#sorry gbruhjfd

[smute]

Hi! I hope you don't mind, but I had a question! I'm learning German, so I don't quite understand the translation errors in the German subtitles? If you have the time, I'd absolutely love to see the breakdown on what each of the translations mean literally, and what they imply figuratively! If not, that's fine too :3 They say you can only get what you ask for! Have a great weekend!

hiiieee! sure, no prawblem! you caught me procrastinating teehee

first off, none of them are really "errors", they mostly just sound very unnatural. but i'll try my best to explain the nuance!

"you better work!" could be translated as "du solltest arbeiten" (lit. = you should work), but obviously it's a highly idiomatic phrase in english and, in this context, used specifically to express approval, praise, and encouragement. that idiomatic meaning is completely lost in translation, so "du solltest arbeiten" ends up sounding like a very forthright request for someone to finish their work/start looking for a job lmao

"please put your hands – and legs – together." this one is extra tricky. "put your hands together" is another idiomatic expression that cannot be translated literally. that in itself isn't really a problem – there are plenty of ways to say "please clap" in german as well. but the double entendre of "put your legs together" as a way of saying "keep it in your pants" is what makes this one complicated. in german, "ich bitte um applaus" (= i ask for applause) does sound kind of formal, but it's also a very common phrase to hear, so by itself it wouldn't raise any eyebrows. the word "züchtigkeit" (= chastity) on the other hand is formal, but it's also a very archaic term, which makes it kind of funny by default. it still has to be presented in the right tone though. exaggerated. (think of it like using "alas" or something similar in english). if it's just in writing, like in this case, and without any further context, the humor doesn't really work, and the sentence in its entirety "ich bitte um applaus und züchtigkeit" (= i [kindly] ask for applause and chastity) just ends up sounding hyper formal and very very odd. imo it would have made more sense to leave the "ich bitte um applaus" alone, and to add a simple "und bitte benehmt euch" (= and please behave yourselves) or something to the end instead. the pun is untranslatable anyway, so why not just make it sound natural?

"sashay, du gehst" is simply hilarious to me. "sashay away" is once again tricky because it's one of ru's catchphrases that you hear aaaallllll the time on the show, but also because the verb "to sashay" doesn't have a direct translation in german other than "stolzieren" (= to strut/prance) or maybe "gleiten" (= to glide), but none of those really match the original meaning. the funniest part for me, though, is the fact that the verb "sashay" becomes a name? or a title? in the german translation? "sashay, du gehst" (= you, sashay, are going/leaving) sounds like ru is addressing someone named sashay. and the verb isn't even in the imperative mood. (which, to be fair, is not always required. something like "du gehst" can be a command, you don't necessarily have to use "geh", but i digress.)

"ich sah nutten mit stiefeln" (= i saw hookers with boots) is honestly... close enough? iirc the original was "i've seen hookers wearing boots" or something to that effect. the main problem here is the tense. in german, präteritum (= simple past) is really only used in writing. there are exceptions of course, but in regular conversation you would almost always use perfekt (= present perfect). "ich habe nutten mit stiefeln gesehen" would sound much less formal, and a little modal particle would make it sound even more natural: "ich habe schon nutten mit stiefeln gesehen." but the fact that the more formal sounding präteritum is combined with the extremely derogatory term "nutten" is what makes this one extra funny.

"dass ich durch diese türen schritt, ist überwältigend." (= that i strode through these doors is overwhelming) FGZDSHJ💀 okay. now. german word order is very flexible. TECHNICALLY, you can use all sorts of sentence patterns to express the same thing, but they do change the tone and emphasis of a statement. putting the subordinate clause ahead of the main clause is absolutely fine, but it does sound a little strange in this case. "es ist überwältigend, dass ich durch diese türen schritt" sounds a TINY bit less stilted, but once again, the präteritum "schritt" is the main problem. i can't remember what he said in english, but it definitely wasn't "strode" 🤭 and the verb "schreiten/durchschreiten" (= to stride/stride through) itself is kind of formal already, so yeah. "es ist überwältigend hier zu sein/hier zu sein ist überwältigend" (= it is overwhelming to be here/being here is overwhelming) or even "es ist überwältigend, dass ich hier bin/hier sein durfte" (= it is overwhelming that i am here/was allowed to be here) would sound much more natural. usually subtitles benefit from brevity but if you really wanted to keep the door bit in there, you could probably say something like "es ist überwältigend, dass ich (überhaupt) durch diese türen gehen durfte" (= it is overwhelming, that i was (even) allowed to walk through these doors). in writing, clarity and precision are prioritized and the formal tone isn't usually an issue, but when translating subtitles of casual dialogue i would always suggest you keep it simple 😂

"ich garantiere dir, du bleibst hier" (= i guarantee, you stay here) is honestly not that bad. it sounds a little silly, but at least it rhymes! works well as a catchphrase imo. of course, it has absolutely nothing to do with "shantay, you stay", but i honestly cant think of a better alternative, so im not gonna complain lmao. "du darfst abtanzen" (= you may dance off = you may waltz off/leave) is also... a choice gsfhrgfhrgfh but again. not the worst. "abtanzen" is kind of playful, and with the word "tanzen" (= to dance) in there i guess there's at least a distant semantic connection to the english "sashay"? imo it works well in the entertainment/show biz context as a playful way of telling a contestant to leave the stage.