Found in Translation

Chine se Mamma Mia!
In 2011, the hit show Mamma Mia! made its debut in China, proving for the first time that it was
possible to adapt a Western musical for Chinese theater. Forget literal translation—the team even
incorporated Shanghainese slang to give the dialogue a local flavor. The cast also performed
Mongolian and Tibetan folk dances that did not appear in the original. In fact, the adapted version
included the Twisting Yangko, a traditional dance from the Chinese countryside with movements that
imitate the action of planting rice. That’s definitely something you won’t see on Broadway!
It’s Raining Falafel
In contrast to opera, Hollywood provides entertainment for the masses. One

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measure of the success of a blockbuster is how many ticket sales it generates in
other countries. Movie titles are critical for luring the crowds to the theater.
Often, those titles include creative wordplay, double meanings, and other
things that just don’t translate very well. So they have to be adapted for other
countries.
Just take the film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. For the Israeli market,
a decision was made to hold the meatballs. Instead, its title was changed to the
more culturally relevant Rain of Falafel (
). Some movie titles, when
translated, give away more details about the plot. For example, Woody Allen’s
movie Annie Hall was launched in German with the title Urban Neurotic (Der
Stadtneurotiker), while in Latin America it became Two Strange Lovers (Dos
extraños amantes).
The recent comedy Knocked Up became Slightly Pregnant (Ligeramente
embarazada) in South America, while in Italy the title went toward the other
end of the spectrum, Very Pregnant (Molto incinta). In French Canada, the title
was the rather straightforward Surprise Pregnancy (Grossesse surprise).
Similarly, the movie American Pie transformed into Hot Apple Cake (Heißer
Apfelkuchen) in German, while in Mexico it was translated as Your First Time
(Tu primera vez).
How about the movie Lost in Translation? Was its title rendered faithfully
into other languages? Not exactly. In Brazilian Portuguese the title was
Meetings and Missed Meetings (Encontros e Desencontros), while in European
Portuguese it was Love in a Strange Place (O Amor É um Lugar Estranho), and
in Italian, Love Translated (L’amore tradotto). In Polish and German it turned
into Between Words (Miedzy slowami and Zwischen den Welten), and in Latin
America it became Lost in Tokyo (Perdidos en Tokio). But these translations
pale in comparison with our favorite. In French Canada, the title was translated
as Unfaithful Translation (Traduction infidèle). Somewhere out there, there’s a
translator with a great sense of irony, and, we’re willing to bet, a knowing
chuckle.