Should narratives justify different language speakers being able to understand each other?

[the-pi-guy]

It largely doesn't bother me. It has to happen to make certain stories possible.

I have watched two very similar shows about a character getting trapped in another world. (Amphibia and The Owl House).


In one of them the fact that everyone speaks English makes some amount of sense. Because in that show they are shown to have a connection to Earth. They are shown to buy books from this world for example.

In the other one, it doesn't make sense. No such connection exists.

[kitler53]

entertainment should be entertaining.  

I'll deal with subs if I'm watching anime or other foreign made entertainment but I find subs to try and be "realistic" kind of disrespectful to the consumer.  

it can sometimes makes sense.  it didn't bother me that firefly had an occasional Chinese word in there.  but subs are a lot of effort I'm not typically willing to read.

[Legend]

It bothers me a lot just because it's not hard to do right. Either explore the dynamics of multiple languages so subtitles aren't needed that much (game of thrones, avatar 1), or be direct that it's an English "dub" over their foreign language (rings of power, avatar 2).

entertainment should be entertaining.  

I'll deal with subs if I'm watching anime or other foreign made entertainment but I find subs to try and be "realistic" kind of disrespectful to the consumer.  

it can sometimes makes sense.  it didn't bother me that firefly had an occasional Chinese word in there.  but subs are a lot of effort I'm not typically willing to read.

I'm surprised how popular subtitles are becoming. The majority of young people watch tv with subtitles most of the time.

Meanwhile I watch foreign films with dubs  

[the-pi-guy]

entertainment should be entertaining.  

I'll deal with subs if I'm watching anime or other foreign made entertainment but I find subs to try and be "realistic" kind of disrespectful to the consumer.  

it can sometimes makes sense.  it didn't bother me that firefly had an occasional Chinese word in there.  but subs are a lot of effort I'm not typically willing to read.

I was moreso thinking should stories put in an effort to explain why everyone speaks English?

Like if you're going to an alien planet, does it need to be part of the story that the reason the humans can communicate with the aliens is that the aliens invented a translator?

Or in Avatar, it was explained at the start that they were teaching them English.

Or in Atlantis, it was explained that the Atlanteans spoke a dialect that all other languages basically descended from. (which might be a bad explanation linguistically, but people who don't understand might be able to go with it).

I'm surprised how popular subtitles are becoming. The majority of young people watch tv with subtitles most of the time.

Meanwhile I watch foreign films with dubs  

I use subtitles a lot.

There's just so many shows/movies with bad audio mixing or bad other things. If it's good I don't bother with subtitles.

Feels like with streaming services making subtitles so easy to turn on, that it feels like it makes more sense than it might have 10 years ago even.

Subtitles also help when you have loud children.  

[kitler53]

I use subtitles to watch good forgien made content too...

...but the OP's premise is saying Disney's frozen would have been a better movie if it was in Norwegian language with subtitles since it's location was Arendelle which is based on the Norwegian town of Arenda.

it's in English because it's a movie for the English audience and no further explanation is required.



I don't need content in space like Star wars or Star Trek or whatever to be in an alien language or even justify why it is in English.

[the-pi-guy]

I use subtitles to watch good forgien made content too...

...but the OP's premise is saying Disney's frozen would have been a better movie if it was in Norwegian language with subtitles since it's location was Arendelle which is based on the Norwegian town of Arenda.
it's in English because it's a movie for the English audience and no further explanation is required.
I don't need content in space like Star wars or Star Trek or whatever to be in an alien language or even justify why it is in English.

You don't seem to understand what the thread premise is. This thread has absolutely nothing to do with dubs or subs. This is not about how the audience interacts with the movie.

This isn't about the movie Frozen being in English or the movie Mulan being in English.


This is more about, if Anna and Mulan were to meet somehow. Two people that shouldn't be speaking the same language, for some reason speaking the same language.
Or if you have a movie about aliens, where the humans and the aliens interact with each other. Do you feel the narrative has to justify somehow that in that TV show or movie that English and Alienese are somehow the exact same language?

And secondly I'm not even saying that it makes the movie/tv show better. I'm just asking people here how much they care about that.

I was moreso thinking should stories put in an effort to explain why everyone speaks English?
Like if you're going to an alien planet, does it need to be part of the story that the reason the humans can communicate with the aliens is that the aliens invented a translator?
Or in Avatar, it was explained at the start that they were teaching them English.
Or in Atlantis, it was explained that the Atlanteans spoke a dialect that all other languages basically descended from. (which might be a bad explanation linguistically, but people who don't understand might be able to go with it).

I'm absolutely baffled as to how you read these examples, and thought "oh OP is wanting Atlantis to be dubbed in a made up language."

[kitler53]

read yo OP. maybe specifically your thread title. 


...and in wreck-it-ralph 2 all of the Disney princesses met.  thankfully they didn't take a moment to explain their ability to communicate.

[the-pi-guy]

read yo OP. maybe specifically your thread title.

Thread title fair enough. But I'm having a hard enough time explaining the premise in a paragraph let alone a sentence/thread title.

OP is clearly talking about interdimensional beings that somehow all speak the same language, which in those happens to be English.

One even happens to have another language, that is canonically just English with a different writing system.

...and in wreck-it-ralph 2 all of the Disney princesses met.  thankfully they didn't take a moment to explain their ability to communicate.

That doesn't mean that Wreck it Ralph logic applies everywhere.

It's also largely about the internet, so characters can canonically speak whatever.

Not the same thing as a serious alien movie.

[BananaKing]

Honestly I prefer it that they speak English. Its just easier and more fun. Allows better acting, and I dont need to read subs. Anyways I dont mind a cheap way explaining it like "translator chips" or "translation mode in their helmet/suit" or whatever.

[the-pi-guy]

 

[the-pi-guy]

Hopefully the most expressive title yet.

[Legend]

Hopefully the most expressive title yet.

Eh, I liked the first one more  

On a similar note, I love belter speak in the expanse. Still english yet it gives them so much more personality.