Dubbed or original language and

[TravelingChris]

NM

Edited September 19, 2018 by TravelingChris
not sure how an unfinished old message suddenly popped up

[Petrichor]

Dubbed, unless it's a language that I can somewhat understand (even if I only understand ~50 words.)

I tend to mostly only watch shows while multitasking though. Subtitles means I need to stay glued to the screen.

That said, in a movie night context, subtitles are fine for me, and maybe even preferred (because you get a sense of what the producer meant it to sound like.)

[stephanier.1765]

I like subtitles. I find that I'll pick up a little of the foreign language while doing so. Plus it bugs me when mouths and speech don't match up. So distracting!

[Beaniemom]

At our house closed cationing is on all the time so subtitles are not a problem for me. 

[Lanny]

Answering for my wife. She watches a lot of movies. Her native language is Colombian Spanish.  She does NOT like to watch movies that are dubbed into Spanish. She says that usually the translation is off and the spoken Spanish is poor (usually Mexican Spanish) and that a lot is lost "in the translation". She prefers to watch movies in their original language, to get the full effect, and with Spanish subtitles to help her with any English she doesn't catch.

[TravelingChris]

I like to watch crime dramas and have been watching a lot of international ones.  Usually, I understand at least some of the language though recently I watched a Finnish one and I certainly didn't understand a single word before watching it.  I really cannot tolerate dubbing.  It is so annoying to me.  Last week, I watched my first Russian crime drama (and I was so surprised about how much I did understand) and as usual, Russian language, English subtitiles.  Then I tried to watch a French show this week and it was dubbed until ds told me how to change that to original language and English subtitles. I was just so surprised that Netflix decided all of a sudden that I want dubbed like their idea is that everyone likes dubbed better than subtitled.

 

[PrincessMommy]

I hate dubbed movies and find it incredibly distracting.  I voted subtitles. 

[PrincessMommy]

nm... somehow this ended up in the wrong thread... oops

Edited September 19, 2018 by PrincessMommy

[Chris in VA]

We watch a lot of foreign films. I like the subtitles. I think my hearing isn't that great (but it's not showing that much of a loss on testing) anyway, so subtitles are helpful. LIke princessmommy I think dubbing is distracting. 

[lailasmum]

Original language and subtitles. I'm not a fan of dubbed tv or films, I find it so distracting. 

[Junie]

Subtitles drive me crazy.

I have never watched a foreign film, but I have been recently watching American films in a language that I would like to learn.  I  pick movies that I know fairly well, so that I already know what is happening.  Many times I will work on something else while the movie is playing, so subtitles would be ineffective.

[Mergath]

Subs > dubs. I can't stand dubbed tv. The translations are usually SO bad. Dd insists on watching Miyazaki dubbed and I always want to scream and run out of the room.

[Lady Florida.]

I also watch a lot of international crime shows and I much prefer subtitles. Dubbing is way too distracting. Plus, as others said, it's kind of fun to pick up some words in the original broadcast language.

[Daria]

I don't think I've ever watched a dubbed movie except that time when I went to see Crocodile Dundee 2 in what was then the Soviet Union, and they had actors standing at microphones in front of the screen reading the translations of the actor's part live. 

Subtitles don't really work for me, because I frequently go to another browser window and do stuff while I'm listening to a movie or TV show.  I just don't do well with having to pay visual attention for any length of time.  On the other hand, dubbing doesn't appeal.  So, I just watch English language movies, and read foreign language books. 

[Lady Florida.]

57 minutes ago, Daria said:

I don't think I've ever watched a dubbed movie except that time when I went to see Crocodile Dundee 2 in what was then the Soviet Union, and they had actors standing at microphones in front of the screen reading the translations of the actor's part live. 

 

The funniest dubbed movie I ever saw was in Belgium. It was nasty, rainy weather so we were stuck in our hotel room. The movie musical State Fair (or Oklahoma - I always get the two confused) was on tv. The dialogue was in Flemish then every so often they'd break out into song in English then go right back to dubbed Flemish. 

Edited September 20, 2018 by Lady Florida.

[Arcadia]

The subtitles can be hilarious. Most times they are done well but sometimes they can look like the product of google translate. We sometimes turn on subtitles for Chinese shows so kids can follow along despite their still limited Chinese vocabulary. Sometimes the translations are too literal. 

We watched Frozen in Deutsch with English subtitles as a social event at my kids German school. The subtitles was for parents and grandparents who may not understand German. The subtitles were not the lines from the English movie version but the translation of the German movie version. 

[Joules]

I have a hard time watching anything in a language I don't understand. I have hearing issues, so I use a combination of subtitles and lipreading to watch TV.  My small fluency in lipreading and speed reading make it where I don't have to stare at the subtitles the whole time. If the movie is dubbed, what I do hear doesn't sync with the lipreading. If it is subtitled, what I read doesn't sync with the lipreading. Both make my brain crazy. 

So the only foreign things I've been able to enjoy are dubbed ones that aren't dependent on visuals. I listen at a high volume or with headphones, do other work, and just listen.