Thursday, August 13, 2015

How Exactly Do You Say "KKRAAAAKK-DOOOOHMM!" In Russian, Anyway?

So, the other day, this little bit appears in The Moscow Times:
The use of words such as "bang," "crash" and "wow" in Russian comic books is unpatriotic and should be avoided, Russian translators said.
Russian newspaper Izvestia reported on Monday that a group of translators of Russian comics penned a letter addressed to the Vinogradov Russian Language Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences suggesting that all onomatopoeic words be replaced with indigenous versions.
OK, Vladimir Putin...it is ON!!

Seriously, it's always kinda of fun that most languages have their own, distinct onomatopoeia for sounds. Look, for example, at all of the way different languages might translate a dog's barking:

Man, it's a wonder dogs from different countries can even communicate...

So, I imagine that it gets even more difficult when you're trying to transliterate the odd POW or KRAAAAKAAA-DOOOOOOOMMMM into another tongue.

Still, unpatriotic? Really? Yes, Russia has indeed uncovered our plot to use comic book sound effects to undermine their culture and pollute their precious bodily fluids. Drat!!

Anyway, someone let me know when the Kremlin figures a way to translate this:


...or this:

Good luck, comrades.

BONUS: An encyclopedia of comic book sound effects (English ones, at least...)
at

3 comments:

  1. SinaSeptember 12, 2015 at 5:10 AM

    It took me a while :) n' I don't kno' y I dint think of it rite away :P but apparantly, it would go a little something like this, *ahem*..."КРААААКААА-ДОООООООММММ !!!" :D

    You're welcome B)

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  2. SinaSeptember 12, 2015 at 5:18 AM

    And, really, I think his point was that while the dialogue in the comics & their word balloons mite b translated into natural Russian, etc. the sound effects, being in the background & more or less considered to b part of the artwork rather than the stories proper, were left as is n needed to b translated as well :) it's b kinda like having Japanese comics published here with the dialogue changed but the background sound effects still in Kanji or watever, etc. :D

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  3. Warren JBJuly 25, 2016 at 10:14 PM

    Don't worry about the dogs: they'll get on fine.

    http://www.asterix.com/the-a-to-z-of-asterix/characters/huntingseassen.html

    But coming from a country where it's illegal to create satirical depictions of Putin, this doesn't really surprise me. Wouldn't surprise me if he start wearing green robes over a full-body suit of powered armour.

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