Line #27 Woolseyism/OtherMedia


1	[[AC: Advertising]]
2	* The Slap Chop commercial has Creator/VinceOffer use the DoubleEntendre "You're gonna love my nuts" as he prepares to chop some peanuts. In the Spanish-language version, he says "Mira mi huevo" (look at my egg) as he is about to chop an egg. "Huevos" are Spanish slang for testicles, the equivalent of "nuts" in English.
3
4	[[AC: AsianAnimation]]
5	* The English dub of ''Animation/BoonieBears'' incorporates a number of pop-culture references that weren't in the Chinese original. For example, in Episode 1, when Logger Vick sees Bramble for the first time, he threatens to use a Music/JustinBieber CD to fend him off in the English version when he just asks him to go away in the Chinese version, and the Chinese version of Episode 8 contains no reference to ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' from Logger Vick like the English version does.
6	* As shown in the title of ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'', Weslie's name in Chinese is the quite generic-sounding "Pleasant Goat". Every goat and wolf has a name along the lines of "''color/emotion'' + ''species''". These names don't sound nearly as generic in Chinese due to linguistic differences (as several of the names [[PunnyName contain wordplay associated with the characters' personalities]] in the original work), but the translations opted for unique names that vaguely kept the feel of each character's associated personality.
7
8	[[AC: Manhwa]]
9	* The English adaption of ''Manhwa/Ragnarok1997'' gives several places and character names pulled from Norse mythology, whereas in the original the names kind of brought together about a million different world mythologies; for example, a summoned dragon originally named after the Babylonian ocean god Tiamat was changed to Nidhogg. Of course, this created a different problem because the comic is supposed to tie into ''VideoGame/RagnarokOnline'', which used the original names.
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11	[[AC: Music]]
12	* [[Music/TheSmiths The Smiths]]...in Ukrainian? It really really helps that this language has a slang term that means the same, scans perfect and even begins with the same letter. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZPtnuPKyu4 Batyar...lovedida...]]
13	* Due to [[Music/TheBeatles The Beatles]] reaching worldwide fame in 1964, Berlin recording studio Odeon Records insisted that the band re-record their biggest hits ("She Loves You" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand") in German. This resulted in the releases of "Sie liebt dich", a very straightforward translation, and "Komm, gib mir deine hand"[[note]]"Come, Give Me Your Hand"[[/note]], which was likely due to the literal translation "Ich möchte deine Hand halten" not matching the song's 4/4 measure.
14	* The famous western song "Oh! Susanna" got some changes in the Spanish translations: The "With my banjo on my knee" part is slightly changed to "Pronto estaré junto a ti'' (Soon I will be with you), in order to make it rhyme with "Oh, don't you cry for me" (Spanish: No llores más por mí). Likewise, the "For I come from Alabama" line is replaced with "Pues salí de mi casa" in some translations, in order to remove any reference from the U.S.
15	* Foreign language versions of songs are often completely rewritten rather than translated, as it's pretty rare for a song to rhyme in more than one language.
16	** Example: Music/PetulaClark speaks fluent French and has a fairly large French-language following (notably in Quebec where she has frequently performed). Her signature song "Downtown" has a French version, "Dans le temps," which has nothing to do with the original subject of the song, instead being a nostalgic song about lost love (although with some "city" imagery). But the phrase ''dans le temps'' (approximately "in the good old days") ''sounds'' very similar to "downtown."
17	** Another example: the lyrics to "O Canada" are completely different in French (the original) and English.[[note]]In French: "O Canada, land of our forefathers, your brow is wreathed with glorious garlands..."[[/note]] The English lyricist basically just took the melody of an existing French-Canadian patriotic song and wrote his own words to it, but they ended up being regarded as equivalents, especially once the song became the unofficial (and later the official) national anthem and needed to be bilingual.
18	* Music/RadioTapok is a Russian artist who mainly does Russian-language covers of songs originally in English. He's pretty creative about getting his translations to fit both the beat and the spirit of the original lines. This sometimes requires him to get more impressionistic, such as his version of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOI9VHSq_ns "To Hell and Back"]], whereas [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRow6G5wQIw&t=2s "The Attack of the Dead Men"]] is almost a 1:1 translation.
19	* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Internationale The Internationale]]'', the all but official anthem of worldwide UsefulNotes/{{Socialism}}. Fitting for it's name, ''The Internationale'' has been translated into almost every major language and then some - each version adapting the lyrics to work for the language in question.
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21	[[AC: PuppetShows]]
22	* When ''Series/{{Star Fleet}}'' was distributed to England, the dubbing team was given an overly literal and uncleaned up translation. Dubbing director Louis Elman brought in American writer Michael Sloan (creator and writer of series such as ''Series/{{Master Ninja}}'' and ''Series/{{The Equalizer}}'') to adapt the scripts. Sloan added many terms such as "hyper speed", "quantum power", "parsecs" and "militons" to this adaptation, and giving most of the characters sensible name changes, whilst keeping the storyline.
23
24	[[AC: NewspaperComics]]
25	* In the eighties, there were [[DuelingDubs two different Norwegian translations]] of ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'': one in which he kept his original name, and one in which he was named ''Pusur''. The former tried to stay close to the original text, while the latter sometimes altered the text completely, changing the content of entire storylines (a sequence where Jon and Garfield are watching a horror movie is changed to having them watch a crappy vaudeville show, complete with references to very obscure Norwegian celebrities). TranslationWithAnAgenda was also a common occurence. Eventually, the former school of translation won out, but the name ''Pusur'' remained and became canon.
26	* In ''The Pre-History of ComicStrip/TheFarSide'', Gary Larsen discusses a change that was made in one of his cartoons before it was distributed to foreign markets. In the cartoon, a ship drops a microphone into the water to record whale songs, and a whale swims up to the microphone and sings "Louie Louie". In some foreign markets, the whale instead sings "Singing in the Rain". Larsen admits that "Singing in the Rain" was funny, and writes that the song change was probably due to "Louie Louie" being less well-known outside of the US.
27	* One Polish translation of ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' renamed it [[PunnyName "Kelvin & Celsjusz"]][[note]]Kelvin and Celsius[[/note]], while the Finnish one renamed it "Lassi ja Leevi" after Lars Levi Læstadius. The Norwegian name of the strip is [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Tommy og Tigern]] [[note]]Tommy and the Tiger[[/note]].
28	** In one strip, Calvin complains about "the lack of sex education" because the English language doesn't have grammatical genders. When it was translated into Norwegian, which ''does'' have grammatical genders, "Tommy" instead complains about grammatical genders being politically incorrect.
29	* A handful of ''{{ComicStrip/Garfield}}'' strips have Garfield's mouth becoming stuck open after a big yawn. When Jon sees what has happened and asks if there's anything he can do, a Spanish translation has Garfield respond "Yes, take this and make sure no flies get inside" while holding out a rolled up newspaper, referencing the Spanish-language idiom "En boca cerrada no entran moscas",[[note]]literal translation: "Flies can't enter a closed mouth"[[/note]] which roughly means "don't say the sort of things you might regret later".
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31	[[AC:TabletopGames]]
32	* TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering:
33	** The Italian version of [[http://www.magiccards.info/cfx/en/74.html Volcanic Fallout]] is "Pioggia di Lapilli" ("Rain of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapilli Lapilli]]"), the Italian [[http://www.magiccards.info/wwk/en/41.html Tideforce Elemental]] is "Elementale della Marea Selvaggia" (approximately "Savage-Tide Elemental"), and the Italian [[http://www.magiccards.info/roe/en/165.html Splinter Twin]] is "Gemellare" ("Twinning").
34	** This can result in a pun which cannot easily be retranslated back to English. The card [[http://www.magiccards.info/roe/en/32.html Lightmine Field]] was translated into Italian as [[http://www.magiccards.info/roe/en/32.html Campo Illu-Minato]] - "illuminato" meaning "illuminated" and "minato" meaning "mined" in the sense of having explosives placed in it.
35	** The Slivers - HiveMind creatures, each of which grants abilities to all the others - are known in Italian as "Tramutanti", from the same root as English "transmute".
36	* [[Tabletopgame/YuGiOh Yu-Gi-Oh!]]:
37	** In what may be the most amazing translated name, the card called "Mind Hack" in Japanese was astonishingly renamed ''[[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Mind_Haxorz Mind Haxorz]]'' in the English translation.
38	** Other cards that had "death" in the name were translated as "Des," for cards such as "Des Koala" and "Des Frog." Initially just a Bowlderization. Then comes "D.3.S. Frog" (a fusion of three Des Frogs), which in Japanese was "Gaeru San-Death"; literally "Frog 3-Death", but also a pun on "Gaeru-san desu", meaning "I'm Mr Frog".
39	** The Frog archetype is full of this, as the entire archetype is just Japanese puns on "frog". One of the better ones is "Underworld Frog", whose name sounds like "yomigaeru", or "return to life", reflected by its revival effect. This was changed to "Treeborn Frog", punning on "Reborn Frog."
40	** And then you have the card "Tasukeleton" in the OCG (a zombie pig you can banish to negate an attack). Its TCG name? "Bacon Saver".
41	** The archetype named "Ritua" in Japan (as in, a corruption of [[GratuitousEnglish the English word "ritual"]]) was changed to "Gishki" in the English game, a corruption of "gishiki", [[KeepItForeign which means "ritual" in Japanese.]] The feel was preserved, and a pretty good name in its own right was created.
42	* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'':
43	** The French translation of the [[{{FunetikAksent}} ork tellyporta]] from is "téla-tépula", a corruption of "T'es là, t'es plus là", which would translate (in orkspeak) as "you iz here - you izn't here no more". An orkier description of a teleporter you will not find. Similarly, shootas and choppas become "ki'tir'" ("Qui tire") and "ki'coup'" ("Qui coupe"), "(thing) that shoots" and "(thing) that chops" (though the former was later renamed "fling'", based on French slang for "gun").
44	** Taken to new heights with the 7th Edition Ork codex, which added the Tellyport Blasta, a weapon capable of {{telefrag}}ging the enemy: The French translation is the brilliant "Boum Tépula" ("Boom you'z gone").
45	** In the Italian translation, the Deff Dread was translated as "Zkatola di Morte", something like "Da Box of Deff", while the Kommandos became "Guaztatori", which would be translated back as something like "Spoila Boyz" and Warbikers, while are usually translated with the bland "Orki Motociklizti" ("Bika Orks") in other pieces of lore are shortened to "Motorkociklizti" ("Motorkbikas")
46	** The best Italian translation, however, is what they did with the Bolters, who were renamed with the more suggestive (and fitting with the Imperium way of naming things) "Requiem guns".
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48	[[AC:{{Theatre}}]]
49	* Brian Hooker's excellent translation of ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac''. He substituted lines and allusions to Creator/WilliamShakespeare and Marlowe which were appropriate to the classical French theatre quoted in the original text. This inspired Anthony Burgess to use the same approach in his own translation 50 years later.
50	* The Metropolitan Opera adaptation of ''Theatre/DieFledermaus'' by Howard Dietz and Garson Kanin is usually not a literal translation but fairly close; it gives actual lyrics to the refrain of the waltz ensemble whose original German text is "duidu, duidu, la la la la la." Sometimes, however, they couldn't be bothered to do anything more literate than a BetterThanABareBulb spoof, as in the IrrelevantActOpener which now ran, "It's the kind of libretto where we all are at a ball."
51	* The English version of ''Theatre/LesMiserables'', as opposed to its "Concept" version, released in French some years before. "At the end of the day", for example, takes all the best from "Quand un jour est passé", gets rid of the less effective lines and most importantly is easier to sing. The original lyrics are impossibly hard to articulate clearly; the translation is more musical because of the added alliterations, etc. Another stellar example is "Castle on a Cloud," which manages to make Cosette's characterization and sadness shine through much better.
52	** In the Japanese version, Jean Valjean's prisoner number is changed from 24601 to 24653 (in Japanese, "Ni-yon-roku-go-san") in order to preserve the vowel sounds of the last two numbers.
53	* The British version of ''Theatre/{{Spamalot}}'' changed the song "You Won't Succeed on Broadway" to "You Won't Succeed in Showbiz". They also changed the jokes about Jews to stars for fears the the British audience wouldn't understand it due to the U.K.'s small Jewish population.
54	* In the original Italian sources for ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', there's no etymological connection between the heroine's name, "Giulietta," and the month of July, which in Italian is "Luglio." Shakespeare followed the tale's other English adaptations in Anglicizing "Giulietta" to "Juliet," and added that she was named thus because (as the Nurse mentions) she was born on the last day of July, which suits the passionate, "summery" nature both of Juliet herself and [[HotBlooded most of the other characters.]]
55	* The Hungarian translation of ''Theatre/AvenueQ'' makes Music/MichaelJackson the washed-up superintendent instead of Gary Coleman, since Coleman isn't as well-known in Hungary. The joke about Coleman working on Avenue Q because his parents stole all his money is changed to Jackson losing his estate after a lawsuit from two young boys (after Jackson died, the joke changed to him overspending and then faking his death).
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57	[[AC: WebComics]]
58	* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': During her first encounter with Heartful Punch, Undine briefly mentions what she believes to be a rogue MagicalGirl, but as she isn't ready to talk about it yet, she tries to make a VerbalBackspace from "she" to "it's" -- causing Heartful Punch to snicker that [[HehHehYouSaidX she accidentally said "shits"]]. In the French translation, Undine instead stutters on the word "cacher" (to hide), prompting Heartful Punch to point out that she accidentally said "caca", a juvenile term with the same meaning.
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60	[[AC: WebOriginal]]
61	* ''WebAnimation/AttackOnMika:''
62	** Mina's story has a brief one. In the original [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5uEktra6JA Japanese version]], when she complains she forgot her pen, the last boy says she can borrow his battle pencils. In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHGAE47yGCY English version]] however, that line was changed to "smelly markers" since battle pencils aren't well known outside of Japan.
63	* The Swedish dub of ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' has several examples of this.
64	** Bakura is changed from British to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scania Scanian]], with appropriate cultural references changed (like eating [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spettekaka spettekaka]] instead of bangers and mash). Likewise, Joey is from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stureplan Stureplan]] instead of Brooklyn.
65	** As the final ''Literature/HarryPotter'' book had been out for years when the Swedish dub of episode 23 was released, the book Téa had spoiled was changed to the final ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]'' book, and her ship is changed from [[CrackShip Harry/Hedwig]] to [[YaoiFangirl Edward/Jacob]].
66	** There's also this change in dialogue:
67	---> '''English!Mokuba:''' Let's go find [[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} the genie]] voiced by Creator/RobinWilliams and [[TheOtherDarrin occasionally]] by Creator/DanCastellaneta.
68	---> '''Swedish!Mokuba:''' Let's go find the genie voiced by Dan Ekborg, who also played [[WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} Hades]].
69	* ''WebAnimation/{{Hololive}}'': The following is a non-exhaustive list
70	** Momosuzu Nene's greeting is, "こんねね！", a portmanteau of "konbanwa" (good evening) and her name. This is changed to "Good after-nene!" in English translations.
71	** Takane Lui's greeting, "皆さん待ったかね~?" literally meaning, "Everyone, did you wait [for me]?" is translated as, "Did I Lui-ve you waiting?", changing the pun on Takane to one on Lui.
72	** Pekora's VerbalTic of "-peko" is instead replaced with various puns on the term.
73	** Ayame's use of the phrase, "Yo dayo", a strange and roundabout way of saying, "It's me", is translated as [[YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe "'Tis I"]].
74	** [[WebAnimation/HololiveHoloNoGraffiti Holo No Graffiti]] titles
75	*** "風邪ひくってば" (I'll catch a cold!) -> "The Cold, Hard Truth"
76	*** "祈れば服がはじけ飛ぶ" (Pray and your clothes will fly off) -> [[Music/TheDreadnoughts "Sleeve Is for the Weak"]]
77	*** "だるまさんから異次元に突入する方法" (How to enter another dimension via Daruma) trades out the references to the Japanese game Darumasan ga Koronda for its Anglophone equivalent, red light green light. Appropriately, the episode is titled, "Red Light, Red Flags".
78	*** "みんながメロメロになる衣装" (Costumes that will make everyone melt) -> "The GOAT Fit"
79	*** Kobo's introductory episode, "天気を操る女の子！あめあめふれふれ～！" (The girl who controls the weather! Ame-Ame-Ame-Fure-Fure~!)[[labelnote:note]]"Ame" means rain, while "fure" can denote negation[[/labelnote]] -> "Rain, Rain, Fall Away" in reference to the nursery rhyme.
80	*** "自己肯定感が乱高下するメイド" (Maid with wildly fluctuating self-esteem) -> "Self-Esteem [[MemeticMutation Stonks]]"
81	*** Anya's introductory episode, "武器でーす✌(^ ^)✌" (It's a weapon ✌(^ ^)✌) -> "Film/LethalWeapon"
82	*** "海でバンドしよう！！" (Let's [play as a] band at the beach!) -> "[[VideoGame/SeaOfThieves Sea of]] [[{{Pun}} Band-its]]"
83	*** "埋蔵金を掘り当てろ！！" (Dig for buried treasure!) -> "From RichesToRags".
84	*** "夏なんて無くなれ～" (Summer is gone) -> "Summer, Summer, Go Away"
85	*** "4人の絆で乗り越えろ！！" (The bond between the four of you will get you through!)[[labelnote:note]]The four being the members of Hololive 5th Generation[[/labelnote]] -> "[[Literature/AChristmasCarol Bah, Humbug]]", in reference to the episode featuring various insectoid reinterpretations of the cast.
86	*** "守護ってあげるよ！" (I'll protect you!) -> "[[MemeticMutation Must Protecc]]"
87	*** "マヨネーズは飲み物" (Mayonnaise is a beverage) -> "It's May, Yo!" (The episode was released in May)
88	*** "スマホなくしちゃった！！！！！" (I lost my phone!!!!) -> "Lost and Phoned"
89	*** Calliope's introductory episode, "死神に魂を刈られてみる" (Let TheGrimReaper mow down your soul) -> "Reaper What You Sow". Additionally, the episode contains the phrase, "Gokai nan desu!" (There's a misunderstanding);"Gokai" can mean both fifth floor and misunderstanding, with Shion misinterpreting it as the former. In the translation, this is instead changed to, "We're not on the same page here!" "Well, yeah, [[LiteralMinded we're on the roof!]]"
90	*** Kiara's introductory episode, "メニューを覚えきれないハンバーガー屋" (A hamburger shop that can't remember its menu) -> "Forgetaburger", in reference to the Texan fast-food chain Whataburger.
91	*** "行こうぜ！スピードの向こう側へ！" (Let's go! Go beyond speed!) -> "[[Film/TheFastAndTheFuriousTokyoDrift Holo Drift]]"
92	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}''
93	** The criminal Roman Torchwick mockingly refers to protagonist Ruby Rose as "Red". The Japanese dub changes this to "Akazukin", the Japanese name for Literature/LittleRedRidingHood -- which doubles as a MythologyGag since Ruby's character design was explicitly inspired by the character.
94	** While the series still haven't gotten its own Korean localization, but Korean fans refer "Faunus" as "Suu-in" (수인/獸人), which literally means "human with beastly characteristics"/"anthropomorphic animal" or simply [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom "furry"]].
95	* In ''WebVideo/BackstrokeOfTheWest'', although the script has some wacky moments, there's one particular exchange that's memorable for being particularly poignant and dramatic in the midst of the silliness. Rather than the original exchange from ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', where Anakin accuses Obi-Wan of turning Padme against him, we get this.
96	-->'''Anakin''': [[TranslationTrainWreck Is you let her rebel me!]] (You turned her against me!)
97	-->'''Obi-Wan''': This is ''your own'' masterpiece. (You did that yourself!)
98	* ''WebAnimation/HazbinHotel'': In the Japanese dub, Katie Killjoy's "Tooth and nail" pun doesn't really work since that isn't a phrase in Japan. Instead, she uses Cherri Bomb's name as part of a pun to call Tom Trench a "Cherry Boy", a Japanese slang term for "virgin".
99	* ''WebVideo/YidLifeCrisis'': Many Yiddish (or French) terms are translated into something more familiar to English-speakers, often goyish English-speakers (which leads to the surreal experience of Yiddish being subtitled with Christian terms).
100	** "Tabarnac"[[note]]Literally "tabernacle", but [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_French_profanity a swear in Quebecois French]][[/note]] is variously translated as "Jesus Christ" or "What the f--?"
101	** "Gott in himmel"[[note]]God in heaven[[/note]] is given as "Sweet Jesus".
102	%% * ''Website/{{Neopets}}'' does it with their own site ''sometimes''.
103	* As Website/TVTropes goes from language to language, tropes occasionally get names that are neither direct translations nor bland descriptions. For instance, the French version of AllOfTheOtherReindeer, Fr/VilainPetitCanard, instead references the fairytale ''Literature/TheUglyDuckling'', while the German version of GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff is De/AmerikanerLiebenRammstein (Americans Love Music/{{Rammstein}}). On the Russian site, TheScrappy is [[Franchise/StarWars The Despised Jar Jar Binks]], since ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' is too obscure there to even be mentioned on the page as of April 2018. Similarly, the ScoobyDooHoax is "[[Literature/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles The Stapleton Plan]]".
104	** The Spanish-language version of the trope NintendoHard is titled "Es/NintenDuro," a portmanteau of Creator/{{Nintendo}} and ''duro,'' a Spanish word for "hardcore."
105	** The Spanish page for {{Eagleland}} is titled "Es/{{Gringolandia}}," ''gringo'' being a disparaging term for a foreigner, especially an American. This helps convey how the trope is about non-American stereotypes of Americans, many of which are unflattering.
106	* ''WebVideo/ScootertrixTheAbridged'': In episode 7, Fluttershy's [[VerbalTic habit of adding "man" to the end of her sentences]] leads the rest of the protagonists to [[OrphanedEtymology wonder what a "man" even is]]. Applejack thinks it's a kind of bread, confusing it with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naan naan]], while The Bird[[note]]Rainbow Dash[[/note]] guesses it may be short for "''man''ticore." The Spanish subtitles change the tic to "tía" (literally "aunt" but also used as slang for "woman" in Spain, like the English word "chick") and alters the others' comments accordingly: Applejack now asks whether Fluttershy thinks she's someone's niece, while The Bird stresses the middle part of "mantícora" to make "man-tía-cora."
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108	[[AC: Other ]]
109	* The name of Tel Aviv, Israel is a Woolseyism: the intent was to name the city after Theodore Herzl's book ''Altneuland'' (An Old-new Land), but this didn't translate well into Hebrew. Thus, to get the idea across, a combination of Tel, refering to an ancient archeological site in the form of a hill, and Aviv, spring (the season), which symbolizes renewal.
110	** In fact, the name "Tel Aviv" came well before the city - it was the original name given to the book by its Hebrew translator.
111	** Moreover, there was a Biblical site named Tel Aviv from which the name was taken, albeit not at the site of the current city. That's allegedly the reason it was chosen - people argued whether to give it a name referring to Zionism or The Bible. [[TakeAThirdOption Tel Aviv was both]].
112	* A phenomenon known as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phono-semantic_matching phono-semantic matching]] is used very extensively in China -- as every Chinese character has a meaning assigned (as opposed to alphabetic or syllabic systems where the characters on their own have no inherent meaning and only represent sound), translators often go out of their way to use characters relating to the term being translated, sometimes even compromising more accurate pronunciation (as opposed to using more accurately-sounding characters that mean nonsense, which is also frequently used):
113	** When Coca-Cola first came to the Chinese market in 1928, there was no official representation of the name in Mandarin, so several shopkeepers interpreted it in different ways. While the right sounds ("ko-ka-ko-la") were used, the wrong ''characters'' were used, producing interpretations such as "BiteTheWaxTadpole" or "Bite the Wax-Fattened Mare". Eventually, an official translation of Coca-Cola was used, sounding fairly close to its name (''Kěkǒukělè'') with the added bonus of meaning (more or less) "tasty and fun" or more loosely/poetically, "Let your mouth rejoice". [[http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/tadpole.asp See here.]]
114	** In Chinese, AIDS is sometimes translated as the descriptive "獲得性免疫缺陷綜合症/获得性免疫缺陷综合症", or more commonly "愛滋病/爱滋病" (''Àizībìng''), the first two characters of which sounds similar to "AIDS" and the last is for "illness". It literally means "disease that breeds through love", alluding to its affinity on sexual contact.
115	** The Chinese name for Belarus is 白俄羅斯/白俄罗斯 (''Báièluósī''), which is a transliteration, but also literally means "White Russia", which is exactly what Belarus means.
116	** "Vitamin" is translated into Chinese into the similar sounding "維他命" (''Wéitāmìng''), which literally means "maintain his life". Currently, this is mainly used in Hong Kong and Taiwan, while Mandarin-speaking mainland China prefer to use "維生素/维生素" (''Wéishēngsù''), which literally translates to "life-maintaining element".
117	** "Saudi" in Saudi Arabia is sometimes transliterated into "沙地" (''Shā dì''), which literally means "sand land".
118	** The largest crocodile ever kept in captivity, Lolong (named after a Filipino), is translated into ''Luòlóng'' (落龍/落龙, or "Fallen Dragon").
119	** The Mandarin Chinese nickname for Music/TheBeatles is "披頭四" ("Pītóusì"), which means "the Four Messy-Haired Ones". Alternatively, their name is also transliterated as "披頭士" ("Pītóushì"), which means "the Messy-Haired Guys". The latter transcription is more popular in Mainland China.
120	** Many country names in Chinese convey deep meanings when you examine the meaning. The United Kingdom's name is "英國" ("Yīngguó") or "the Heroic Nation", Germany's is "德國" ("Déguó") or "the Virtuous Nation"[[note]]The character "德" is a shortening of "德意志" ("Déyìzhì"), which is another phono-semantic match, meaning "the Virtuous Will"; thereby forming the phrase "the Nation of the Virtuous Will". And considering that [[FridgeBrilliance Germans are known for their hard work and productiveness]], the translation makes sense in a way.[[/note]].
121	* Isaac Watts' psalm "translations" for use in the Anglican church. Until the mid-1800s, the Anglican church didn't allow singing of hymns, but metrical translations of the Book of Psalms and other scriptural references were considered sacred enough for use. To hear Watts tell the tale, King David made direct references both to his own far-distant descendant Jesus Christ (by name, no less), ''and'' to the British empire - an international power ruling large amounts of land mass which were completely unknown to the Hebrews in David's time, seated in a nation that had yet to be created. Some of Watts' translations are still in use - "Joy to the World" chief among them!
122	* The ''Franchise/GIJoe'' franchise was renamed ''Action Force'' for the European market, because the phrase "G.I. Joe" wouldn't have meant anything to the non-American audience.
123	* The Music/JonathanCoulton song "Re: Your Brains" has a French version ("Re: Vos Cerveaux") which replaces the line "All we want to do is eat your brains! We're not unreasonable; I mean, no one's gonna eat your eyes!"" with "On veut juste vous bouffer le cerveau! Non, ce n'est pas si bête; ca va pas t'couter les yeux de la tête!" This translates roughly as "We just want to eat your brains! It's not so bad; it won't cost you the eyes from your head!" However, in French, "couter les yeux de la tête" is an idiomatic expression for something expensive, similar to saying something "costs an arm and a leg."
124	* In some fairy tales that feature a WickedWitch that isn't always named, especially "Literature/HanselAndGretel", sometimes the witch is Literature/BabaYaga - as in, the Baba Yaga from Slavic mythologies, seeing as she is pretty much ''the'' Slavic WickedWitch.
125	** There is at least one case when a Sicilian fairy tale was translated to Russian as Literature/BabaYaga. The original was Mammadraga, a similar enough creature in concept, except Baba Yaga isn't usually described with snake hair.
126	* When all of the Latin prayers and other parts of the Catholic mass were translated into various native languages after Vatican II, it was decided that more user friendly translations would be used instead of direct translations.
127	** However, around 2000, the Holy See acknowledged that the required [[MisterSandmanSequence modern English]] translations of 1969 were inappropriate. After about 10 years of research, study, and surveys a new translation with minor changes was released in 2011 under Benedict the XVI. The newer versions stick with words closer to the original Latin such as "consubstantial" or "hosts" (collective now for angels).
128	** In the Japanese version of the Catholic Mass, at the point where most languages use a translation of "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof...", the Japanese say 主よ、あなたは神の子キリスト、永遠のいのちの糧、あなたをおいてだれのところへ行きましょう [[note]]"Lord, you are Christ, the Son of God, the bread of eternal life; if we leave you, to whom shall we go?"[[/note]]. This is because, due to the Japanese tradition of humility and self-abasement, the traditional prayer would be seen merely as common courtesy with no real meaning, and the Japanese bishops have consequently substituted a Biblical passage that would be more meaningful to a Japanese audience.
129	* Manga on Danbooru is an interesting case. Usually the translators will try to keep it as close to source as possible, but occasionally this will happen, almost always with a note stating the literal translation.
130	* The old idiom "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" makes this trope OlderThanFeudalism. A direct translation would be "If you are in Rome, live in the Roman way; if you are elsewhere, live as they do there."
131	* The iconic yellow school bus used throughout North America normally has the words "SCHOOL BUS" displayed above the windshield. However, in French-speaking Quebec, the word "ÉCOLIERS" (schoolchildren) is used instead, as the French translation "AUTOBUS SCOLAIRE" is too wordy to fit there.

Context Woolseyism / OtherMedia