BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Sherlock dubbed versions

**Posted by SolarSystem** May 5, 2014 9:08 am

Oh, that would be really interesting to know.
Because I don't know, I'd think that they somehow feel the need to... coordinate. It's just so absurd that subtitles and spoken words seem to differ that much. I think I'll have to take a look at this.. oh, how I love scientific research...!

**Posted by polomare** May 5, 2014 2:56 pm

Um, newbie here. What is "ARD"?

As for the subtitles, I'd say they are specific to the DVD's because it is strictly dialogue-only. Subtitles for hearing-impaired usually include things like "[door creaks open], [motor starts] [kettle whistles]" because hearing impaired people don't just need help with the dialogue, they miss all the sound cues too.

The Sherlock DVD's don't have this, neither in English or German. :/ Which was a little surprising to me, because in America, I think it's like a law or something that it be "Closed Captioned" (in the US & Canada this means subtitled for the hearing impaired). I don't have a single made-for-US-market DVD that isn't CC'd in English.

**Posted by Harriet** May 5, 2014 2:58 pm

ARD is the biggest German public broadcasting company, they show Sherlock.

**Posted by polomare** May 5, 2014 3:08 pm

Ah, thank you!

**Posted by Pav** May 5, 2014 3:57 pm

SolarSystem wrote:
Oh, that would be really interesting to know.
Because I don't know, I'd think that they somehow feel the need to... coordinate. It's just so absurd that subtitles and spoken words seem to differ that much. I think I'll have to take a look at this.. oh, how I love scientific research...!

Dubbing and subtitles are often done by two different people. Like Susi said, dubbing has to allow for lip movements and therefore the time for delivering the line is fixed. The translator can also afford small differences between original and translation - for example when the character says: "I would rather cut my throat than teach", the dubbed version can be "I would rather shoot myself". As for the subtitles, the translator has to take into account that most people probably speak English and they can "control" the subtitles, so he'd rather choose "I would rather cut my throat than teach". Subtitles are often condensed, some words can be skipped - viewers must have time to read them. Interestingly, dubbing is often more "vulgar" and the characters use more non-standard words because the words seem more inappropriate when they are written.

**Posted by zeratul** May 6, 2014 12:22 pm

So... I checked ASIP from ARD which came with German subs. Everything "Sie".

Btw I still hate this mistake (not exact quotes):
Sherlock: "Sister!!!"
John: "What am I doing here anyway?"
Sherlock: "There is always something!" (still angry he got Harry wrong)

German:
Sherlock: "Schwester!"
John: "Was mache ich eigentlich hier?"
Sherlock: "Da findet sich schon was" (talking to John and answering him, 1st he is not unsure why he brought John, 2nd he's not gonna tell him, 3rd he is not listening to John, but thinking about the Harry thing, they got that all wrong)

**Posted by gently69** May 6, 2014 12:24 pm

Sorry, can't follow you.

**Posted by Harriet** May 6, 2014 12:27 pm

I'm just glad mistakes never happen to us

**Posted by gently69** May 6, 2014 12:30 pm

Zeratul, you mean, Sherlock should say: "Da ist immer was." (???)

**Posted by zeratul** May 6, 2014 12:40 pm

Yes Sherlock should say something like: "Irgendwas ist ja immer!"

Well yes everybody does mistakes, but don't they have some sort of Lektorat?

I think it this mistake changes the whole meaning.

Last edited by zeratul (May 6, 2014 12:40 pm)

**Posted by gently69** May 6, 2014 12:42 pm

Hmm ... bothers me not that much, tbh. There certainly are much worse parts.

**Posted by zeratul** May 6, 2014 12:45 pm

Yes of course there are worse parts.
But I still do not like this one... Well it is maybe "Berufskrankheit" as I am trained to look at every little detail... A cross I have to bear as a software developer... I think this is why it bothers me that much.

**Posted by polomare** May 6, 2014 2:34 pm

Forgive the language student in me, but can I ask does "Berufskrankheit" commonly have a light or joking connotation to it in German?

In English we have the saying "occupational hazard" which is almost always used satirically. But a strict translation of Berufskrankheit - occupational disease - sounds in English like something a coal miner would say to describe his bad lung condition from years of exposure to coal dust. o.O

**Posted by SusiGo** May 6, 2014 2:48 pm

Don't worry, just ask.

"Berufskrankheit" can be used in a serious or in a satirical way depending on the context. Zeratul was joking but when you are talking about an actual disease caused by occupational hazards you would use the same term. It is also used in law and justice.

Last edited by SusiGo (May 6, 2014 2:50 pm)

**Posted by polomare** May 6, 2014 3:15 pm

Thank you Susi

So many nuances to be careful of when learning a new language...

**Posted by zeratul** May 6, 2014 3:28 pm

Hey, it's great you do so!
Just don't take dubbings as examples ;).

Susi explained it quite right.

**Posted by polomare** May 6, 2014 5:40 pm

Thank you
While we are on the subject of dubbing differences... there's a couple of lines of German dialogue I just can't tune my ears to. In the scene where John punches the Chief Superintendent, the CS says as he walks in the door "Bit of a wierdo if you ask me, often are, these vigilante types". And the DVD subs have him call Sherlock a Spinner and a Bürgerwehr, both of which I get just fine. But the spoken German- I can't decipher it. The first insult I don't get at all and vigilante part seems to be substituted with something that sounds like he would like to be a "Hits Sheriffs". Is that a real thing?

If anybody has a moment to look at it and type out for me the couple lines of dialogue after the CS says "Donovan, haben wir unseren Mann?" right up to the point John punches him, I'd greatly appreciate it!

**Posted by SusiGo** May 20, 2016 9:35 am

Here a link to an interesting little survey on translating Sherlock:

http://stillgosherlocked.tumblr.com/post/144545292658/results2

**Posted by Lilythiell** May 20, 2016 10:58 am

Most interesting link indeed! Thank you

**Posted by Whisky** May 20, 2016 11:22 am

That's a really interesting link.

Especially the finnish one made me laugh out loud. Isn't that what many of us think anyway?

But that means the three doesn't even refer to Mary's pregnancy in the finnish version...

I really would love to watch finnish Sherlock. But I guess it's not dubbed, just subtitled.

Also find the finnish title of Reichenbach Fall ep. quite interesting: loppunäytös
I tried to find out what it means, and translation tells me it means "epilogue"