Movie titles are a thing of their own. Sometimes they are hard to translate, and other times they seem straight up impossible, which is why people who speak two languages are often left puzzled by how a movie title was translated. In the case of Spanish, sometimes Spanish speakers in Latin America find Spaniard translations to be outrageous, given that they simply cannot bring themselves to keep it simple.
The Fast and the Furious, for example is a no brainer: “Rápido y Furioso,” right? Yet, this movie is known as “A todo gas” in Spain, which in turn could literally be translated as “On full gas.” Die Hard is another one of these: “Duro de Matar” in Latin American Spanish as in “Hard to kill”, which is what “die hard” means. Spaniard translation: “Jungla de cristal” as in “Crystal jungle,” a reference to the New York City skyscrapers.
If you think this is funny, that’s because it is. But, put yourself in the translators’ shoes and think of how hard some of the titles may be. Some titles are pretty straight forward, but sometimes they are puns, and sometimes they work as word play with popular idioms. Cheesy titles like Blast From the Past, The Devil’s Advocate, Two Weeks Notice take popular idioms or references, and then force a literal meaning on them (which then provides the entire plot for the movie). So, now, there’s not only a linguistic challenge but translators have to make it funny as well, or just do away with puns altogether.
This creates the opposite scenario, one in which a movie becomes popular with non-English speakers through its translated title rather than the original version. How then, do you explain the original title to someone who doesn’t speak English? Even if the English title is fairly known outside the United States, sometimes people just learn the title even if they do not know that the words mean. Here are some examples of when something like that happens, and how to explain them to your Spanish speaking close ones.
Lost in Translation
Let’s start with the most fitting. The movie was translated as “Perdidos en Tokio” (Lost in Tokyo), but the phrase refers to what we’ve been talking about this whole time: when something gets translated, it’s not just about changing it word for word, but the meaning, as well. In the process, things get…”lost.” Sometimes it’s a cultural reference, sometimes it’s wordplay, sometimes it’s common idioms. You get the picture.
Pulp Fiction
Literally, it translates to “Ficción de pulpa,” but this doesn’t make any sense either. Pulp fiction means dime novels or “novelas de diez centavos” or comic books: “historietas”, “cuentos”, or even “libro vaquero.”
The Breakfast Club
@robertjonesvideoTranslated as “El club de los cinco”, the literal translation seems a bit cryptic: “El club del desayuno.” This requires an explanation even for English speakers. According to IMDB, the “film’s title comes from the nickname invented by students and staff, for detention, at New Trier High School, the school attended by the son of one of John Hughes’ (the film’s director) friends. Thus, those who were sent to detention were designated members of ‘The Breakfast Club’. ‘The Breakfast Club’ at that school probably took its name in turn from the title of American radio’s longest running network entertainment show, broadcast from Chicago, 1933 to 1968.·
The Help
Literal translation: “La ayuda.” The “help” is a euphemism, though now a derogatory term, for servants and cleaning people. The movie then plays with the fact that the “Help” ended up being of great help. Get it?
Home Alone
A straightforward title was, for some reason, not an option. They could have gone with “Solo en casa”, but instead they chose an ironic and funny title (though it could also be thought of as cheesy, if understood literally). Mi pobre angelito, as the movie is known in Spanish means “My poor little angel,” is about a spoiled little brat who play tricks on burglars. Funny.
@peliculas.completas
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
The “big fat” combo in English is a formula that puts emphasis on something. Like when teachers threaten students with grading them with a “big fat zero.” The title in English captures the lavish, loud, and incredibly fun spirit of a huge family, and lively people Greeks are compared to Americans (at least that’s part of the point the movie is making). If translated literally “Mi gran y gorda boda griega”, means nothing in Spanish, but there… at least you understand it now.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Another cultural reference, “The Night Before Christmas” is a beautiful and popular poem about Santa delivering presents on Christmas Eve. The poem is pretty much unknown for Spanish speakers, and the reference is thus lost. How to solve this? “El extraño mundo de Jack” (The strange world of Jack) did the trick. Generic and absolutely unrelated to the plot, but the movie is so good it can afford this boring title.
@timburtonfans
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