English is a very colorful language
Sometimes I'm amused at the
incorrectness of subtitles in English movies. You can know every word in the dictionary, yet still get lost in trying to convey the intended meaning.
My knowledge of Korean has greatly improved over the years. And one thing that amuses me are the subtitles of English movies in Korea.
Often, what is being said in the movie is not what is being translated in the subtitles. But one can't complain, as
English is a very colorful language and very difficult to translate.
Subtitling is harder than it looks:
- cultural in-jokes
- area-specific idioms
- and an allowance for the fact that people just can't read very much very fast
Reading the subtitles is great though as it gives me an insight to the local sense of humor and the expressions the locals use to relate to English expressions.
I also now have a better understanding of the hurdles faced by students when learning English.
Jorge L.
(Korean Student - Pusan, Korea)