B2HistóriaSéries2 min
Lost in the Subtitles
A Ines traduz legendas de séries — e uma única piada ocupa-lhe uma noite inteira.
Uma história sobre o trabalho por trás das legendas. Repara nos modais de suposição (must have, might, could): mostram como a Ines pensa nas personagens.
Most people who watch a show with subtitles never think about the person who wrote them. Ines likes it that way. If nobody notices her work, it means she has done it well.
Her job has more rules than most people would guess. A line of text may only be so long, and it has to stay on the screen long enough for an average reader. That means she often has to say in seven words what a character says in fifteen. "You do not translate the words," she likes to explain. "You translate what the person means, in the time you have."
Jokes are the hardest part. Last week she spent a whole evening on one line in a comedy about two sisters who run a hotel. One of them makes a joke that depends on a word with two meanings. In German, there is no word that works the same way. Ines tried eleven different versions. Some were correct, but nobody would laugh; others made her laugh but did not fit the picture, because the sister is pointing at a large fish while she says it.
In the end she wrote a different joke about the fish. It must have worked, because her editor, who usually changes something in every file, sent it back with a single comment: "Love it."
Ines knows that some people might call this dishonest. The original joke has disappeared. But she believes that a joke which nobody laughs at has also disappeared, only more slowly.
Most people who watch a show with subtitles never think about the person who wrote them. If nobody notices her work, Ines is happy. If nobody notices her work, she has done it well.
Her job has a lot of rules. A line of text can only be so long, and it has to stay on the screen long enough for people to read it. So she often has to say in seven words what a person in the show says in fifteen.
Jokes are the hardest part. Last week she worked a whole evening on one line. Two sisters in the show have a hotel. The joke uses a word with two meanings. In German, there is no word like that. Ines tried eleven different versions.
In the end she wrote a new joke about the fish on the table. Her editor usually changes something in every file. This time she sent it back with only one comment: "Love it."
Some people might say that this is not fair. The first joke is gone. But Ines thinks that a joke nobody laughs at is also gone.
Um clique numa palavra procura-a no vocabulário deste sítio.
Mais frases sobre isto em «A língua em uso»: Inglês em séries e filmes
- Palavras
- 252
- Frases
- 19
- Palavras por frase
- 13,3
- no vocabulário
- 100 %
- nível medido
- B1
- Tempo de leitura
- 2 min
Gramática neste texto
Estas formas aparecem no texto em uso real. Com «Mostrar gramática», por cima do texto, ficam destacadas a cor.
must have worked
Uma dedução sobre o passado: It must have worked — pelos vistos, resultou. Os modais no passado →
might call
might exprime uma possibilidade: alguns poderiam chamar-lhe desonesto. may, might, be allowed to →
who usually changes something in every file
Uma relativa entre vírgulas acrescenta uma informação: her editor, who usually changes something in every file, sent it back. As relativas explicativas →
As palavras a partir de B2 neste texto
Não as palavras difíceis em geral, mas as do teu nível: todas as 3 das 141 palavras deste texto estão em B2 ou acima. Tudo o resto já conheces quando chegas aqui.
comedy
a comédia
B2dishonest
desonesto
B2editor
o diretor de redação
B2
As listas de palavras deste texto
As palavras deste texto estão em 29 listas deste sítio; o número a seguir diz quantas vêm de cada lista. Quem leu o texto acabou de precisar precisamente destas palavras — e pode praticar exatamente essas.
Perguntas de compreensão
5 perguntas sobre o texto. A cada resposta aparece a frase em que ela está — uma pergunta cuja resposta não se encontra no texto não avalia nada.
1. Como sabe a Ines que fez um bom trabalho?
Lê o primeiro parágrafo.
Repara na palavra «notices».
If nobody notices her work, it means she has done it well
2. Porque é que a Ines tem muitas vezes de encurtar frases?
Lê o início do segundo parágrafo.
Repara em «only be so long».
A line of text may only be so long
3. Porque é que a piada sobre as irmãs era tão difícil de traduzir?
Lê o terceiro parágrafo.
Repara em «two meanings».
depends on a word with two meanings
4. O que fez a Ines no fim?
Lê o quarto parágrafo.
Repara em «In the end».
she wrote a different joke about the fish
5. Como mostra a revisora que gosta da solução?
Lê o fim do quarto parágrafo.
Repara na palavra «comment».
sent it back with a single comment