Question Help with English phrasing

Discussion in 'Translator's Corner' started by natsume_serenade, Jan 8, 2023.

  1. natsume_serenade

    natsume_serenade Well-Known Member

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    Hello, I need help translating a phrase.

    The word is 坑爹. According to Baidu it is “a buzzword on the Internet, literally means “cheating daddy” and “pit daddy”. After being widely used, it is extended to mean “deceiving people” and “how could this be?”. It is used to describe situations that are very different from the original idea. Often used in sarcasm, ridicule, or complaints.”

    My current translation is “... TV dramas were really unreliable. In those, it was not uncommon to see a certain brother hiding in a tent plotting with eunuchs, and throwing things around the moment he gets angry. How desperate and brainless. Who would dare to do it? In a word, some TV shows were really a scam.

    But the joke is lost, you notice? So I just wanted to figure out a way to translate it in a funny manner since it's a meme reference, but I don't know how, does anyone have an idea? Thanks!
     
  2. ToastedRossi

    ToastedRossi Well-Known Member

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    "In a word, some TV shows were really lies."

    It's less important to try to translate specific words and phrases and more useful to try to communicate the meaning instead. Sure, you're going to lose some of the feel of the original, but that's sort of inevitable anyways.
     
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  3. trash-ocean

    trash-ocean Member

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    I understand the desire to keep jokes / meme references, but I agree with ToastedRossi that it's more important to keep the meaning clear.

    However, I feel like you could use something like "fake news", which is a similar level of memetic buzzword (but probably more politically charged) that keeps the meaning clear.

    "In a word, some shows were just fake news."
    "In other words, their writers liked to present alternative facts."
     
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