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

General Discussion
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@cobrajab_93, @manganese, @vivi_1485,

The problem with the translated songs but no music was very noticeable in the short k-drama Here’s My Plan in which all music was removed. There would be lyrics, but no singing/background music at all and it looked bizarre. The Greek and Polish teams must have noticed this because their subtitles are done 94-97% at most. (Okay, 1 episode was subbed until 81%, but I don’t believe songs make up 20% of a drama’s subtitles)

From a subber’s perspective, I don’t like to translate and subtitle songs, especially if they are in the middle of a conversation and the seggers only could put a few segments for them between the actor’s dialogues which causes the viewers only to see/understand a few bits here and there. Intro and outro songs are okay, because they will not interfere with any dialogue and they are the same for every single episode.

Unfortunately, the expectation is that episodes get fully subbed eventually, which means translating every single segment. Thát’s why I still translate songs and put the credits in every episode. However, if there is a real chance that songs might be removed later and you’ll have sillly looking song lyrics without any (apparent) reason, I don’t understand why subbers should still bother with translating the songs.

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I guess its hard to predict when a song will be removed and when it won’t… or maybe the CMs should be active enough to notice and have the segs removed.

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I so agree with you about ANYWAYS @angellight313_608. I’d like to see subbing kept pretty basic and true to the culture it’s translating, and not turn it into a slang-fest where all the characters sound the same. When I watch K-movies or dramas on the ‘other’ huge streaming service, I resent all the “dudes” used to describe Oppa…or all the “sh*t” words and the f-bombs that turn up onscreen. A bit lazy I think. Also, when subbers translate according to their own culture’s perspectives, often this has the sad (although not intended) effect of interfering with the the original message that the korean scriptwriter meant for us. It can skew or tweak a story so much that the subber often becomes an editor instead of a translator, ultimately interfering with the creative voice and plot of the story the korean author shared from her ‘inside voice’. I’m still missing the sad loss of “We shall eat well” (‘Chal Mokehsumnida’) around the family dinner table, or “I’m leaving first” (Monjo Ka) when a group meeting or office supper is just brreaking up. These phrases are all windows of understanding that help us see a culture better and help compare it with our own. Translating “Thanks for the meal” or “This looks good” is not the same as “We will eat well” which underscores how ‘eating well’ has been an important exchange of information historically. Saying hello in Korea between friends is important, but more often the greeting most often exchanged on the street is: ‘Shik hashawsawyo?’ “Have you eaten yet?” which reflects the care and concern Koreans give each other about food. Historically when times were very tough, this phrase was a real question, and if the answer was no, the person asking would offer food. Today it’s more of a greeting, but still shows concern for one another’s welfare. Saying “I will eat well,” also underscores how appreciative family members are for the food on their table. This conveys a slightly different tone than “thank you” or a compliment about the taste of food.
All in all, I’m a fan of the single-author dramas abd the deptg of detail and continuity they give us.
Viki subbers are’ the best’, in my opinion, because they each come from so many different cultures worldwide. They are the Teams who go ‘the extra’ to make sure the small cultural quirks and dialogues are explained so we can get a better grasp of them. In this way Viki viewers even become better citizens of the world overall. I feel so proud of Viki subbing volunteers when one stops to spend the extra time ito add a side-note explaining why a young man will turn his head to the side out of respect before drinking at a table with an elder. All become such treasurers of information about why and how Koreans live their lives.

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Hi Charlott!

Well, the way things are going on in here, and from all the things I have read so far, all those things that you admire so much, and was offered here by our/the viki volunteers at RViki; have surely become a thing of the past.

I think it has to do a lot with the demand of many consumer wanting to have the subtitles as soon as the drama (video) is uploaded, and realistically ‘‘speaking’’ we have to admit that is humanly impossible to add so much information (in the subtitles) in record time. Not even the so called AI can maneuver all that. That’s when I know that some things get/ will be sacrifice?

Like Rob Cross expressed in his quote:

If you want to do well, you have to sacrifice certain things. Rob Cross

I think that they are trying to survive during these critical times when/where streamservices can’t give themselves the luxury of losing customers over ‘‘the customer waiting a long time for subtitles to be in the drama.’’ There are those who are willing to wait for quality, but the majority of the paying consumers, are not willing to wait, and will complain from left to right.

Even I, myself, at this point don’t even get bothered for certain wrong things being in the subtitle just because I’m so happy to see my favorite drama subtitled in record time. If is missing a comma, a question mark, those things fly over me because as soon as that one ends; I’m jumping to my next drama, and the next, and the next…but that’s me and like me we have thousands/millions of individuals who also follow that pattern. That’s when money talks and…walks.

But in my opinion, just by observing the drama I can learn so much about their culture without having to read it in a note included in the subtitle (but that’s me, myself, and I). In no way, shape or form, I’m saying everyone can have my same opinion or feel the same way I do. I stopped a long time ago trying to make people think like me because I realized that each individual is their own person with their ‘‘likes and dislikes.’’ As a matter of fact, I learned to accept the things I can not change and go with the flow…and I’m finally enjoying things so much more.

Summary

NFX for example; has never been anything like viki when it comes to subs but; guess what? I am watching at NFX so many Korean, Chinese, Japanese, lakorn etc. dramas and I love it, love it. Best of all, I watch so many dramas that will never be licensed in here, but we have them there simple subs and all.

I won’t stop loving RViki that it was my first love the first one that brought to me the Asian world into my life, and I thank them so much from the bottom of my heart. I’m just hoping I can continue to contribute as a volunteer for free as a token of my appreciation. I see too many complains about not being appreciated enough, but we have to accept that there is so much they can do, and they need to keep the consumer satisfied/happy so they are willing to pay for their services. Quality will be sacrifice, so that Quantity can bring the money in; that they so much need to stay up and going. We are living through an economy crisis that has to be thread with extreme caution so as unfair as it seems; they are just trying to stay afloat and not sink or disappear which I know will devastate millions of us that love Asian dramas/movies/shows etc.so much.

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Well, I found this interesting article I wanted to share it with you guys in case you have never seen it before. It’s interesting how many debates/arguments, are out there in the world about greater Quality in OL subtitles. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did. Although we all know/agree about the importance of proficiency in the language in the subtitles, reading this article made me realize that this is happening worldwide, and it seems there’s no stopping it. Is there a solution that can stop this from continuing on getting worse? So far… I don’t think so.

Excerpt: The Guardian
Jacqueline Ball, a freelance translator specializing in German to English subtitling, says: “With subtitling, unlike text translation, you often have to make very difficult choices regarding what you can retain due to reading speed (which, on average, is 15 to 17 characters a second for adult viewers), how many characters fit on a line (usually between 37 and 42) and the number of lines – which, in foreign-language subtitling, as opposed to hard-of-hearing subtitling, is always limited to two.”

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I just said ANYWAYS yesterday - ANYWAYS - lol

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Thank you so much @angelight313_941 for posting this article. It’s an excellent read. I highly recommend it to others :smile:

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kdrama2020al[(Annoying subtitles that bothers Me/Myself and I/ to see them here at this site)I just said ANYWAYS yesterday - ANYWAYS - lol

I see it so often now all over the place; that I find myself saying it too when I talk to my kids.
U know the saying… ‘‘If you can’t beat’em join’em!’’:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

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@manganese

You don’t know how happy you make me feel that you like this article, and like you, I also hope others read it too. I found this article so profound because it involves the opinion of professional translators, and it gives another perspective about the way subtitles can affect even the mood/enjoyment of the viewer while watching a film, if the translations/subtitles, are not done correctly. In essence, what this thread is all about.

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LOL

You just couldn’t help it!!!

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@kdrama2020ali

I forgot to add that while my son laughs about it when I say it, but my daughter is another story since she always corrects me, and even reprimands to the point that we both end up cracking up about it. I make my kids laugh, and to me, that’s a joy and a blessing to be able to share ‘‘fun times?’’ with them; even at the expense of contradicting myself.

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@manganese
You might like to read this article which I found so interesting;

Two Bilingual Comedians Try to Decipher Their Own Subtitles

Martijn Koning’s bigger concern is that subtitles often give away punch lines before they’re delivered.

Hoping I’m not breaking any rules (just in case).

Quote/unquote from article.
As one might expect, the quality of those subtitles often fails to match the effort it took to produce them. The Comedy Dynamics team sometimes gets complaints passed on to them from comedians whose multilingual viewers notify them of errors. According to Volk-Weiss, a common complaint is some form of: “I speak English and Korean. I know what you said is not what the subtitles say because I was laughing but my friends who only speak Korean weren’t.”

https://www.vulture.com/article/bilingual-comedians-subtitles-netflix.html

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Hi @angelight313_941 :wave:

Wow! I don’t know where you find these articles, but I’m so glad that you share them. This is an excellent read, I found it very insightful. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Youtube clip. Honestly, I find subtitling comedy from some language into English really, really hard. A TE’s guidance is vital, but sometimes a joke cannot be translated so that they humor stays intact.

I’m presently working on Happy Enemy, a Taiwanese comedy, and using the right words to setup a joke and to deliver the punchline is occasionally okay but often, it doesn’t work – especially if the joke involves a pun. Slapstick humor works across all languages, I think, but wordplay humor is very hard to capture. Sometimes with word play, the best that can be done is to add a brief explanation so that people can understand why it’s funny. Such explanations are not usually funny in themselves, though.

Quite honestly, I found this article very enlightening.

Thanks again for sharing it.
Manganese.

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GOOD NEWS! Hope is in the horizon that they’ll hit harder on people that come to this site to affect the Quality and good work done by devoted volunteers throughout the years.
Best thing I’ve ever saw

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This is indeed good news!

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The article is dated September 2022 which means the issue is on the works. Let’s hope they can eradicate from here those that are playing games, and affecting the overall quality that has carried RViki during all these years.

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@angelight313_941, It’s good to know that it’s happening now. I agree. Let’s hope it brings some improvement that will be beneficial to everyone :slight_smile:

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Lately, I’ve taken a liking for Chinese dramas/movies. They are shorter and full of fantasy, special side effects that I love so much. The stories are a bit different, too. Since it’s a different culture they don’t have that never ending piggy rides or the drunken girl that forgets how she got to bed with a guy.

Anyway, back to what I wrote this for; lately, I have started laughing my ‘‘head off’’ bc some of the subtitles they have in this dramas/movies are so outrageously funny. I don’t know if you will find them as funny as I do, but I’m glad I find them so amusing and not annoying. My kids laugh with me about some of them, but don’t find them as funny as I do, but they are glad to hear me laugh so wholeheartedly.

I won’t say site ( definitely is not here at RVIKI). I won’t say title of dramas/movies. Like I said, you might not find it funny, and some you might be offensive, but if it makes you laugh, don’t forget; that laughter is the best medicine for our body.

So a female girl is eating with this hunk and the sub is as followed:

What kind of spicy are you?

I found this 1700’s Chinese drama (I loved it bad subs and all)

In the intro to the Prince they said:
The retarded son of the (*****) family.

The maid tells the the Princess: My Lady, are you going to marry that stupid young Master of the *** family?

‘‘His master is using him as a punching bag’’ (I didn’t know punching bags go so far back in time) :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

Aunt in law, I’m afraid your mother wouldn’t wake up.

The Princess tells the Prince; You flirt with me, but don’t want to marry me? You are either a schizophrenic or a playboy!

She tells the Prince about his servant: He’s such a third wheeler. Can you fire him?

Now, what was even funnier that this dumb Prince from the 1700’s could clearly understand the Princess using this modern times sentence.

Can you blame me for laughing? I had more, but lost them/can’t find them now), so for now this bit will do.

I can title this one [Subtitles that make me laugh so much and I love it!].

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These was taken from an article in THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE by Christen A. Johnson on January 2022.
''If you feel you’re behind on internet abbreviations and want to take part in the playfulness of language, below are several of the most popular ones and their meanings. TTYL!

***Note from me:This is not something I recommend to include in a subtitle, unless the actor/actress does say it as part of their script. If you happen to see this abbreviations you will know the meaning, and stay up with the times…lol

BRB — Be right back

FWIW — For what it’s worth

IMHO — In my humble opinion

IRL — In real life

IKR — I know, right?

JSYK — Just so you know

NSFW — Not safe for work

NSFL — Not safe for life

NBD — No big deal

OMW — On my way

DM — Direct message

TFW — That feeling when

FTW — For the win

FOMO — Fear of missing out

TTYL — Talk to you later

ILY — I love you

JK or J/K — Just kidding

LMAO — Laughing my ass off

LOL — Laughing out loud

OIC — Oh, I see

OMG — Oh my God

RT — Retweet

SMH — Shaking my head

RBTL — Read between the lines

ROTFLMAO — Rolling on the floor laughing my ass off

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Hi @angelight313_941. This is such a useful list! Thank you so much for posting it. It’s a relief to know what some of these acronyms mean :slight_smile:

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