Firefly Lost in French Translation

Jaynestown

This article is part of a series of reviews analysing the translation work for the French dubbed Firefly series and movie(s). It is intended for anyone who would like to know a little better how a French audience would perceive Joss' wonderful creation.

Introduction to this series
Previous review: Our Mrs. Reynolds
Next review: Out of Gas

General comments

The French translators did a good job on this episode. My biggest complaint is that every single Chinese line was removed.

They changed magistrate Higgins son's name from Fess to Fass. It probably was a good idea since "fesse" (with the last e being silent) means buttocks in French! Of course Fass is also pronounced the same way as "face", which has the same meaning in French and in English. But "face" is definitely a better name than "buttocks" for a magistrate's son!

They did not dub the Hero of Canton song. They decided to use subtitles instead. This was a good decision. It is my conviction that a song is rarely as good once translated into another language.

Translation score: 4/5
Chinese score: 0/6

Chosen Excerpts

The various excerpts analyses are formatted like this:
In red is the original line.
In blue is the French translation replacing the original lines.
In green is my English translation of the French lines.
In regular text is my personal comment on the translation work for the excerpt.

KAYLEE
Bye now. Have good sex.
Au revoir. Éclate-toi bien surtout.
Bye now. Have a good time above all.
This completely invalidates Simon's expression since the French expression is not inappropriate.

ZOE
I outrank you.
Ça te changera.
That will be a change for you.
Less banter, less fun!

SIMON
Son of a bitch!
Mais c'est pas possible!
This is not possible!
The first time (?) we hear Simon swear, and they remove it? It ruins the build up of the first scene.

HIGGINS
But I only make the people I own use my title.
Mais je ne demande qu'à mes gens de m'appeler par mon titre.
But I only ask my people to use my title.
Inara's subtle disgust to these words is not warranted because the allusion to slavery is absent.

RIVER
So we'll integrate non-progressional evolution theory with God's creation of Eden.
Alors nous intégrerons la théorie créationniste avec la création d'Eden.
So we'll integrate creationist theory with the creation of Eden.
This looks like a mistake from someone not familiar with biology and/or religion. It makes no sense but the impact on the story is negligible.

WELL-DRESSED MAN
I'd advise we all just lay low for the moment.
Je vous conseille donc d'attendre l'instant propice.
I advise you to wait for the right moment.
It removes the justification for his reaction in a later scene where he is appalled by the fuss around the hero of Canton.

JAYNE
Fought the law, eh?
Et vous avez gagné, hein?
And you won, eh?
Jayne would be much more impressed by an outlaw than by a winner. Jayne's face, and psychology, better fits with the original line.

HIGGINS
30 feet?
30 pieds?
30 feet?
It should have been translated to "9 meters". You may find it an annoying pet peeve of mine, but I cannot admit that, in 500 years, the international system of units won't be universally accepted.

INARA
Jayne? Jayne Cobb? You're talking about Jayne Cobb?
Jayne? Jayne Cobb? Tu connais Jayne Cobb?
Jayne? Jayne Cobb? You know Jayne Cobb?
She already knows that he doesn't from the previous dialog. This question doesn't make any sense, unless we decide to put it on account of her confusion.

JAYNE
And that's... I guess that's somethin'.
C'est bien, c'est courageux, c'est beau.
It's good, it's courageous, it's beautiful.
All of Jayne's speech is a bit more articulate in French and this line is the best example. This is not a reproach 'though.

SIMON (to Kaylee, about his propriety)
You're never letting go of that, are you?
Quelle est la question qui t'intrigue encore?
What is the question that puzzles you now?
No comments.

MAL
It's my estimation that every man ever got a statue made of him was one kind of son of a bitch or another.
Si tu veux mon avis, je pense que tous les hommes qui ont une statue érigée à leur effigie ne sont pas forcément des héros.
If you want my opinion, I think that every man that got statues made of them were not necessarily heroes.
It's a bit less punchy.

That's it. Thanks for reading!

Michel

Previous review: Our Mrs. Reynolds
Next review: Out of Gas