#KOREAN LANGUAGE GAME SERIES#

Mayer and others online have noted that translation work is often undervalued and that the sheer volume of content makes translation for film and television even more challenging. вЂњI understand thereвЂ™s a cultural difference and thereвЂ™s no time to explain things in full, but I saw a lot of people saying, вЂI wish I knew what this meant.вЂ™ I think itвЂ™s doing a huge disservice to the writer that the translator, of word economy, canвЂ™t include these cultural references.вЂќД¬ontestants compete in one of the deadly games in the dystopian Korean survival drama вЂњI still think thereвЂ™s so many big things missing from the narrative,вЂќ Mayer said. Mayer, like many others, didnвЂ™t initially realize she was watching the Korean drama with English closed captions rather than subtitles, but she said even after watching the subtitled version, she still felt frustrated. But the English subtitles simply read, вЂњRed Light, Green Light,вЂќ as the game is known in the U.S., which she said erases its metaphorical meaning. In another video, Mayer said the title of the first episode of вЂњSquid GameвЂќ translates to вЂњThe day that the mugunghwa flower blossomed,вЂќ a reference to the gameвЂ™s Korean name, вЂњThe mugunghwa flower has blossomed,вЂќ and the national flower of South Korea. вЂњTranslators work around the clock so that people can watch their favorite shows.вЂќ вЂњThe audiovisual industry moves fast, time is money on TV, so turnaround for translations can be fast,вЂќ she said. Kripper said every channel or platform has their own guidelines about formatting, offensive language and culture-specific references. The most perfect of translations still needs to be paraphrased or adapted if it doesnвЂ™t fit within those spatial limitations.вЂќ вЂњIn general, subtitles canвЂ™t be longer than two lines - thatвЂ™s even fewer characters than a tweet. вЂњAudiovisual translation, subtitling in particular, is limited to space constraints on the screen,вЂќ said translator Denise Kripper, who has subtitled numerous television shows. Subtitled in 31 languages and dubbed in 13, Hwang Dong-hyukвЂ™s allegory about modern capitalist society and class disparity hit NetflixвЂ™s No. He founded the PGM VO List, short for People of the Global Majority Voice-Over List, in 2020 to support inclusion efforts in voice-over work. Hong said dubbing is a difficult job, even more so than voice acting for animation, because the actor needs to honor the original actorвЂ™s performance while matching the mouth flaps of the actor, so itвЂ™s not out of sync. ThatвЂ™s something I knew all too well from being stuck in those Korean church services as a kid.вЂќ вЂњThe way Korean religious people, especially pastors, talk is a very specific way of talking. вЂњKorean actors, even if not fluent, can call out something if itвЂ™s not right,вЂќ said Hong, who voiced Player 244, a pastor, in the hit series, told NBC Asian America. Netflix did not respond to a request for comment about the English translation process of вЂњSquid Game.вЂќДЄctor Edward Hong, who was part of the English-dubbing cast for вЂњSquid Game,вЂќ was pleased to see the voice actors were of Korean and Asian descent, which he said helps when it comes to correcting mistranslations in the script or adding authenticity. Many Korean-language speakers have pointed out they donвЂ™t agree with MayerвЂ™s translations, however. Mayer's videos have spawned an online debate about translation, subtitles and dubbing, with viewers echoing MayerвЂ™s concerns on social media, accusing вЂњSquid GameвЂќ and other Netflix productions of cutting out swear words and suggestive language from subtitles and condensing dialogue in ways that can change the meaning of a scene. But experts also point out translation is an art form, one thatвЂ™s often underappreciated, underpaid and limited by industry practices.

#KOREAN LANGUAGE GAME SERIES#

I just never got a chance to study.вЂќДЇor some bilingual and multilingual Korean speakers watching вЂњSquid GameвЂќ with English subtitles or closed captions, aspects of the dystopian series felt lost in translation. When the actor tries to convince other players to play a game with her, the caption states, вЂњIвЂ™m not a genius, but I still got it work out,вЂќ but Mayer said what she actually said was, вЂњI am very smart. In one of MayerвЂ™s widely viewed videos, she said the brash character Han Mi-nyeoвЂ™s dialogue is вЂњbotchedвЂќ and sterilized. Like so many people around the world, Youngmi Mayer recently binged NetflixвЂ™s survival drama вЂњSquid Game.вЂќ The comedian and co-host of the podcast Feeling Asian, who is fluent in Korean, vented some of her frustrations on TikTok last week over what she believed were the English subtitles for вЂњSquid GameвЂќ in a video thatвЂ™s since racked up more than 10 million views.

Korean language game