Translating the confusion over the 5g rollout in Malaysia

If we have subtitles in Parliament showing the true intent of the MP speaking, it would make for very entertaining viewing indeed…. — 123rf.com

Translations are tricky things. Take for example, what can be found in the Bahasa Malaysia subtitles of the hit animé show Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (鬼滅の刃).In one episode, a character defeats another and says, “お前にはまだ早い”. I don’t understand Japanese, but if I run that through Google Translate, I get “It’s too early for you”. You might expect the BM version to read “Masih terlalu awal untuk awak”, or even “Kamu masih belum bersedia” might be acceptable. However, the BM translator for this particular episode decided to try something a bit more gempak (awesome) and opted for, “K**** belum berbulu dah sibuk menggatal”.

If you’re wondering, the “K” word I obscured here is a body part that is not fit to print in a family newspaper. (And no, it’s not “ketiak” or “kepala”, ie, armpit or head.) Something was clearly lost in translation.