# Spanish TV needs subtitles. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 4, 2000, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935 "2000-09-04T03:02:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Road\_Rash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2000, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/1 "2000-09-04T03:02:18Z")
I like telemundo and Univision. I do not speak spanish, but I enjoy the physical humor, the music, the crazy game shows. The shamelessly direct product plugs. The hot girls. That old ass diaper boy who makes appearances on talk shows. Lente Loco. The live acts. The trashy talk shows (i.e. Christina) when the only words in english include stuff like “masturbation” or other button pushing words. Heck, It’s part of U.S. culture. Made fun of (in a good way) by The Simpsons, Friends, and other shows. Put subtitles!! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2000, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/2 "2000-09-04T03:55:21Z")
My wife will sometimes translate some, but not enough. She doesn’t stay up late enough to translate “Viviana a la Medianoche,” for instance. But most of that is visual, anyway. Hubba-Hubba! I watch “Sabado Gigante” because it’s sometimes the only thing on Saturday night. It has it all: 15/16ths naked women, physical humor, quiz shows I don’t get, true stories of personal triumph (I assume that’s what’s going on by the amount of crying), and an oddly compelling and agreeable host, Don Francisco. If your TV has SAP capabilities, you can watch “Simpsons” reruns in Spanish while reading the subtitles, at least in Chicago. The only show you can do that with. My question, though, is “Whatever happened to Xuxa?” THAT was TV! ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2000, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/3 "2000-09-04T05:22:00Z")
_Sorry_. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2000, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/4 "2000-09-04T08:10:55Z")
Xuxa the Brazilian actress? She was on Univision? BTW, futbol on Univision rocks. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2000, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/5 "2000-09-04T13:32:33Z")
I wish the TV had English subtitles even in Spain, too. When I recently was there I noticed that people seemed to speak at about 200 MPH, compared to the usual 80-90 you’d hear on the street. So I never did get all the punchlines to the never-ending series of canned tuna adverts (although one involved a doctor pushing a couple of cans towards a man in a shark outfit, telling him “_Tomar dos a la mañana._” ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2000, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/6 "2000-09-04T14:43:23Z")
Lord, does my Spanish ever need work. Now you know why I need the English subtitles. ---
**Author:** ![Shadowfox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Shadowfox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadowfox)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2000, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/7 "2000-09-04T15:56:23Z")
I like watching the Spanish soap operas because I can’t understand a word of it, so I like to make up dialogue to go along with it. The handsome guy and the beautiful girl could be talking about the weather or the dog, but in my mind, they are talking about their mother’s brother who is sleeping with the maid, who just happens to be the illegimate child of the mayor, who was formally a secret agent but left the service because he had a terrible secret involving a goat and red jello. mmmmmm…other people do this, right? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2000, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/8 "2000-09-04T18:40:57Z")
I rarely watch ot but I get the impression you can see on Telemundo or Univision stuff you could not show on regular TV. I get the impression while everybody is busy censoring english language TV the Spanish language programs can pretty much do what they like. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2000, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/9 "2000-09-05T00:37:49Z")
Some are Captioned, not subtitled, in english. ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2000, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/10 "2000-09-05T23:09:55Z")
Mrs. Pluto thinks I’m nuts (actually she thinks I’m a pervert looking for hot Latinas) (I’m not) (a pervert, that is) (I have seen some hot Latinas – Odalys Garcia – but that’s not why I watch) (yeah, right, she says) (well, okay that’s why I watch Caliente, but that’s the only one) but I watch Univision frequently. (I don’t speak Spanish.) I don’t care for the soaps but I like the game shows and the variety shows. My favorites are the movies (las peliculas – see, I’m learning something). I too, long for subtitles – my Spanish vocabulary is tiny and they talk too fast for me to pick out the words even if I did know them. I do know the days of the week, though, since they are posted a lot. ---
**Author:** ![beerman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85e7bf/32.png) [@beerman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beerman)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/11 "2000-09-25T03:06:19Z")
Thank you. I am vindicated,all this time I thought I was a perv for watching the hot!!! women and not understanding a freakin’ word they said ``` beerman ``` ---
**Author:** ![Fairy\_Princess\_Kitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fairy\_Princess\_Kitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fairy_Princess_Kitty)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/12 "2000-09-25T03:18:00Z")
Sheesh! You people ask for stuff from the latino community that you don’t do for them, well not much at least. Very few shows in English (like the news and the Simpsons) can be watched in Spanish so why should they translate their shows into English for you? Also, you probably wouldn’t understand most of the jokes anyway, not much translates well, either English to Spanish or vice versa. Trust me, I’ve tried. I’m sure a lot of my friends would adore the shows in Spanish if they understood them but it’d be a heck of a lot of work to do that. Anybody willing to volunteer? Kitty Muchos besos y abrazos a todos si los ofendi ---
**Author:** ![Road\_Rash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/13 "2000-09-25T03:30:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fairy Princess Kitty \* > \*\*Sheesh! You people ask for stuff from the latino community that you don’t do for them, well not much at least. Very few shows in English (like the news and the Simpsons) can be watched in Spanish so why should they translate their shows into English for you? Also, you probably wouldn’t understand most of the jokes anyway, not much translates well, either English to Spanish or vice versa. Trust me, I’ve tried. I’m sure a lot of my friends would adore the shows in Spanish if they understood them but it’d be a heck of a lot of work to do that. Anybody willing to volunteer? > > Kitty > Muchos besos y abrazos a todos si los ofendi \*\* What about market share. If there is enough of us to make a difference in the advertisers. Also, I have met 2nd generation hispanics who do not speak good, or really do not speak spanish. U.S. spanish TV uses some english. Blah blah blah, Tide Detergent. Or Blah Blah Blah masturbation. Sure there are cognant words between the language, but they are marketing toward a U.S. Audience, and they are in need of market share. ---
**Author:** ![Fairy\_Princess\_Kitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fairy\_Princess\_Kitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fairy_Princess_Kitty)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/14 "2000-09-25T03:46:19Z")
They use words in English because a) the word sounds really stupid in spanish or b) you can’t use the Spanish word. Tide for instance, it’s a brand name, saying Marea (tide in spanish) wouldn’t work because it doesn’t say that on the box. On the commercials that I’ve watched they says detergente, not detergent, the words are similar but they do use the spanish word. Masturbation sounds almost exactly the same in english and in spanish, they usually aren’t using key words, they just sound alike in the two languages. I’ll admit that sometimes they do use English but not very often and because well it’s sometimes necessary. They’ve done just fine with the audience they have now, although more viewers would be nice it might also hurt the integrity of a great many rograms and sell out to the american market. That would get a whole lot of hispanic people up in arms, not a good thing. Kitty ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/15 "2000-09-25T15:14:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shadowfox \* > **I like watching the Spanish soap operas because I can’t understand a word of it, so I like to make up dialogue to go along with it. The handsome guy and the beautiful girl could be talking about the weather or the dog, but in my mind, they are talking about their mother’s brother who is sleeping with the maid, who just happens to be the illegimate child of the mayor, who was formally a secret agent but left the service because he had a terrible secret involving a goat and red jello.** That actually makes infinitely more sense than the one telenovela I spent six months watching… But I do wish more were captioned in spanish…(my spanish is so-so… I’d definitely catch more if I could read it too) doesn’t the captioning law kick in sometime soon? ---
**Author:** ![Estrella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Estrella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estrella)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/16 "2000-09-25T15:43:25Z")
_giggling and laughing to self at these silly gringos_ You’re not missing much. Really. If you did have subtitles, some of the stuff they talk about (or rather _how_ they talk about it) is hard to translate into English. You might be able to translate the words so to speak, but the humor is often culturally based and would fly over people’s heads. (Not meaning to be snide or anything.) As for telenovelas…oh man…the writing is usually so awful, you really are better off making it up yourself. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/17 "2000-09-25T17:33:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Estrella \* > **You might be able to translate the words so to speak, but the humor is often culturally based and would fly over people’s heads. (Not meaning to be snide or anything.)** Sorry, but I know burlesque humor when I see it. In this case I think “culturally based” means “aimed at Benny Hill’s demographic of dirty old men and unsophisticated teenage boys.” One needn’t speak Spanish to understand the punchlines–cavemen were telling these jokes. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/18 "2000-09-25T17:43:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Estrella \* > **You might be able to translate the words so to speak, but the humor is often culturally based and would fly over people’s heads. (Not meaning to be snide or anything.)** Sorry, but I know burlesque humor when I see it. In this case I think “culturally based” means “aimed at Benny Hill’s demographic of dirty old men and unsophisticated teenage boys.” One needn’t speak Spanish to understand the punchlines–cavemen were telling these jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Estrella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Estrella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estrella)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-tv-needs-subtitles/31935/19 "2000-09-25T17:59:45Z")
Mmmmmm, kinda. But there are other elements to the humor beyond the slapstick and low-browness of it. You might get _some_ of the humor but you’re not going to catch all of it, even with the translations. _Shrug_ You have point in bringing up Benny Hill, though. I don’t really care for the majority of Spanish television and I guess it’s showing.