Posted by Jukka Aho on 11/02/06 22:52

Martin Heffels wrote:

>> I can confirm that the Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland, Norway,
>> Denmark, Iceland) and the Netherlands belong to [the list of
>> countries that prefer subtitling, rather than dubbing, as the
>> primary translating technique for foreign-language tv shows and
>> movies, but I don't know about the others

> In the Netherlands this is only done for children's movies, but for
> the rest everything is shown in original language. Belgium same thing.
> I know Italy and Germany still redub.

Yes, imported children's movies and tv shows - especially those of the
animated variety - are an exception in the Nordic countries as well. For
example, Fraggle Rock, Teletubbies, Bear in the Big Blue House, and Bob
the Builder got dubbed in Finnish here because they were primarily
intended for age groups that (supposedly) can't read yet. The Muppet
Show, The Simpsons, and South Park were/are subtitled because their
audience (supposedly) can. Disney animations (those released to the big
screen with big ad campaigns) have gotten a special treatment: there
have been both (re)dubbed and subtitled copies with the original
soundtrack in theatrical circulation.

I'm only talking about animations, muppet shows, and the like in the
above, for the simple reason because it is an extremely rare occurrance
to see (re)dubbed live action movies or tv shows here. If you see
something like that, it is almost guaranteed to be a theatrical release
of a children's movie, for children of very young age. Even in tv news
shows, there are never voice-over translations for inserts where foreign
languages are spoken. People say what they say in their own language,
and whatever they say is subtitled.

10 years ago (or so) a local network aired an episode of "Bold &
Beautiful" (the American daytime soap) which was dubbed in Finnish, as
some kind of joke. This special episode was advertised well in advance,
and a lot of people who don't normally watch the show tuned in just to
see and hear how a Finnish dub of a foreign-language tv show would
_look_ like (since those just don't exist, in the normal Finnish
experience.) The broadcaster got lots of negative feedback and hate mail
from concerned viewers who thought that the company was evilly trying to
introduce the loathed (re)dubbing practice into the Finnish tv scene.

--
znark

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