Original 我哋拜大佬啊。
Equivalence
Dubbed 我們在拜大哥。
Subtitle We are greeting him as our brother
Example 44
Original 年輕人，你夠膽撬我啲𡃁？你邊度㗎？
Omission
Dubbed 年輕人，你跟我搶飯碗，你哪個道上的？
Subtitle Youth. How dare you recruit my fellows to your party. Who are you?
Examples 43 and 44 are setting the upcoming scene of triad society related dialogues. Immediately after the Wah brothers, Wah Man (‘華文’) and Wah Mo (‘華武’), are down on their knees in front of Wah On / Tong Bak Fu to ‘拜大佬’
(‘worship big brother’). ‘大佬’ is the term used to describe ‘the head of the triad gang’. It can be interpreted that originally, the ‘大佬’ of the Wah brothers is the teacher because when the teacher walks into the study room, he is not happy about Wah On recruiting the Wah brothers. Example 44 uses ‘搶飯碗’ (‘snatch a bowl’) instead of using ‘搶小弟’ (‘snatch little brother’), the Mandarin-speaking audience may misinterpret the scene as Wah On trying to steal the teacher’s job and not recruiting the Wah brothers. It is suggested that the dubbed version should translate the Cantonese phrase ‘撬我啲𡃁’ as ‘挖我的人’28.
Example 45
Example 46
Original 我原籍蘇州，現任華府一件迷途小書僮，門前一對雙花
齊眉棍31！
Borrowing
Dubbed 我原籍蘇州，現任華府伴讀小書僮，門前一對雙花大紅
棍！
Subtitle I came from Soochow, I am a little servant of the Wah’s family. That’s all about me.
Just like all secret societies, the triad society in Hong Kong has a set of secret language that contains different meanings and connotations. In particular, examples 45 and 46 discuss the rank and title of the Hong Kong triad society.
First, in example 45, the teacher of the Wah family introduces himself as a ‘一把 扇’ (‘a fan’) / ‘白紙扇’ (‘a white fan’). A ‘白紙扇’ is responsible for creating strategies, dealing with negotiations, sometimes even manages the accounts and finances; he is also commonly known as ‘the teacher’ (‘先生’). A ‘白紙扇’ is usually not involved in fights and does most of the work behind the scenes. A ‘紅 棍’ is used to describe the fighters in a triad society, and only the best fighter can be called a ‘雙花紅棍’. Those who have watched the Hong Kong gangster film
Young and Dangerous《古惑仔》series may have a better idea of the triad
society terms used in the conversation between the teacher and Wah On. But for those who have not, particularly the Mandarin speakers who are not familiar
31紅棍(四二六)，俗稱「楂 fit 人」；四乘二十六加四等如一百零八，意指水滸傳一百零
八個好漢好打，其中武松手執紅棍，因而得名。通常是指4+2+6=12，簡稱「十二底」，
with the Hong Kong triad society culture, there is a high possibility that they do not understand what ‘白紙扇’ and ‘雙花紅棍’ mean. Both examples borrow the terms because there are no equivalents in the target language. Since it is also impossible to explain them in the film, the translator has decided to borrow both terms directly instead of using an equivalent from the Taiwanese gangster (if such an equivalent exists).
Example 47
Image 5-1 & 5-2: The teacher showing off his tattoos and knife
The following scene is when the teacher is displeased by Wah On saying he is a
‘雙花紅棍’, which is a rank higher than a ‘白紙扇’. As seen in images 5-1 and 5-2, the teacher takes off his clothes and shows off his tattoos. All of his tattoos have triad society connotations attached to them. ‘左邊龍’ (‘dragon on the left’), ‘右邊 虎’ (‘tiger on the right’), ‘老牛在腰間’ (‘old ox on my waist’), ‘龍頭在心口’
Original 我左邊龍，右邊虎，老牛在腰間，龍頭在心口，人擋殺
人，佛擋殺佛！
Borrowing
Dubbed 我左青龍，右白虎，老牛在腰間，龍頭在胸口，人擋殺
人，佛擋殺佛！
Subtitle Do you know how powerful I am? I will kill if there is anything blocking my way!
(‘dragon head on my chest’) describe the four tattoos a triad society leader usually has. The ‘old ox tattoo’ in particular is the most important one – only the leader of the clan would have it tattooed on his waist. The ‘old ox tattoo’
represents the idea of having an ox-like waist (‘being powerful from the waist down’). Although the tattoo is not seen on screen, and the teacher takes out a knife from his waist instead, the idea of mentioning the ‘old ox’ is impactful enough if the audience is knowledgeable of the triad society culture in Hong Kong. The Mandarin rendition again borrows the Cantonese terms directly, and does so without taking the cultural differences between Hong Kong and Taiwan into consideration, the Mandarin-speaking audience may misinterpret ‘老牛’ as the knife instead. The cultural references embedded in examples 44 to 47 are so strong that it is almost impossible for the translator to translate them for the non-Cantonese audience. Besides, gangster references are not allowed in a G-rated film regardless of what they are, so it would not have been a concern for the translator.
Example 48
Original 你條契弟係邊個？
Adaptation
Dubbed 你這白痴是誰啊？
Subtitle Who are you?
Example 49
Original 我打鑊你個契弟！
Omission
Dubbed 來啊來啊，我打死你！
Subtitle --
In Cantonese, the term ‘契弟’ can be interpreted as ‘乾弟弟’ (‘younger foster brother’), but it also has a negative connotation associated with triad language –
‘male homosexual’ or ‘male prostitute’32. In both examples, ‘契弟’ does not have a Mandarin equivalent, the translator can only improvise and use ‘白痴’ (‘idiot’) in example 48, or even omit it altogether and describe what is happening on screen in example 49. It is for certain that the use of ‘白痴’ (‘idiot’) is not as vulgar or insulting as ‘契弟’, even if the translator uses ‘同志’, it is nowhere near as insulting as using ‘契弟’. Discriminative words such as ‘homo’ and ‘faggot’ only exist in the English vocabulary, not in Mandarin, therefore, the translator can only improvise and use phrases available in Mandarin.