Name translation???

I’m talking about translating names of people and animals, which seems to be happening more and more often in movies lately. For example, on an old DVD release of "101 Dalmatians," the subtitles actually renamed Cruella de Vil to "Wicked of Evil." Honestly, those kinds of translations drive me crazy. 🙄 What’s your take? Should they be doing this, or should actual names just stay original? Let me know what you think about translating proper names.

you didn't really need a poll for this, plus there's already a thread about ridiculous, useless translations 😁

anyway, obviously not, and there's actually a fix for stuff like this. we have to remember that 101 Dalmatians is a kids' movie after all, so maybe it’d be smart to give children a hint about what her name means. obviously, I don't mean constantly using the translated name whenever the character is mentioned, but when she's introduced for the first time, you could just put the meaning in parentheses. I have this fuzzy memory of people used to do something like that back in the day, though I can't recall if it applied specifically to character names 🙂

I don't think so. Unless it's aimed strictly at little kids and the name actually highlights the character's personality—like if the author chose it specifically for some deeper meaning.

Nah... names ought to stay exactly as they are. If someone really feels the need, they could just toss the translation in parentheses afterward.
It’s honestly a miracle they didn't go ahead and "translate" Harry Potter too.🙄

Yeah, Cruella de Vil obviously comes from "cruel devil," but if they were actually going to bother translating it, they should have just gone with "Cruel Devil" or something similar to be a literal translation of her name. When I hear "Villain of Evil," the first thing that pops into my head is "spoon of brick"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 and honestly, you don't even need to spell out how negative these characters are by translating their names like that🤣🤣🤣

not to bother you guys with translation stuff, but does anyone know where I can find the movie "City Afraid of The sunset"? I can't seem to track it down anywhere

Morgan Ortiz2 said:Nah... names ought to stay exactly as they are. If someone really feels the need, they could just toss the translation in parentheses afterward.
It’s honestly a miracle they didn't go ahead and "translate" Harry Potter too.🙄

That would be just awful:
Joseph Richardson - Piggy Nipples
Ron Weasley - Ron Weasel

Elizabeth Gonzalez11 said:not to bother you guys with translation stuff, but does anyone know where I can find the movie "City Afraid of The sunset"? I can't seem to track it down anywhere

You looking for the English title? If that's all you need, it should be "City Afraid of The sunset"... at least, that's my guess.

Anyway, who voted for "yes"?😲

In principle, you don't need to force a translation, but sometimes it’s actually pretty fun to get creative—for example, with names like Zekoslav Mrkva or Turtle...

So, how on earth would you even go about translating someone like Jacques Houdek?🤣🤣

Morgan Ortiz2 said:Nah... names ought to stay exactly as they are. If someone really feels the need, they could just toss the translation in parentheses afterward.
It’s honestly a miracle they didn't go ahead and "translate" Harry Potter too.🙄

You mean Harry Potter😉 😛 🤣

"Hairy" would be the word, but honestly, I wouldn't even be surprised🤣🤣🤣🤣 after that wicked of evil, nothing can catch me off guard anymore🙄

rowdyridge3 said:Yeah, Cruella de Vil obviously comes from "cruel devil," but if they were actually going to bother translating it, they should have just gone with "Cruel Devil" or something similar to be a literal translation of her name. When I hear "Villain of Evil," the first thing that pops into my head is "spoon of brick"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 and honestly, you don't even need to spell out how negative these characters are by translating their names like that🤣🤣🤣

🤣 Oh man, I can totally relate! I used to read it exactly like that when I was a little kid back in the day. 🤣🤣😳
But seriously, regarding the whole villain thing, I actually agree with this:

Joseph Richardson said:I don't think so. Unless it's aimed strictly at little kids and the name actually highlights the character's personality—like if the author chose it specifically for some deeper meaning.

Because that is such a perfect example of when you'd do it. For anything else? There's really no need to translate it. 🤷

Since we’re talking about Dalmatians, they translated Waddlesworth the parrot as Gegalo, turned Dipstick the Dalmatian into Blacktail (who was actually called the OMG stick in Chinese), and it just keeps going... They even went with "Oddball" for Oddball, which I guess is fine because it matters for the plot... but honestly, the way they handled the Villain being wicked of evil makes my skin crawl.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Most of your arguments don't really hold water. Translation choices can be inconsistent—sometimes names are translated, sometimes they aren't. That’s just how it goes, especially when dealing with children's movies. Or would you prefer if movie adaptations featured characters like Thumbelina, Little Red Riding Hood, or Hansel and Gretel? Complaining that "wicked of evil" isn't a perfect translation also misses the point, because the American idiom describes the character perfectly. If we had gone with a more literal translation, I'm sure there would have been complaints about that, too. Does anyone actually argue over whether to translate a title like "The Bull Who Sits"? Or would it be better to leave it in the original (assuming we even know if the original was English or Lakota)? What's next? A poll asking "Should movie titles be translated?" Let's show some empathy for people who don't speak English.

Elizabeth Gonzalez11 said:not to bother you guys with translation stuff, but does anyone know where I can find the movie "City Afraid of The sunset"? I can't seem to track it down anywhere

City Afraid of The sunset

Joseph Richardson said:I don't think so. Unless it's aimed strictly at little kids and the name actually highlights the character's personality—like if the author chose it specifically for some deeper meaning.

I'm with you on that. 👍

Alright, why are you obsessing over that pathetic Cruella instead of, I don't know, the actual movie title?
101 Dalmatians?! 😂🤣
That breed is called a Dalmatian, not a Dalmatian😂

One person writes Dalmatian, another says Dalmatinac—I know "Dalmatian" is the right way to go, but people just can't seem to pick a lane... 🤣 And I'm stuck on Cruella because calling her "wicked of evil" is hands down the most idiotic translation for a name I've ever heard.😂🙏

That villain is freaking awesome! 🙄 I'm usually not a fan of how they localize names, but this one hits just right. Otherwise, Harry Potter would end up being something like Harry Potterson.