RE: RARA-AVIS: Re:Apply Now: Banff International Literary Translation Centre

From: Anders Engwall (anders.engwall@comhem.se)
Date: 25 Oct 2008

  • Next message: Anders Engwall: "RARA-AVIS: Death Wish"

    Even a much smaller language like Swedish has this problem. Swedish is not only spoken in Sweden, but also by some 300,000 citizens of Finland. Now, while the dialect of Swedish spoken in Finland has great clarity and enunciation (it is in fact very pleasing to my ears), it has some smaller deviations in the vocabulary. I recall how when a Finland-Swedish sitcom was aired in Sweden with *occasional* subtitles – simply because some words would presumably throw viewers in Sweden off the rails.

     

    And don’t get me started on how Swedish, Norwegian and Danish are essentially the same language. Except the Norwegians can’t spell it and the Danes can’t pronounce it.

     

    But to get back on the subject, subtitles are sometimes a necessary crutch to in order to fully appreciate a movie. I pride myself in being quite fluent in English, but I prefer to watch English-spoken DVDs with subtitles
    - not because I don’t understand what is being said, but because I don’t always CATCH what is being said.

     

    And yes, Willie the Shake was quite an author and totally relevant to this list. I can’t recall the title, but wasn’t MACBETH adapted as a British gangster movie in the fifties? And there’s OTHELLO, adapted as the somewhat noirish O.

     

     

    Anders

     

     

    From: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com [mailto:rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Steve Novak Sent: den 24 oktober 2008 22:57 To: RARA-AVIS Subject: Re: RARA-AVIS: Re:Apply Now: Banff International Literary Translation Centre

     

    In the same vein...and in another Œlangue¹...you should hear some French natives (like me) talk about Œles Canadiens¹ and their Œbastard¹ French...

    Remember you¹re always a peasant for somebody else...at the socio-linguists say...

    In any case I certainly have watched several French Canadian movies with the subtitles to make sure I got it...and I can say the same thing for some
    ŒEnglish¹ films with lots of slang/accents...etc...and I don¹t exactly understand what the whole fuss is about...or why ever putting the subtitles for kids in school would be a question...

    Maybe, I missed a meeting...

    Best Montois

    On 10/24/08 4:46 PM, "jacquesdebierue" <jacquesdebierue@yahoo.com
    <mailto:jacquesdebierue%40yahoo.com> > wrote:

    >
    >
    >
    > The problem with Shakespeare is that it's archaic language. If you get
    > into it, you will probably love it. On the other hand, if kids can't
    > get into the language, it's a lost cause. He wrote what he wrote.
    >
    > I have found that there are people who can't get into the hardboiled
    > language, for example. It pains me to say so, but some people are
    > repelled by it, or it doesn't "sound" in their heads. We fans think
    > the straighforward, cut-to-the-chase way of telling is optimal (in
    > some sense) but you should hear what non-fans say about it...
    >
    > Best,
    >
    > mrt
    >
    >
    >

    Steve Novak Cinefrog@comcast.net <mailto:Cinefrog%40comcast.net>

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