Have you ever tried to watch a film in one language and set the subtitles to another language you know? It can be confusing. Or, more exactly, it is confusing.
Did you know that most languages don't share the same syntax structures? I experienced total confusion when I tried to follow my favourite Disney film, Mulan, in Spanish while catching the meaning with help of the English subtitles. Almost every longer sentence was twisted. If the Spanish sentence began with the main clause, the English sentence ended with the main clause; if the Spanish sentence began with the subordinate clause, the English sentence ended with the subordinate clause. You would think the translators working on the subtitles would watch out for this phenomenon and try to avoid it where possible....
On another note, if you have ever followed subtitles and audio in the same language, you might have discovered that they differ from each other. The meaning is (almost always) the same, but the wording may well be different (and no, the subtitles are not always the easier wording, as one might think since they are usually used by people to help them understand the spoken words).
Well, back to our bilingual problem.... I have noticed that I am unable to follow both the spoken and the written words. If I put on a film in a language where I want to train my listening skills, and they don't have subtitles in the same language, I often don't use any subtitles (and might watch the film a second time in one of my main languages to get what I missed in the other language). It just doesn't work out for me. I tend to follow the subtitles to catch the meaning, and completely miss what is said. If, however, I force myself to concentrate on the audio, I don't need to use subtitles in a different language since I won't be able to read them while listening. My brain seems to be incapable of following two languages at the same time (yet, thinking in two languages at the same time is possible...my brain is really weird!).
What are your experiences with subtitled films?
Language ... the bridge of communication, the magic creator of worlds, the brush and paint of authors. Language is magic. It gives us power. It is something you just have to love.
No comments:
Post a Comment