Translations are everywhere: in films, series or in live musical experiences – or as impossible book and blockbuster titles that have nothing in common with the original. I ask myself: What is that supposed to mean?
The translation from other languages into German is present in all forms of media and is probably one of our standards. But once you start watching series in English or reading books in the original, the way back to German translations and dubbing is often an absolute horror. Often the jokes don’t convince me at all anymore, sometimes the atmosphere is simply not there anymore or seems different.
The biggest shortcoming: English originals love their puns and in German it is difficult to rewrite them, to the point of simply not possible. But I can mostly accept all of that as long as I can watch my series and films in English on my couch at home. Only one thing drives me absolutely crazy: German songs in musicals, which in my opinion should never have been translated!
Musicals … in German …
Especially when it comes to musical productions, I really don’t understand the world anymore. Back then, when I heard that “Mamma Mia” was coming to Germany, I was thrilled. For me it was clear that this should be an absolute family event for us. But then the disillusionment: The songs are translated. And then unfortunately the translation hits my state of mind 100 percent:
“Mamma Mia – here we go again! How, how? Can this be normal?”
Why would I want to hear ABBA songs in German? Didn’t we get the license rights for the original? What’s the nonsense? Friends and even my parents see it the same way – after all, we know these songs by heart, know what it’s about, and loved the film, which later conquered the cinemas with Meryl Streep, and often enjoyed it with the English songs. Why has the musical adaptation from London been Germanized here and can we please, PLEASE, introduce a kind of “original with subtitles” for such things?
Honestly, are there really that many people who want to hear these songs translated? I would really like some stats on that! I mean: Culture lovers also watch operas in Italian without complaining. Shouldn’t that also be possible with musical songs? And don’t get me wrong: the artists in the musicals do a great job. But these unnecessary German versions of the songs really piss me off! With Udo Jürgens, German songs make sense. The same applies to Disney classics, which we often saw in German as children. But not with songs that are English masterpieces.
Can we PLEASE keep the joy of our favorite artists in German musicals? I don’t need a translation of Abbas’ The Winner Takes It All, Queen’s Killer Queen, or Tina Turner’s Private Dancer. I just want to enjoy this great music by these great artists – in the original language. Because for me, these songs in German are above all the youth word 2021: Cringe – so they trigger unwanted foreign shame in me rather than passion for the story.
A strange film title every year
One of the most fascinating translations of a film title I’ve ever seen is “I think a moose is kissing me”. The original title of the film is “Stripes”. Translated: stripes. Presumably the name is a nod to the American flag and the path the character is taking: joining the army. Even though it’s a comedy and a funny title somehow justified by that, how the heck did you put that moose title in that context? Admittedly, the film is from the 80s, which probably shot the bird most of the time when it came to strange titles.
But even later titles such as the film “My Bride, Her Father and I” could not be assigned to the original “Meet the Parents” without googling. Nonetheless, it still makes sense. In my opinion, the best translation of all time is still “Hip Hop Hood – all hell broke loose in the district”. The original title of the film is Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. Definitely too long, but also funnier.
where we can do better
Sometimes the names can even be cooler for the German audience than in the original. For example, I personally find “Hunger Games” more aesthetic than the direct translation “The Hunger Games”. And “Kill the Boss” certainly caught me more than “Horrible Bosses” would have done. In the meantime, TV and film highlights are sticking more and more to the original – and that’s a good thing. Roughly translated as “The Fast and the Furious” “The Fast and the Furious” would hardly have become a crowd puller. Or series like “Friends”, “The Walking Dead” or “The Big Bang Theory” and films like “A Quiet Place” and “Green Book”.
But please no subtitles
When I go to the cinema with friends, I usually don’t choose the original version for many good reasons. Some don’t speak English very well, others find it difficult not to lose sight of the rest of the screen with the subtitles. Still others cannot read as quickly or are concerned that a person who is too tall in front of them will cover the subtitles – legitimate reasons. Still, I often sit there and think, “Oh ok, THAT’s what they tried to translate. That would have been funnier in the original!” – or more elegant.
Some things get lost in German after all. Like the Riddler’s riddles in the new Batman movie, which are so wonderfully ambiguous in English. You can’t really translate something like that into German. Even moments when actors speak super fast are difficult. Because in these scenes, the synchro can’t keep up with the adaptation to the mouth movements. No matter how good our voice actors are, I just like the language better in the original. And that has nothing to do with the epic voices of many of them.
A compromise: the best of both worlds
I often like Disney or animation films from Pixar, Dreamworks and Co. both in the original and dubbed. Especially when it comes to children’s films, I’m not a bit angry with the translations. After all, as a child I was one of those Disney fans who sang loudly and belted out the songs through the garden with the colorful cassette recorder and microphone. I grew up with the German songs from “Lion King”, the “Jungle Book” or “Arielle, the Mermaid” – and fictional characters basically have no fixed voices for me. Because they aren’t real. With an actor, I know the original voice as soon as I’ve seen a film in the original – and already the fragments rattle in the next one as my brain immediately refuses to accept the synchro instead. It’s different with a cartoon character before I get to know them.
For me, especially with newer animated films, the problem is often that I find German-language songs uncomfortable. As a non-native speaker, I need this minimum language distance so that I can enjoy it. It doesn’t matter whether I understand the sometimes kitschy content in English. It just makes a difference whether I hear the songs from “Frozen”, Sorry, “Die Eiskönigin”, or “Encanto” in German or not. I prefer them in English because I can handle that cringe moment better. While I really like watching animated films without singing characters like “Kung Fu Panda”, “Onward” or “Zoomania” in English or German. I think every now and then everyone should just try out whether English is something for him/her, or whether it has to be German.