Translating King of the Hill into any language sounds nightmarish. It takes some effort just to follow it in English, as an American. Lindsey from Rooster Teeth said ‘I don’t understand how this show caught on anywhere outside of Texas.’
This is my favourite kind of mistakes!
It shows you that someone knew enough to pick a word like CALIFORNIA, but for them, A and R looked the same, much like C and O. Something I totally saw with primary school kids learning our alphabet.
It’s like us mistaking 手 and 毛, or 人 and 入, 目 and 日, etc. Looks idiotic when you’re a native, but a fair mistake when you are a beginner.
This shirt stuff sometimes happens in Finland too, in spite of the majority of the population speaking English. A major supermarket chain was selling a child sized t-shirt with the print:
Don’t let people make fun of you for liking japanese culture.
I am living in japan right now and let me tell ya:
There are people here who can’t speak or understand English who play nothing but Missy elliot and ludacris, even in businesses like housing offices and restaurants.
There are people who have cowboy hats and dead cow skulls in their home because they idolize what they assume American homes are like.
There are people who learn English strictly through music videos and American television shows. There are entire karaoke bars with english songs often sung by people who have no idea what the lyrics mean.
Japan often takes American shows like the powerpuff girls and make japanese versions of them.
They often mistake common Americans for celebrities. I have been mistaken for Micheal jordan, tiger woods, Shaquille o’neal, Tyler perry, and saddest of all: queen latifa.
The act of sprinkling English into your japanese sentences is considered cute and cool and is popular with teenagers. Bonus points if you happen to use it correctly.
Japanese stores sell shirts with english on them and people buy them not knowing that most of those word combinations are nonsense.
Don’t let someone shame you for singing an anime opening, using japanese in your sentences, wearing clothing with japanese on it, ect. If anything, this is just one more thing that you have in common with them.
mutant-aesthetic
The American/Japanese cultural exchange is so pure and wonderful and I love it so much
88wingding
OK BUT RESONATE WITH THE SHIRT THING THOUGH
My Chinese relatives buy me shirts from China with English letters on them hoping I think it’s cool
I have a shirt that says “Hi Quality Uality”
It’s amazing
cheshireinthemiddle
[Photo of a man wearing a shirt that reads “Crap your Hands Make noise!”]
[Photo of a shirt that reads “WORLD DIFFERENCE EXECUTE”]
[Photo of a shirt that reads “round eyed LAD dwarf bravery THIS perceive”]
[Photo of shirt that reads “WATER ON THE THIRSTRY SOIL”]
[Photo of shirt that reads “MAKE FUTURE -SO- ROUND”]
[Photo of shirt that reads “MUCH LIKE HOLD”] The “O” in HOLD is replaced with a flower symbol
It happens alot.
downpoursofmoonlitraindrops
And then what’s really great is Americans getting tattoos of Chinese characters thinking they mean one thing when they really don’t
cheshireinthemiddle
[Photo showing a woman’s shoulder, tattooed with “value*”]
[Screenshot of a photo of a wrist, tattooed with “YES”]
[Photo of an arm, tattooed in cursive with “Sky Earth Yuuka”]
[Photo of a shoulder, tattooed in cursive with “Scorpion”]
[Photo of a a man’s torso, tattooed in cursive with “Take care FAMILY”]
[Photo of skin, tattooed in cursive with “I live without regretting all for myself”]
[Photo of a shoulder blade, tattooed in cursive with “Live always thinking that it is the last momnent of the life”]
[Photo of an arm, tattooed in cursive with “FRUNK”]
Also a topic where the reverse happens.
mrelisha26
lemme tell you…i have been in a grocery store in Japan and heard the unedited Get low playin over the intercom…it was literally a Katt Williams moment
cheshireinthemiddle
Oh, unsensored songs are pretty common.
I should not be hearing an unsensored ‘Magic Stick’ playing at a family restaurant.
And the best thing is when literally no one shows that they understand what is being said.
kazoomusic
I was in a Chinese cafe one time and they had obviously put on their “fuck you” playlist. I mean, uncensored versions of Fuck You by Lilly Allen, Fuck You by Cee-lo Green, etc. No one else had any idea.
kazoomusicOh, also, I got my favorite shirt ever in a little tchotchky store in Sichuan:
[Photo of a shirt that reads “I wish that I had never met you” In cartoon balloons the words “TOUCH MY BUTT”“Then there would be mo need to imprese you o need to want you.No Naed for. loring you No need tar crying over you.Noneed for heartbreaks.No nead for paln oru tears.No neard for forgoure promises .nead for”]
cheshireinthemiddle
[Photo of a shirt that reads “BECOME DOOR!”]
[Photo of a woman wearing a shirt that reads “try my delicious SALT BEEF”]
[Photo of a shirt that reads “BE DANCED, OR DANCE”]
[Photo of a woman holding a shirt that reads “IT’S ONLY BABY BORN YOU MAKE ME FEELLIN. DANCING”]
[Photo of a shirt that reads “Hamberger friend” A drawing of french fries“I feel happiness When I eat a him”]
More
misanthropistok
that last one got me holy shit.
geibuchan
i wish i had
never met you
TOUCH MY BUTT
then there would be mo need to imprese you
o need to want you.No naed for. loring you
No need tar crying over you.Noneed for
heartbreaks.No nead for paln oru tears.No
neard for forgoure promises .nead for
joy-in-opera
For every american teenager that is screaming the lyrics to their favorite anime opening, there’s likely at least 1 or 2 Japanese teens singing English profanities at a karaoke bar.
thej-key
I really want that “I’m so fucking future” shirt.
im-the-princess-now
Bro went to Japan and went to a karaoke bar with some high schoolers. They wanted to show me how good their Japanese rap was. Turned on kanye. Fucking sang the word nigga and everything. It was hella based
cheshireinthemiddle[Photo of a text, sent by “Joshua” that reads “My friend that works at Lockheed Martin had a group of Japanese defense representatives touring the plant. While on lunch he heard them arguing over whether King of the Hill is better subbed or dubbed. One even said “Japanese doesn’t express the essence of the characters like English does” this basically confirms that King of the Hill is in fact Texas anime.”]
Add comment