“That Went Down Like a Lead Balloon”: Classification and Analysis of Mistranslations in the Subtitling of Good Omens (2019)

Abstract

[eng] Good Omens (2019) apart from being a great tv series with great actors, it is also a great source of linguistic wizardry. Neil Gaiman is a writer that loves to play with the English language, that is why it is no surprise that he did just that with the adaptation of the novel that he and Terry Pratchett wrote together, and which was published in 1990. Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett wanted to see an adaptation of Good Omens since the moment they wrote it, but it would not be until four years later of Terry Pratchett’s death that said adaptation would see the light. When adapting a novel, the way to reach bigger audiences is by means of dubbing or subtitling which is why the figure of the translator plays an important role in adaptation. The translator not only has to translate faithfully a source text into the target language but also has to overcome the many difficulties that arise when working on the Audiovisual Translation field, such as the time and space restrictions. That is why being critic with translations is important. Even though the job is not an easy one, the faithfulness of the translations which will reach millions is important and will differentiate the translator among the good and the bad ones