Foreign Cuss Word: Difference between revisions

 

Compare [[Pardon My Klingon]], [[Unusual Euphemism]], [[Did Not Do the Bloody Research]], and [[Foreign Language Tirade]]. Sometimes an adjunct of [[Poirot Speak]]. Often a way of [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]].

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* ''[[Konjiki no Gash Bell]]'': [[Ensemble Darkhorse]] Victoream regularly uses the phrase "Very shit" on a show generally targeted at a younger age group. Generally translated for American audiences as "Very bad".

** VERY MELON

** The first line of [[The Movie]] is Iceland saying "[[Oh Crap|Oh skít]]"

* [[Genshiken]] Had a whole slur in the anime episode where one of the American otaku compliments ogiue on her Yaoi doujinshi, in the manga the words were blurred out, but in the anime, no censorship was given since the American spoke English, leading a lot of viewers to a very sudden 'when Chihiro spooged all over his glasses it was so hot! And then he started to butt fuck him and-" more or less.

** [[Crowning Moment of Funny|"You fatherfucker!"]]

** "FUCK YOU, BITCH!"

 

 

** The literal translation is ''just'' "Don't joke with me", as it's simply a contraction of the phrase "Fuzakeruna yo!". While this grammar usage is indeed ''really'' rude ("-na" suffix' dictionary definition 'IS'' "suffix for rude verb negation"), it's not strictly swearing. But in Japanese the more you maim the word in pronunciation, the ruder it gets, so the correct translation of the title would be indeed "Don't fuck with me". Yes, it's [[Mind Screw|that kind of language]].

* [[Dave Barry]]'s column "Europe on Five Vowels a Day" gives three "idiomatic expressions" commonly used by foreigners, with translations. "Ach du lieber!" and "Caramba!" are both translated as [[Gosh Dang It to Heck|"Darn it!"]] The French phrase "Zut alors!", however, is translated as, "Look! A lors!"

* [[Dale Brown]] is fond of making characters drop into untranslated, say, [[Gratuitous Russian]] oaths.

* [[Ernest Hemingway]] made extensive use of this in ''For Whom The Bell Tolls.'' The Spanish-speaking characters have their dialogue written in [[Blind Idiot Translation|awkwardly literal]] English, but expletives [[Bowdlerise|appear as]] "muck" and "befoul" and even "obscenity" ("Go and obscenity thyself"). However, when the Spanish is left untranslated, it's "mierda" (shit - noun), "cagar" (shit - verb, as in "take a shit") and "joder" (fuck - both the verb and the interjection) all the way.

* ''[[Top Gear]]'' is fond of letting non-English speakers express themselves. The best example was probably the ''Top Gear'' vs. ''D-Motor'' challenge, where the Germans were cursing with great passion. English subtitles were provided that made them sound like an English granny in a very mild snit.

* In the [[Covert Affairs]] episode "Begin the Begin", Annie has to protect an Estonian asset, who, upon getting shot at during a car chase, launches into a string of what are presumably profanities in Estonian, given that {{Omniglot Annie}} responds, "You have some mouth on you."

 

 

* Used frequently in the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' games which feature communities foreign to America: they (mostly Hispanic) swear in their home language (it's easier to hear whenever you cause a traffic accident), but other languages are not exempt (Portuguese-speaking players are guaranteed to get a laugh in ''IV'' when they hear a driver - very rare though<ref>The Portuguese community in Liberty City is located in Alderney, which is not unlocked until halfway into the game</ref> - yelling "vai tomar no cu, filho da puta!", which means "kiss my ass, son of a bitch!").

* Interesting case in [[Tales of the Abyss]]: Asch often calls Luke "drek" as a placeholder title and insult. The word is indeed uncommon, but not completely unheard of in North American English and it was likely brought over from the German language where it carries the meaning of "trash" or "inferior goods", hence Asch's usage of the phrase. However, the original Yiddish version of the word, predating the German use, is much stronger and harsher.

 

 

== Webcomics ==

* ''[[Two Kinds]]'': What Flora says when she breaks her foot is apparantly "untranslatable".

* ''[[The Dreadful]]'': Erin's final words are [[Defiant to The End|"Leck mich."]]<ref>Short for "Leck mich am Arsch.", literally "Lick me on the ass.", German version of "Kiss my ass."</ref>

 

*** Foreign exchange students in South Africa can't believe Afrikaans uses words like 'vak' (subject) and 'kant' (side). 'Kies' means 'choose', so the joke goes, Choose your side and subject...

** Fairly frequent in Quebec, too, with fuck and shit being seen as overall quite mild (and perfectly acceptable on prime-time television), compared to Quebec's [[Black Speech|vast array of liturgy-based swearwords]].

*** In the 1970s, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (a native French speaker) told a group of striking truck drivers to "mangez de la merde".<ref>Translation: Eat shit.</ref>

** A reference in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr_bizbxTiU this Dutch ad] ([[NSFW]] language).