Ask Mike: Translating The Simpsons
Hey Guys,
Like a lot of hopeless nerds, I’m a huge fan of The Simpsons. In fact, I have a hard time going more than 15 minutes without quoting it in a way that makes me laugh at my own pseudo-cleverness and leaves others confused and annoyed. Of course, one of the most popular lines from the long-running series is Homer’s “d’oh.” Yahoo! Answers user Shadowzoid wanted to know if there are literal translations for the catchphrase in other languages.
“D’oh” was accepted into the New Oxford Dictionary of English in 1998. Its definition is: “used to comment on an action perceived as foolish or stupid.” Indeed, that just about sums it up. I also learned that in the show’s scripts, the word “d’oh” is never actually used. Instead, it is written as “annoyed grunt.” What a perfectly cromulent bit of trivia for all you Simpsons nerds.
But what does Homer say in other languages when he’s supposed to say “d’oh”? The Simpsons runs in Germany, France, Spain, and many other countries. Apparently, there is no literal translation for the word “d’oh,” but I did learn that in German, Homer apparently screams “nein!” instead of “d’oh.” Odd, considering that “nein” literally translates into “no.” Meanwhile, according to a Simpsons Wiki in Spanish, the word is translated into “¡Ou!” and in French, “due to a pronunciation mistake, “d’oh!” became “t’oh!” Oh la la!
The Los Angeles Times hosts an interesting article on how producers struggled to translate “The Simpsons” for an Arabic office. Turns out that figuring out how to translate “d’oh” was the least of their problems. There were quite a few cultural issues to wrestle with, as well. For example, how in the world do you keep Omar Shamshoon (Homer’s name in the Middle East) funny without allowing him to drink Duff beer? I doubt even Professor Frink could answer that one.
Thanks for reading,
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I always loved saying D’oh!
Hm, I was expecting some controversy over race, and stereotypes but I guess “The Simpsons” have captured peoples hearts globally :]
I originally started watching this TV series in the States, before I moved to France, and the Wiki you came upon is accurate in saying that “d’ oh” is in-fact “t’ oh.”
I believe that my friend has a T-shirt with that exclamation on it…
Thanks for the post! It was most defiantly eye opening ;]
I can confirm that in Spanish, Homer says something like a sharp “Ou” that sounds like a mix of “Ouch” and “Aw”.
The sense is quite different, because D’oh is something you say to comment on an obvious thing, while the Spanish-dubbed “Ou” sounds more like he’s feeling sorry or frustrated about the situation.
Homer is one of my favorite heroes. One of my kids had a writing course in college. She wrote about me and said “my dad is like Homer Simpson in appearance and personality” I am OK with that, I take it as a compliment.
Homer Simpson is funny.I do understand why it might be hard to translate for other cultures though.
i love the simpsons! but i can understand the translation problems…i wonder what the equivalent would be in serbian.
I love Homer! He makes my life better. I am a foreigner myself and in my language, Romanian, they kept the d’oh intact. Long live the Simpsons!!!
are you serious?!?! did you just try to be serious and philisophical about the simpsons? “pseudo-cleverness”?!
i’m sorry, but you are not a simpsons fan. there, i said it.
u don’t show the true insight or appreciation that a real fan shows. your posting is pathetic and i’m not gonna bother pointing out the multiple generalizations that you have made. please do not do this again. if you do decide to, don’t hesitate to email me for some assistance and guidance.
thanks again for trying. keep up the effort.
I live in Australia but my parents are from Cyprus and on a recent holiday I noticed that my cousins over there say ‘DISH!’ (sorta the sound u make while smacking yourself in the head) when they say or do something stupid…that would probably be the most accurate translation in Greek but it wouldn’t work in Greece as I think its something they say in Cyprus only
> I did learn that in German, Homer apparently screams “nein!” instead of “d’oh.” Odd, considering that “nein” literally translates into “no.”
Man, I’m German, and I really love the Simpsons, and “D’oh” doesn’t translate to anything as “Ach, NEIN!” or “Ah, nee” (say: nay), depending on dialect. But I agree with you: The German version of the Simpson’s is really not that good, but it enriched our vocubulary with the word “nukular”.
They translated the Simpsons in Hungary with limited success.They say d’oh,but due to the dynamic and fast dialogues they had to change some of the jokes, because the hungarian equivalent of the english sentence would take more time to pronounce and by that time the next sentence would come. Sometimes this makes the hungarian version abrupt and less funny.
I think the Simpsons are best in english, the voice acting is beyond compare. Too bad the show sucks since season 17.
I always loved Fat Tony’s “I don’t get mad. I get stabby”
I grew up watching the Simpsons but never have much thought much about the language barrier.
It is very interesting to see how things translate around the world.
Increase my killing power aye???
Get em’ Sheba!!
Remember when daddy hit the referee with the whiskey bottle?
I know what you mean..
Long live the Simpsons..
Who are you callin’ hopeless nerd?
I hit my head on my desk yesterday and let out a D’OH! Without thinking about it that had everyone looking at me funny…. but yeah, I will take Homer any day over Peter Griffin, especially the Homer from seasons 3 thru 7!!
“Ow! OWWWWWW!! They’re defending themselves somehow!!” (Being attacked by bees)
Classic.
Hi, i am from the middleeast , I have been hearing about the Simpsons for years but never really sat down and saw the show ,, these days the show is on the Fox serious channel so i decided to see what the fuss is about ,,and you are right it is so funny i love it ,,,I think it would be difficult to translate it into Arabic ……….
I found out those translations just by messing with the language on one of the DVD box sets, I’m sure a big of a fan as you owns one so you can go check it out
I know that they must have difficulties translating the Simpsons in other countries. Yesterday, for example, there was an episode about Native Americans. If you don’t know American History, you wouldn’t understand the humor in that episode.
The Simpsons is a great show. It was interesting to read about the intreptations in other languages.
I was in Germany in December and I switched on the T.V. in my hotel room was on. However Homer did not say ‘nine’ he said D’oh in the original Homer voice. Though his voice the rest of the time sounded nothing like the real Homer and as for Marge she sounded like Selma with a crock in her voice.
Here’s some Spanish Homer:
Homer: “No tele y no cerveza se hace Homer algo algo.”
Marge: “?Va loco?”
Homer: “!Esta bien si hago! GIOULHAEFGPIUTPVOGHWER!!!”
Translation:
Homer: “No TV and no beer make Homer something something.”
Marge: “Go crazy?”
Homer: “Don’t mind if I do! GIOULHAEFGPIUTPVOGHWER!!!”
Whoa… I am not a nerd… I am a geek.. which is way cooler..
I find myself say quoting comic book guy.. and anything I don’t like..
Ex. This Blog
“WORST SIMPSON’S BLOG EVER.
Joking..
It is clear to me that Homer is norwegian. Uffdah is the best and most versatile term in the language surpassing even ‘doh in its range. And uff DAH if hyphenated could be the ‘doh that we all have grown to love.
Go homer! UffDoh
There was no need to translate d’oh. It was added to the dictionary in 1998, well, wasn’t homer using it for many years already? The dictionary reflects the language, it does not dictate it, except maybe in France. And isn’t an annoyed grunt an irked ground soldier? D’oh.
Hmm…then what does hicoramba or nieghborony mean…
I have always loved the Simpsons. Not only because it is the most insightful show on TV, but because of the affinity I share with it. I grew up in Springfield and graduated from Springfield High School. My mom was the Safety Engineer at the Weyerhauser plant, which is what the Nuclear Power plant is based on. I don’t know Matt Groenig at all, but all the the Springfield humor he tapped into certainly exists.
UFF-DA!
i love the simpsons! but you know something i noticed, its never as funny in spanish. i wonder why?
This isn’t really related but do you know where I can find copies of the very first Simpsons episodes from the Tracy Ullman shorts?
About making an arabic version of the Simpsons, actually the answer might be very easy. In a lot of arabic countries, there are large communities of Christians (especially in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Palestine…) So Homer Simspon (or Omar Shamshoon) might as well be an arab christian, so he can drink alcohol and be silly as much as he wants. It might be a positive thing that might change the stereotyped image of arabs, even among arabs themselves. We (being arab myself) tend to avoid any mention of christianity when in muslim societies. So perhaps this show will be able to break the ice and help us overcome our barriers of differences and disparities.
holy frick! have u ever noticed that on the dvr when it’s supposed to say “the first d’oh”(episode title) it says, “the first (annoyed grunt)” and it BUGS ME!! i always find a way to quote it like just today someone told me to try harder(at school) and i said “well i cant promise i’ll try, but i’ll try to try.” LOL! if you dont remember that classic line then you my friends are the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked! but seriously what if the simpson’s got cancelled?i know it wont (at least not in this lifetime) but nothing lasts forever…wait,,, everything lasts forever
and if it does take a turn for the worst, i’ll always have my dvds
PS remember on the newer episode when lisa and her friend make that kingdom? and they had a twonicorn? THEY TOTALLY STOLE TWONICORN FROM ME!!! i am not even kidding! but at least i know that now a part of me is in the greatest show on tv.
just today i said i cant promise i’ll try, but i’ll try to try…Lol and also today someone told me they could read me like a book and how did i respod? of course wwith HAHA u read books! and whenever someone asks me to do something i am constantly saying dead dead dead!!! haha i am the biggest simpsons geek in the entire world! oop i said another one today, what was it? oh yea i had green peppers on a sandwich and i was all like, it’s tangy like a pepper yet crunchy like a bell!!!! and if you dont remember these quotes then you my friends are the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked!!! but dont worry you’ll be ok, cause nothing lasts forever wait,….everything lasts forever
I actually work for the Simpsons Mobile and we have to translate our screen savers and wallpapers into 6 different languages. It’s a difficult task and we always run into problems especially when we have to translate American expressions or slang. Even holiday sayings can be extremely difficult. But the real challange is that the jokes we translate must not only make sense in all the other languages, but they must also meet the joke standard of Gracie Films Marketing President as well. And that’s no easy task.
sry about repeating myself, i didnt think it added it
I love Homer! Everytime we have something really good to eat I will go “Donuts”. My kids get a kick out of me saying that. It is amazing how he has affected our culture. Peace.
One of the funniest Simpsons translation I ever came across was when they had to translate Bart saying “okie dokie” in one of the early episodes into Hebrew here in Israel.
The word for ‘okay’ in hebrew is pronounced beseder.
Since they had to find something to rhyme with it, they turned Okie Dokie into ‘Beseder in the Sweater’ (same word in English and Hebrew).
I thought it was brilliant at the time.
Mannnn I love the simpsons, I have seasons 6-11 and plan to get more.
Ps i’m 16 going on 17 and there will never be an age old enough to stop loving the simpsons.
That’s funny, the blood usually gets off on the third floor…
Lenny: Did you hear something?
Carl: No.
Lenny: Did I?
Carl: I don’t know.
Ahhh!! My eye! the doctor said i’m not supposed to get jigs in it!
Awww, why did i have to slap somebody who says “suh”?
Do you carry a breakfast cereal for people with syphilis?
Oh Lisa, you and your rumors. Bart is a vampire, beer kills brain cells. Now let’s all go back to that building type dealy where our beds and tv…is.
Been watchin since Ullman. BEST SHOW EVER!
My absolute favorite Homer Simpson quote is the one to Bart. “I’m hankerin’ for some spankerin’!”
I also recently found out that the New Oxford Dictionary of English has included ‘meh’ this year. A term meaning boredom or indifference, it was used when Homer asked Bart and Lisa if they wanted to go to the water park..they were watching tv and replied, ‘meh’.
I love The Simpsons!!
Im 14, almost 15. I’ve seen almost every episode of the Simpsons, and if I see one that I havent seen soon I’ll be suprised.
i love homer’s songs!
i love his songs
I used the Simpsons’ quote, “Stupid sexy Flanders” yesterday when referring to my own behind.
I’m French and I can say that our “t’oh” that Homer is saying is by far the closest translation of “d’oh”. I’ve been watching a lot of episodes in English and it’s actually quite the same. And btw, i don’t reall get what Geonkers meant in his comment about France…
Why worry about Homer drinking DUFF? If Arabic audience don’t like it too bad that don’t have to watch it. That’s stupid to censor it.
Bart and Homer are the most funny character’s on the show if they was not on that show i would not be watching it. =P
Well, indeed I live in India and love The Simpsons very much even though there are cultural differences. I believe the essence of a show is lost in its translation, so it shouldn’t be translated, it should be remade into other languages.
family guy rules
“Like a lot of hopeless nerds…”
Please choose your words more carefully next time Mike, it is not in my place to tell you that you are responsible for your image and it’s effects on your readers, but it is in my place to tell you that such a label can be found ofencive.
Homer is one of my favorite characters!