Apex Translations heartily welcomes 2016 and bids a fond farewell to 2015, a year of breaking news of a world in tumult. The brand new year is yet but a babe, taking poised, sensored steps like the driverless car, representative of an unstoppable techno- future, while 2015 has already taken a seat in the past.
In 2016, we will say a final goodbye to the present presidential administration AND to a world-wide phenomenon entitled Downton Abbey, a global hit telecast seen in America, Belgium, China, Argentina, Brazil, Iceland, Russia, South Korea, Australia, and Israel et al and, consequently, dubbed in as many languages. See http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/01/06/how-downton-abbey-has-conquered-world-mandarin-chinese-next
One may ponder how a drama, which portrays an English aristocratic family and its servants as they confront conflict, decorum, war, murder, rape, prison, blackmail, illegitimate babies, secrets, jealousy, sibling rivalry, death, fire, religion, political activists, homosexuality, more secrets, childbirth, the Russian Revolution, military desertion, star-crossed lovers, even more secrets, spite, scorn, and personal tragedies spanning 1912 to 1925, be so popular today? It seems that human sagas really do not alter much from decade to decade in this universe. Add heaping loads of unabashed romance and sentimentality coupled with M-G-M falling snow at just the right Christmas, and, voila, one has an instantly-recognizable human tableau wherever one is born.
If one has gone online to “translate” what is now known as “Downtonisms,” one could learn quite a bit about Edwardian English. When the cook has a personal discussion with the butler of the estate, he interrupts her with, “This is very small beer.”
Translation: “This is a trivial matter.”
An American (or other non-English viewer) could easily be lost here. However, we seek the meaning so we can understand the communication, because the translation is important to us. We want to follow the story as accurately as possible!
Many more expressions can be found on YouTube-Downtonisms and #downtonisms on Twitter.
Translations are needed (even when one speaks English, viewing an English TV series) to readily understand a rabidly popular and addictive program. The translation educates and renders a more rich entertainment experience. As Downton Abbey closes at winter’s end, let’s remember our journey to a hundred years ago and what we’ve learned about a society that needed a little translation here and there, so we wouldn’t miss a meaningful blink or smirk or tear or smile OR……..syllable.
