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Answerman - Do Dubs Really Contain More Swearing?


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mgosdin



Joined: 17 Jul 2011
Posts: 1302
Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 12:13 pm Reply with quote
Thanks to his time spent in the Philippines, courtesy of Uncle Sam's Army, my dad had a collection of words ( Many anatomical in nature. ) that the Japanese POW's he worked with used. So, as I've encountered them in various shows I always look to see how the translator handled them. Very entertaining.

Mark Gosdin
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Merxamers



Joined: 09 Dec 2013
Posts: 720
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 12:22 pm Reply with quote
Reminds me of when i'd find amusing scanlations where the characters inexplicably swear like sailors, vs. the cleaner-mouthed official english translations.
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CatSword



Joined: 01 Jul 2014
Posts: 1489
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 12:39 pm Reply with quote
You wanna know a dub with a lot of added swearing? Sgt. Frog. And it was hilarious at times, but definitely kept the show off Cartoon Network.

"Stupid f[bleep]ing Kululu!"
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Bastille



Joined: 01 Jun 2011
Posts: 70
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 12:39 pm Reply with quote
Merxamers wrote:
Reminds me of when i'd find amusing scanlations where the characters inexplicably swear like sailors, vs. the cleaner-mouthed official english translations.


They're amusing up until the point where you find people trying to use them to complain that the English release or the anime adaptation are being censored/toned down. Seems to happen more often nowadays, though thankfully it's also a bit easier to prove them wrong.
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MrFox123



Joined: 12 Oct 2016
Posts: 22
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 12:44 pm Reply with quote
Merxamers wrote:
characters inexplicably swear like sailors,.


Almost equally amusing is whenever a discussion comes and uses such an old outdated phrase Laughing


Last edited by MrFox123 on Wed Oct 19, 2016 12:48 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Parsifal24





PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 12:46 pm Reply with quote
I can remember when I watched The High School of The Dead dub there was a lot of swearing in it so I turned on the subtitles to see if there was a difference and it was completely different usually the part where a person used a curse word was not what was used in the subtitle script.
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Selipse



Joined: 04 Sep 2014
Posts: 216
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 12:48 pm Reply with quote
Being Mexican, it feels really weird how there's no swear words in Japanese. Swear words are like the flesh and blood of the Spanish language, especially in Mexico. Honestly, even swear words in English sound soft and inoffensive. I'm always puzzled by how so many people seem to get riled up over a cute little "fudge" or "shit".
Having said that, some English swear words do have quite a fine ring to them. Japanese just has literally nothing. On the other hand, Japanese has whole different ways of speaking, so even though you can't have a swear word or two in the middle of your sentences to spice them up, there's that "yakuza-talk" that sounds really fun.

Anyways, everything does have its time and place. I actually agree in that I don't like it when there's just too much swearing, and with Spanish being so colorful in that regard, we get a lot of people who think the mere act of saying a bad word is comedy. It's why I didn't use to like South Park, since the Spanish dub just made it a swear-spouting machine. When I later watched the English dub I realized it did have actual jokes and was actually really great.
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Satoshi Batista



Joined: 17 Oct 2016
Posts: 13
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 1:04 pm Reply with quote
I'd heard the same thing about "curses" not being censored but things that could be construed as bigoted being removed. I can't remember exactly what it was (someone more familiar with the show can probably help) but I'd read that a planet name in Sgt Frog had to be changed for the TV adaptation because it was a pun on an old racist name for China.

It's interesting to see the different context for the same words in different countries too. "Colored" being a preferred term for a mixed person is especially shocking to me. My grandma always used to tell me "colored" is just a socially polite way to call someone the N-word.


Last edited by Satoshi Batista on Wed Oct 19, 2016 1:18 pm; edited 1 time in total
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consignia



Joined: 06 Jul 2011
Posts: 391
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 1:04 pm Reply with quote
I do find swearing in different languages fascinating. I believe it's Dutch were to be rude, you use illnesses. Apparently cancer is a real conversation stopper.
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explosionforgov



Joined: 16 Jun 2016
Posts: 80
Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 1:12 pm Reply with quote
For me, it all boils down to a few questions:

1. How accurate is it to the original script? Some writers curse more than others.
2. If it isn't accurate, is it at least in-character for whoever is cursing?
3. If it's toned down from the original, is it because they plan to air the show on TV? I honestly don't mind edits if they don't detract too much from the show, and if it's meant to achieve a wider audience.
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Touma



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 2651
Location: Colorado, USA
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 1:13 pm Reply with quote
Satoshi Batista wrote:
I'd read that a planet name in Sgt Frog had to be changed for the TV dub because it was a pun on an old racist name for China.

That is correct.
It was actually the name that the Keronians use for Earth that was changed to "Pekopon."
Just to be clear it was changed when the anime was made. It was not done for the English dub.
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Satoshi Batista



Joined: 17 Oct 2016
Posts: 13
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 1:18 pm Reply with quote
Touma wrote:
Satoshi Batista wrote:
I'd read that a planet name in Sgt Frog had to be changed for the TV dub because it was a pun on an old racist name for China.

That is correct.
It was actually the name that the Keronians use for Earth that was changed to "Pekopon."
Just to be clear it was changed when the anime was made. It was not done for the English dub.


Ack I'd meant TV adaptation not dub. These damn dub discussions must be mentally influencing me.
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5400
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 1:20 pm Reply with quote
Thanks for that explanation Justin. It is very informative and useful.
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Stuart Smith



Joined: 13 Jan 2013
Posts: 1298
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 1:23 pm Reply with quote
Satoshi Batista wrote:
I'd heard the same thing about "curses" not being censored but things that could be construed as bigoted being removed. I can't remember exactly what it was (someone more familiar with the show can probably help) but I'd read that a planet name in Sgt Frog had to be changed for the TV dub because it was a pun on an old racist name for China.


That was a manga to anime change not a dub change, actually.

However you are correct and that some English translations like change things they might find less than politically correct. It seems like in every American dub for Dragon Ball Roshi is toned down severely. A lot if his dialogue is changed to be less forward and lewd. Maybe Funi didn't like him being so "rapey" or whatever. Other dub have stuff like gay jokes taken out but half the time it's to make it fit on a TV broadcast here, so who knows if there's a political reason behind it beyond that. I imagine the closest we'll ever know is if a company goes full political like FUNimation did with their Gamergate line in Prison School

-Stuart Smith
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Lostlorn Forest



Joined: 03 Apr 2014
Posts: 544
Location: USA
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 1:26 pm Reply with quote
It's funny, the more legally you watch a show or read a manga the more tame the language becomes. Which means I've been living a lie since there doesn't seem to be that harsh a translation over in Japan for the fouler of words we have over here.

I guess it doesn't really matter though. It's not as if dubs serve as verbatim English-language translations of the original subs. Learned that from several comical DR3 instances of "You perfect cinnamon roll" and "Kamakura Yas queen" Rolling Eyes
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