[lit-ideas] Re: "The African Language" (Was: Julie's Query)

At 10:53 AM 7/30/2004, you wrote:
>In the old Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies, do you suppose the script
>writers used real words from an African language or just made up syllables
>that sounded African to Americans.  If the latter, wouldn't that be "African
>language"?

I have to laugh at the translations that I notice in movies. It is never 
totally accurate and often very amusing.

I notice endless title changes in the French movie listings in our local 
TvGuide, so that a move called "Top Gun" will turn into "Reckless Pilots" 
or something like that. If I'm watching a subtitled movie that is in 
Spanish or French or Italian, I will often notice hilarious changes because 
of idiomatic expressions that are basically untranslatable. There was a 
Western on one night and it had French subtitles. Gabby Hayes says to some 
other dude "I gave them some dynamite and told them to smoke it. They 
smoked their heads off". But the French said "The tobacco was too strong".

My partner is a Phillipina and if we watch a Filipino movie that has 
English Subtitles she will constantly laugh and say "that's not what they 
said!" I'm sure others of various extractions have noticed similar things 
in their respective languages.

Who knows whether the "African" in Tarzan movies was real. I'm still trying 
to figure out what Mr. Magoo was saying most of the time.

mumblin sumpthin,
paul

##########
Paul Stone
pas@xxxxxxxx
Kingsville, ON, Canada 

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