saturnR wrote:

Why does America have to have American versions of everything? Re: Harry Potter Books (completely re-edited), Sherlock TV show (cut by 30 mins), Wilfred & Gordon Ramsay (completely re-shot), etc...

 
Saturn, I'm confused when you said "Sherlock TV show (cut by 30 mins)"  What Sherlock TV show? BBC, Elementary?  If referring to BBC, there were some cuts made to accomodate some announcements that are made at the beginning of PBS "Masterpiece" where 'Sherlock' was aired, but certainly not 30 minutes worth - at least I hope not. 

Swanpride wrote:

but I also don't get why the english book market tends to NOT translate book from other languages.

It actually depends on the language & on what's "hot" in the moment. English media is very quick to translate Japanese Manga/Anime because to them, it sells well. They're also very quick to translate literature from French.

But if there was a major Arabic book being released, they would be slower at translating those (because, no we're not translating works from terrorists); similarly major Chinese books would take longer to be translated (because they are communists & "the enemy").

Last edited by saturnR (February 2, 2013 6:32 am)

It is actually pretty offensive to at least some of us to be thought of as stupid. In college I went out of my way to take several English Literature classes just so I could be familiar with the original works. (It helps that my Dad is really into Sci-Fi, so I actually had read lots of Hitchcock and related works before it really started getting ridiculous here. I still am actively trying to get copies of the HPs in their original format.

But I guess I'm atypical. I enjoy reading and learning, but sadly, our school systems and things are set up more to alleviate boredom in 30 minute increments than to actually learn anything. I can vouch for that as the truth, because I have seen it change. Some of that stuff that you guys have seen about the "jocks" bullying the "nerds" well, some of it is actually true. For a long time, it has been a negative thing to be smart here in this country unless you are a computer programmer or gamer. (Yeah I'm probably going to offend someone, too, but it's the truth.)

I think this is why I, personally, have latched onto a community where I can have brains and not be thought of as an outcast. The whole time I was in school I kept my grades private, because no one needed to know that I graduated with my two-year-degree with a 3.9 GPA.

Again, though, I like a good backstory. I want to know the roots of something, where did it start? So that leads me down paths perhaps other people refuse to go. I've even got the original Odyessy here---in lyric form!--

Believe me, it is fantastic to be able to talk to other people about this stuff! It's way easier to be gay in this country than it is to be smart or to have intellectual persuits --and believe me, that is not saying much.

Last edited by crazybbcamerican (February 2, 2013 12:44 pm)

I'm wondering if the translation issue is more a problem in Britain than America?  I see quite a lot of recent books that have been translated into English.  It just takes a little time to do the translation (which does take some work - you not only have to preserve the author's meaning but also the style).  I find it harder to get the original, actually - I can get the translation but not the original work on Kindle.  (France apparently isn't all that keen on e-readers, so in some cases, the translation was digitised but not the French version.)

saturnR wrote:

I know I'm about to offend a whole bunch of people so I will appologise first. This is not meant to be snide or rude but I am curious:

Why does America have to have American versions of everything? Re: Harry Potter Books (completely re-edited),

"We'll be having a shufti...."

A "shufti?"  They weren't completely re-edited.  I'm really glad they got to wear sweaters.

BTW, do you know what "quare" means?  I still don't know, though I have a book with the word used several times. 

Sometimes, it's most useful for the readability, to not "throw the reader out of the story" to change the language a bit so we can sail on through. 

BTW, is there a difference in a "rugby tackle" and any other sort of bashing someone to the ground?

"Snog?"  Srsly?

I am not offended in the least.  I think it's mostly about money.  The US market for anything is about 3-4 times the size of the market in Great Britain.  They just wanted to do what they could to make sure they had as many sales as possible. 

We aren't hopless, though.  They just give us Downton Abbey, no subtitles. ; )

Davina wrote:

Quare is an Irish word meaning strange or odd. It is a different pronunciation of 'queer'. Is it a book where the speakers are Irish or of Irish descent?

A rugby tackle is definitely not just a general term for bashing someone to the ground. Basically it should be around the waist or upper body, not around the neck! If you look on You Tube you can watch a lot of examples.

Thank you very much!  Yes, the book is written by an Irish author and set there - "strange or odd"  - this is great!

I used to use "quare" in Perquakey, because I knew I had read it. Years later I was playing Banangrams with some friends of my daughter's and they wouldn't allow it because we couldn't find it in the dictionary or online.  I felt like they thought I was trying to cheat! 

And now when I read about Ron rugby tackling Mundungus, I'll have such a clearer picture in my mind!  This is great!   

I love this thread, I'll have a place to ask all my embarrassing questions about things I do not understand while learning "English as a second language!"

The British ususally measure weight in pounds or stones, not in kilos. They also use inches, feet and miles to measure lengths and distances. Their metric system is quite different from other European countries. 
Do American use inches too? I didn't know that!
 

I read an interesting essay on the side effects of "trimming" Sherlock for American audience. It was mainly about cuts of some scenes and how they change the overall perception of the characters, but they did mention some small vocabulary alternations: for example, in the BB John is fuming, because he has been charged with "ASBO". In the American version they made him say "the gave me community service". It would be interesting to discover if there are other modifications. 

miriel68 wrote:

I read an interesting essay on the side effects of "trimming" Sherlock for American audience. It was mainly about cuts of some scenes and how they change the overall perception of the characters, but they did mention some small vocabulary alternations: for example, in the BB John is fuming, because he has been charged with "ASBO". In the American version they made him say "the gave me community service". It would be interesting to discover if there are other modifications. 

I'm pretty sure the Amazon unbox version did have 'ASBO' because I remember not recognising the term.  The context made the meaning quite clear, however.

Wonderful - not only do we get to wait a ridiculous amount of time for a chopped-up episode, it will also be 'dumbed-down'.  I see that PBS is spending my tax dollars well.