Terrifically terrible: the only enjoyable bad translation courtesy of Deadpool
Comic-based movies are ruling the box office, including Deadpool 2, the sequel for Marvel’s manic mercenary who loves breaking the fourth wall almost as much as saying “chimichangas.” But have you heard of the great lengths creators and publishers will go to reach their audience – sometimes using terrifically terrible translations for comedic effect?
The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling novels ever written, so it’s no surprise that it’s been translated into 38 languages and counting. But getting there (and back again) is a tricky process…
It’s the most wonderful time of the year – Women in Translation Month!
So you’ve decided to go global, and your first step is to target the prolific Hispanic (Spanish-speaking) consumer base that dominates the Western Hemisphere. You head over to Supertext.com, submit your marketing content for translation into Spanish, and think to yourself, ‘all 22 countries due South plus Spain in one go? Score!’ Not so fast, amigo!
Profanity around the world.
How English idioms became weird and wonderful.
A continent united by questionable English lyrics.
And what that’s got to do with turnips and maidens.
Italy, Italia, Italien. France, La France, Frankreich. Germany, Deutschland, L’Allemagne. Wait, what?
Here at Supertext, we’ve known for a long time that with a single wrong letter, you can soil everything – but there can also be worse consequences. Much worse. Here are our top five most far-reaching typos.
Generations of advertisers have racked their brains over how to use good copy to win over customers. Let’s go over some of the essentials that matter as much today as they did back then.
Language is never static. The words we use haven’t always meant what they do now.
Beyond Esperanto
Find out if you’ve got what it takes to be a copywriter, author or ghostwriter with our copywriting skills checklist.
🏰 👨 and other linguistic experiments
The dust is now settling on the UK’s shock decision to leave the EU. But what are the effects on the language industry?
Podcasts are a great way to get an insight into every niche, from marketing to language. Here are our favourites.
The Swiss are usually reserved people that don’t flaunt their achievements. But this time, even they couldn’t help themselves: when the Gotthard Base Tunnel was opened last week, they blew their Swiss horns to commemorate the feat.
On 16 May, Han Kang and her English translator Deborah Smith were announced the winners of the Man Booker International Prize for the book The Vegetarian. Originally written in Korean, The Vegetarian triumphed over an impressive shortlist featuring books by Orhan Pamuk, Elena Ferrante and Robert Seethaler.
There was a time when listening to radio from another country could be alluring, clandestine – it could even get you into a lot of trouble. But it certainly let you know that there was a much larger and diverse world out there. Does the internet have the same allure?
Topics: Entertainment, Los Angeles | Comment