Annoying subtitles that bothers Me/Myself and I/ to see them here at this site

General Discussion
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There’s no need for me/myself and I to name the drama/movie or team/ Just the subtitle that shocked me. The ones I wrote here below are all from this site.

Minute 4:48
I was at that garden.(instead of I went to the garden)
4:56
No she had me born (have no clue what was this about)
5:08
You saw the flowers. (no question mark at end and it should have been)… Did you see the
flowers?
5:15
Her and I are the gardeners. (I would preferred to see: She and I, are the gardeners).
4:23
Stop staring at me. You’ll puncture me. (So now we can be ‘‘puncture with a look?’’)
4:42
No joking around (instead of writing) Stop joking around.
Minute 20:50
Tell her to not worry. (Tell her not to worry…)
24:43
We’ve grown that much (instead of: WE HAVE GROWN SO MUCH).
35: 08
Leave Drive safe. (Instead of Go, and drive safely).
50:35
The unstoppable feeling (instead of; This never ending feeling)

34:24
And then she probably forgave (incomplete sentence?)

[THE NEW thing subtitles with extreme cursing]
23:39
I finally found you, you shitty bastard.

Elderly lady dies sentence is as follow…
23:53
Ah, you didn’t know? SHE KICKED THE BUCKET. What was so hard to write she passed away or even she died. Kick the bucket…?.lol

Somewhere episode 10 minute 1:50
PHLEAZE! (I thought there’s only one way to write PLEASE).

minute 5:12:
There’s a CRACK in the ankle bone ( EGGS CRACK BONES FRACTURE)

Episode 10 minute 24:54
What’s so important about whose ones? I believe they had to write (What’s so important who they belong to?)

37:13
Your thoughtless mistakes, beat me up to death (instead of: Your senseless (or selfish) mistakes kills me to death).

38:00 {CHINESE DRAMA]
Because the treatments and radiation are been both APPLIED, it’ll fall out quickly. (This one baffles the mind)
Correction:
Treatment and radiation are GIVEN not APPLIED like it was a cream. I’m guessing they are talking about the hair that would fall due to the chemo and radiation treatment.

minute3:16
You are thinking of disappearing for me (no question mark and I believe is FROM not FOR)

You didn’t do your HW? So we have to guess (Homework? House Work?) I believe it was Homework, but why abbreviate HW and assume everyone knows what HW means in that subtitle?

I found this one in one of my comments in a drama. I wrote that over a month ago and it still there today November 12, 2021 (went to check)
Subtitle: [Have you regained consciousness] sounds so wrong: Minute 16:15. The person is fully awake, walking towards her; and she still thinks he still unconscious? Makes no sense.
Instead of the word GRILLING the subber could have instead written QUESTIONING. BY THE WAY, they used the word ‘‘grilling’’ in a traditional drama FROM JOSEON era. The person was being ‘‘questioned’’ but the character said Why he/she was ‘‘grilling’’ him/her? It could have been that it was pre-sub and the subber has no way of knowing the era? I certainly hope so.

What subtitles have you seen in dramas/movies/shows that have shocked/bothered you?

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You have my respect for taking your time in noting these sentences.

Editing is hectic. 6-7 subtitlers divide their work and fill out 50-100 subtitles per episode. The episode is almost completely subbed within 3-4 days.

Unlike subtitlers, who can come and go as per their wish and choose the parts they want to work on, editors have to go through that 100, 600, 800, or even 1000 subtitles long episode alone. All of us know that humans make mistakes. It’s already tiring that you’ve to go through an entire episode alone, 800-1000 subtitles long episode adds more to the problem. Even I sometimes lose motivation to work on longer episodes, so I know how it feels when the rest of 600 subtitles are glaring at you and asking when they’ll be touched by you. I wouldn’t blame the editors if these mistakes creep in.

I know that there are 3 editors in almost all English teams, but that only means 3 pairs of eyes going through a 900-subtitles episode alone. It doesn’t mean one pair of eyes for every 300 subtitles (which could also be efficient as it gives less work on each editor but only in theory)

Of course, we also can’t ignore the fact that the editor who was part of this project could be inefficient. I can only say to monitor the editing team, look at other projects they were part of, were those projects also this bad?

It could also be a problem of pre-subs. I mentioned this example yesterday as well.
image
image

There are contractions of words in almost every 5th segment.

The speaker is talking about her deceased parents when she says “folks.” I’ve been a part of a show that had even worse pre-subtitles.

As all of us always recommend, if you find the mistakes only once on a certain CE’s project, you can simply message her about the mistakes.

There’s a saying in Hindi-- एक गंदी मछली पूरे तालाब को गंदा कर देती है। (ek gandī machalī pūre tālāb ko gandā kar detī hai) – A dirty fish makes entire pond dirty.

All CEs or English teams shouldn’t be criticized because of this team’s work.

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This is definitely a great thread for this topic. When I use to sub I try to find the best possible translation without losing the context. I also avoid slang and run on sentences. It’s kind of hard sometimes though but I put my faith in editors. I never did editing because it’s not my strongest area, so instead I try to do my best during subbing.

Now, as a viewer most of the time I appreciate the subs & edits. I know how long it takes to complete even 15 mins of subs/edits. Feels like forever.

Like @shraddhasingh mentioned, the pre-subs are problematic.

Also, I wanted to add that some subbers may be using google translate. That may be why some subs are oddly translated.

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The real problem is they think that Google is mighty and whatever it translates is super good.

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I use it for words but it gets tricky to rely on it for phrases. It can be mistranslated if you can’t read the language when using Google.

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@midknightmoodz
Thank you so much for explaining it so well and in such a respectful way.

Although I agree with you that pre-subs are problematic I feel the Editors of the drama needs to pay more attention to stuff like that, and stop this things from continuing happening here at RViki. Lately, this is way too much.

It’s already pre- subbed, so editing (although is long and tedious) half of the work is already done, so they shouldn’t stay ‘‘as is,’’ and should be corrected because sometimes is just one measly word that changes terribly the whole scenario in the subtitle. We don’t need to change the whole sentence just that one word, that like a rotten apple, damages anything that’s close to it.:wink:

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I think the best thing as subbers/editors is communicate with each other or with the CM. I like it when we have a general idea of how we want the project to come out. I think things start getting messy when a random subber or editor comes in and changes the flow of the project.

Short story: A long time ago I was subbing a Thai lakorn. I used “mom or mother” when they’re referring to her. Suddenly, an editor (I think this person was new) started changing mom and mother to “mum”. It bugged the heck out of me. There wasn’t a real reason why they changed it.

I know that in other parts of the world they use the term “mum” but most of the time in subbing, “mom or mother” is used more frequently.

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@midknightmoodz

Thank you so much AGAIN bc you validate what I have been saying lately so much, that these new subbers/rookie are ‘‘messing the flow of the project,’’ and taking charge in all the wrong ways; because changing mom or mother to mum: is simply ridiculous.

I really wished you would consider to work as editor bc you seemed very knowledgeable in the subject matter, and you would improve so much the quality in the subtitles here that lately, are going down the drain, and I Know I’m not exaggerating.

I hope you take into consideration working as an editor too, and make sure we don’t see no [mum] word in a subtitle. I can see you are a team player, and that’s something so important for quality to excel in the subtitles here at RVIKI.com site.

I found mum : is used by the British ppl, but is the first time I heard of it. I always thought of it as a plant, but never used for mother
mum

Plant · Informal

Theatre

noun

INFORMAL•BRITISH

  1. one’s mother.

“she often goes round to see her mum, who lives nearby”

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@angelight313_168 You’re very welcome! I remember how complicated these things can get working on a project. I took my duty seriously as a subber. I didn’t only just do that (as you probably know) sometimes we have to pick up where someone lacks.

I am still easing into the community again. Kind of looking at how things are done. I need to watch a few shows and see how people sub/edit. I will consider editing if there’s nothing to sub. (Most Thai shows are all done)

mum: Yes! It’s def. a UK/British thing. I still remember that to this day. :sweat_smile: I think that “editor” was trying to increase their status count.

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@midknightmoodz

I was knocked out by the medicines I take it (I have lupus) it has that effect; sleeping non stop for a few hours (ugh), and that is the reason why I can’t commit to working here on dramas/movies on a daily basis, since I have health issues.

I also, like you, take my work as a volunteer very seriously bc when we do volunteer work (anywhere), we need to treat it like a real paying job, nothing less. Giving our best when we do our translations/editing is the least we can do for this site. Some viewers depend so much on those great translations to learn a new language, and if they write in the wrong word, we are failing as a volunteer in giving any quality work. But like you mentioned above; this ‘‘editor’’ might have been only fishing contribution count towards the viki passes, and that is why it didn’t put any effort in quality in her/his subs.

When it comes to editing/subbing look towards our many years working as volunteers in here, and learn from them, the experts. Learn only from the best. By now you have an idea who is good, who is bad, who is a faker that hides behind Goggle translate and the many other methods of translation. I highly recommend you take notes from @ajumma2 @choitrio @worthyromance because they are good ‘‘teachers.’’ and also care for the best quality work at Rviki.

Good Luck, and I’m looking in the future to see your name and praises all over this place. I know you do care.

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@angelight313_168 Thank you for your kind words.

The two contributors you mentioned sounds familiar. I might have worked on projects with them in the past. :smile:

Looking forward to crossing paths again. :wink:

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I have seen the pre-subs come with the word ‘hence’ A LOT. No one uses ‘hence’ in standard American English unless it is in some learned tome.

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It does sound out of place for modern day lingo. I haven’t experienced the pre-sub dramas as a contributor yet.

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You’re mostly right. Editors need to be trained well and we need to have good Team Notes to ensure consistency. We need to take our job seriously. However,

This isn’t right. I’ve worked on dramas where the volunteer-made subs were amazing and I just had to skim through. I’ve also worked on dramas where the pre-subs were TERRIBLE. I had to change almost all the subs. Half the work is not already done. It is a long, tedious process, especially when the pre-subs are bad, because you can’t even contact the subber to clarify your doubts. If a subber makes a mistake while subbing, I can always PM them to ask “What do you mean by this sentence? What is the speaker trying to say?” and the subber would reply in a paragraph to help me understand the characters’ intentions. I can’t do that with pre-subs.

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@vivi_1485

I’m sorry you went through the bad experience of correcting TERRIBLE subs in dramas: I have done editing in the past a very longgggg while ago, so I know your pain . I did based my opinion in what I experienced in the past, were subs ‘‘were suggested’’ so to me/myself and I, half of the work, was done.

I also MAINLY went by @shraddhasingh post and screenshot right after her comment:
It could also be a problem of pre-subs. I mentioned this example yesterday as well. image

As far as the pre-sub in her screenshot, and for what I could see wrong in one of the sentence was: The word BEING (missing the G) and the fact that the contractions bothered her (it burns me up too when I see so many contraction in the subtitles). Some and most of this contractions I have seen in some dramas/movies are wrong (but I don’t want to go in to that subject either).

Whatever is going on now, I’m not familiar with it bc I have done very little work around here recently, and just now saw what a pre-sub looks like; I repeat that very kindly @shraddhasingh provided for us in her post.

She also deserves our respect for going through all this wonderful details, and great screenshot to back up what she’s saying. I also was shocked to see that the culprit here is viki (so I’m not sure if this is a viki staff or someone using the name ‘‘viki’’) Back in the days ‘‘the suggested subtitle’’ was named viki bot, too :rofl:

Joking aside, I hope I explained myself better now, and you understand what was going through my mind when I wrote the post.

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Yes, thank you for doing your best to ensure high quality subtitles :smile::smiling_face_with_three_hearts: Thank you for all your contributions!

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I am sorry if you felt I was criticizing you. I was rather thankful for the research. I even thanked you in my very first line. I also like doing researches, but I don’t have the patience to write everything down, that’s why I also respect you for that.

Since you opened a new topic for everyone to read, I assumed you’d also like to listen to opinions. Whatever I wrote was my opinion, an opinion for the Internet to read.

I sincerely apologize for any miscommunication.

Untill… Google does this :joy::joy::joy:
https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/15-best-google-translate-fails
image

The Prince Who Turned Into A Frog will forever continue to haunt the English team :grin:

Same is for you. Thank you very much for your intensive editing work

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I did a Bing search and was able to find a definition of boringness. Yes, it’s kind of an awkward word and not commonly used, and I probably wouldn’t use it in that situation either, but it is a word.

image

bor′ing·ness n.

Synonyms: boring , monotonous , tedious , irksome , tiresome
These adjectives refer to what is so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness. Something that is boring fails to hold one’s interest or attention, often resulting in listlessness or impatience: I had never read such a boring book.
What is monotonous bores because of lack of variety: “There is nothing so desperately monotonous as the sea” (James Russell Lowell).
Tedious suggests dull slowness, long-windedness, or stultifying routine: “It was a life full of the tedious, repetitive tasks essential to small-press publishing and grassroots organizing” (Jan Clausen).
Irksome emphasizes the irritation or resentment provoked by something tedious: “I know and feel what an irksome task the writing of long letters is” (Edmund Burke).
Something tiresome fatigues because it seems to be interminable or to be marked by unremitting sameness: “What a tiresome being is a man who is fond of talking” (Benjamin Jowett).

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

You’re right, that’s a good alternative. I was trying my hardest to think of what word I would use to best fit the scenario. I like that one.

Also, I won’t speak for @shraddhasingh, but one of the crucial parts of research is the collection and compilation of data, so by accumulating a list of questionable subs, you are completing some form of research in my opinion. It’s something that caught your interest, and you decided to keep track of the ‘data’ to support your assertion, so that’s research, in my book.

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It’s a lame excuse of subbers saying: The editor can fix it because if the subbers would pay more attention or would put way more own effort into offering good subtitles the overall quality would rise. I’m not talking about typos. I’m talking about the lack of understanding context, proper wording for specific situations/settings (modern vs ancient setting) and general translation in the aspect of being unable to understand that English words have a big amount of meanings, depending on the situation and 1:1 English=> OL translation makes no sense at all (most are doing that though) and not keeping English grammar and expressions into OL…

I wouldn’t say it’s a problem of beginners because I saw people who never translated subtitles before and were just great in every aspect (almost no editing needed) while others who subtitle for years with over couple of thousands of subtitles still translate very bad, using wrong wording, context failures etc.

Sometimes even Google translates better than them (that was most shocking, thinking that wrong translations are done with Google and then realizing they’re actually human made…)

Anyway I doubt that this issue will be solved here because there are too many shows for too less skilled volunteers.

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Just one last clarification, I used Bing as my search engine, but the source of the definition was not Bing itself. The source is cited in my quote with the definition.