies shown here in Panama are in English with Spanish subtitles, so I know both what the original dialogue was and its translation.) One good translation I saw was in _Spy Hard_, in which Leslie Nielson’s character’s name, Dick, is the source of a lot of (rather obvious) puns. In Spanish he is called “Pito,” short for the name Agapito, but also colloquially meaning “dick.” A couple nights ago I went to see _Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_ in a theater, but walked out when I realized it was dubbed in Spanish rather than subtitled. While I would have understood the Spanish, it wouldn’t have been worth it because I’m sure a lot of the jokes would just have been lost. I’ll wait to see it on video.