How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Panel)
Quote #7
“This is too slow. It has to be faster...”
“Too fast?”
“No, too slow. They’ve got to speed it up.”
“It’s fast?”
“No, I’ve been telling you! It’s the opposite... Faster, it’s got to be faster.”
“All right.”
“All right what?”
“It has to be redone.”
“And redone how?”
“Redone faster.”
“Right.” (6.54-6.60)
This inane conversation shows that even when both parties are speaking English, Guy has trouble communicating with the North Koreans. Maybe the problem is with him, not with them?
Quote #8
This typical French gesture comes up at least once in every production. [...]
“The gesture... what does it actually mean?”
“Hm. Well... it means: Ooh la la.” (8.120-8.122)
As if translating English to Korean weren’t hard enough, trying to translate French mannerisms to English and then explain them to Korean people seems next to impossible. Maybe some cultural differences can never be understood? Or maybe they can only be understood if you’re allowed to educate yourself about these differences (something the North Koreans for the most part are not allowed to do)?
Quote #9
“Which is better, Windows 98 or Windows 2000?” (9.106)
Guy and his translator start to communicate over something they have in common: knowledge about computers. Unfortunately, Guy derails the conversation by trying to steer it toward the fact that North Korea is the only country without Internet access. That gets the translator to clam up pretty quickly