Subtitles or dubbing?

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

It really depends. In Germany, dubbing is standard. I believed it to be pretty well done, and I think that might still be true for movies. But I noticed that I don't like the dubbing of many american shows, since too often, something is lost in translation. I think that might be due to the fact that the stations that dub their shows don't have the same budget as it exists for movies.

I have noticed that I sometimes can't stand switching from orignal to dubbed or vice versa due to the differences in the voice alone. (I couldn't get accustomed to Scrubs, for example.)

I don't think I'd prefer to watch a show on subtitles if I couldn't understand the original languages at all, but it's okay if I am not accustomed to the voices and accents of the actors yet. (I needed that for Firefly at the beginning, for example.)

 

[Brown Jenkin]

What about the english viewers?

Bye
Thanee

I enjoy British TV where they dub American shows with British voice actors. I've seen some good dubs of Gweneth Paltrow where they get the syncing perfectly. I also like it when they dub British Actors with American voices like in House.

 

[DonTadow]

I watch a lot of foreign horror and anime and I prefer a great dub, but I often use only subtitles because that seems to be nonexistant. I have seen one movie that had a good dub in the last 5 years that i've actually kept the dub on the whole time and that was bio-zombies. Not that it was great voice acting,but the cheesy adlibs worked with the bizarnesss of the movies.

 

[Arnwyn]

For me, it's:

Live-Action: Subtitled.

Animation: Dubbed.

 

[Goodsport]

Subtitles almost all the way. The only time I can stand dubbing is in the vien of comedy watching old Hong Kong kung-fu movies.

That's my stance too.


-G

 

[Blackrat]

I'll just echo the most and say subs .

 

[Goodsport]

Subtitles

Even if I don't understand the language, a lot can be lost by removing the tone and context of how the dialogue was originally delivered.

Very true, and it works both ways.

Case in point: my sister can't stand Pee Wee Herman and how he sounds/acts. When my family visited our relatives in Brazil about a decade ago, she was suddenly amazed at the dubbed episode of Pee Wee's Playhouse on TV she happened to catch there.

"OMG!" she gasped to my uncle, referring to Pee Wee's 'new' suave Portuguese 'voice', "Pee Wee doesn't sound like such a bad guy here!"


-G

 

[Ltheb Silverfrond]

When I was younger I watched several anime 'dubbed' and then later watched the subbed versions. I found that the subbed versions feel like a whole different story with different theme emphasis. (Even if the dialog is the same)

So for me, I prefer Subtitles in movies unless the dubbing is of high quality and the Voice Actors are appropriate.

 

[sckeener]

I prefer subtitles. However I might be biased as I am deaf in one ear. I prefer subtitles so I don't miss anything.

That said sometimes it doesn't matter. I've had a couple of animes (Cowboy Bebop is the one I can remember) that the dubbing and subtitles were the same. Then there are horrible sub/dubs such as Princess Mononoke and Spirited away. Turn on one or the other, but not both. Two different stories.

I know they pick words sometimes for timing concerns when doing a dub, but sometimes it makes absolutely no sense why they chose the word they did except if they are trying to appeal to a certain market

 

[Ranger REG]

What about the english viewers?

Bye
Thanee

Actually, my next question is going to be:

Who find it annoying, American viewers reading the Queen's English subtitles, or non-American Anglo-English-speaking viewers reading American Standard English subtitles?