Workforce Language Services

The movie industry is one industry that truly knows no borders, as Hollywood films are broadcast to audiences all over the world.  But there are both cultural and linguistic considerations when translating movie titles, and they don’t always get them right. 

Some of the translations may seem funny when translated back to English and others may be overly specific, even possibly giving away the ending.  But as movies cross international borders, marketers are placing more importance on how those titles are translated.

Sometimes, titles must be changed to avoid offending the public. Capote became Truman Capote in France because capote is slang for a condom, said Bettina Vogt, president of Cine-Lingua, a Montreal-based company that does translation for the movie business.

But more often, Vogt said, studios are trying to make sure that titles roll off the tongue, no matter what the tongue.

Hence, The Dark Knight is known as Il Cavaliere Oscuro in Italy - an exact translation. But in Mexico, it’s Caballero de la Noche, or Knight of the Night.

“Caballero Oscuro sounds too evil in Spanish,” said moviegoer Viviana Hernández as she waited for her film to start at Mexico City’s Altavista Mall. “People would think it was a horror movie.”

To read the entire article, which includes numerous examples of movie title translations, click here.