Case Studies
These unique stories highlight cultural fusion, critical acclaim, and artistic interpretation in foreign language media.
La Bamba
In 1958, the Spanish language song La Bamba hit the airwaves and made 17-year-old Ritchie Valens an overnight sensation in a time where English language not only dominated society but the music charts. As Nicole Douglas-Morris of the Financial Times explains in her article, the song had a long history before the American born teen of Mexican decent adapted and recorded the song. The roots of the song can be traced back as far as the arrival of enslaved Africans to Veracruz region of Mexico. Spanish Baroque and indigenous influences are also infused creating the unique son jarocho sound. Over the years the song has been adapted to different styles and lyrics, but it wasn’t until Ritchie Valens added the distinct American style of rock & roll that audiences connected with the song. An early example of cultural fusion in music, Valens kept the traditional identity of the song alive with Spanish language while blending rock & roll to modernize and reach to a new audience.
Parasite
The historic win of the Korean film “Parasite” at the 2020 Oscars was a landmark for non-English film and proved how American viewers can connect with foreign language through shared cultural experience. Grossing 53.4 million dollars at the US box office, the universal themes of class and wealth inequality resonated with audiences while still speaking through a South Korean voice, linguistically and culturally. Writer/director Bong Joon Ho’s vision transcended language barriers and showed that non-English media can be socially impactful and critically acclaimed by audiences.
The Little Prince
The translation of the 1943 French classic, “The Little Prince” is an interesting case of translating for cultural nuance. In the comparison of translations created 57 years apart, writer Yu-Yun Hseih shows how in literary form, adaptation through translation can be word for word or express cultural nuance. Katherine Woods’s 1943 rendition of the Little Prince, while containing incorrect translations, is widely seen as one of the most popular English versions because of her use of whimsical terminology that favored flair over accuracy. Her use of terms that were antiquated for her time created a timeless quality which mirrors the “ambiguous time and place where the little prince comes from” according to Hsieh. Woods also demonstrates how translation of terms can make deeper implications. Her adaptation of the translated phrase “serious things” to “matters of consequence” was especially significant as the book was published at the height of WW II and would have been received as a euphemism for war by readers of the era. Through creative choices, Wood’s adaptation both became endearing to audiences while also causing conversations about artistic interpretation vs. linguistic accuracy in translation.
