bowler hat and leather boots

[sergebroom]

It has been said that to translate is to betray, or that meanings are lost in the process. It’s not always the case though, and can even be the opposite.

Take The Avengers, for example.

Does a story about avengers sound like something where the male lead has been described as someone who fights mad scientists with all the care he’d give to opening a bottle of champagne, and who opens a champagne bottle with all the care he’d give to fighting mad scientists?

Does the title convey that atmosphere of whimsy?
Anything but that.

Compare that to the show’s title in French. It was called Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir, which means Bowler Hat and Leather Boots.

Now that sounds whimsical.
I think.

I wonder if other languages went for a literal translation of the original, or a translation of its spirits.

Comments

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Ah hah! I think it might translate as vieille pomme, or old apple, in French.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Hmm.......