UPDATE:

This post was written before it came out in Mainland China since it didn’t get released until some time later. It then got posted on Reddit, and was the #5 ranking article on there. Then it began being mentioned on numerous blog sites* and now

Even the Director of Guardians of the Galaxy has coined my  English translation!!!

星際異攻隊 – that is, Interplanetary Unusual Attacking Team -opens Friday in China! pic.twitter.com/9XpSoxqrAU

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) October 6, 2014

This is part 2 of the movie poster series.  I’ve got a guilty secret to tell you all. I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy twice in two days last week!

I love all Marvel movies, and this was probably my favourite of the bunch.  I’m what you might call a part-time geek. I grew up reading Wolverine comics and playing with Spiderman toys, but I never really read all the hard core comics that people seem to read these days, (anything by Alan Moore/Frank Miller etc).

Anyway, I went in to the cinema knowing nothing about the storyline or the characters, other than what I garnered from the trailers.

Wow! What a fun movie.  It didn’t take itself too seriously, each character complimented one another, and the CGI did not distract from the plot.  It felt like a completely new movie experience, unlike the constant sequels that come out around summer time.  I might go as far as saying that It felt like watching Star Wars for the first time.

Anyways, enough of my amateur film reviewing. Let’s get down to business. Let’s learn some Mandarin.

The Title

S.星际异攻队

T.星際異攻隊

P.Xīngjì yì gōng duì

Literal Meaning:

Interplanetary Unusual Attacking Team

Character Breakdown:

星际 xīngjì
interstellar / interplanetary

异 yì
different / other / hetero- / unusual / strange / surprising / to distinguish / to separate / to discriminate

攻 gōng
to attack / to accuse / to study

队 duì
squadron / team / group / CL: 個｜个

The name in China is…

银河守护队 Yínhé shǒuhù duì = Galaxy Protection Team

Character Breakdown:

银河 Yínhé Milky Way / our galaxy

The Team

• Star Lord
• 星爵
• xīng jué

• Gamora
• 葛摩菈
• gé mó lā

• Drax
• 德克斯
• dé kè sī

• Rocket Raccoon
• 火箭浣熊
• huǒjiàn huànxióng

• Groot
• 樹精格魯特
• 树精格鲁特
• shù jīng gé lǔ tè

As you can see from several of these names, they have just been translated phonetically, so Groot is just gé lǔ tè. Because each character is one syllable, English words often get broken up into several characters.

Example Sentences:

• E.The Cheeky Racoon ate my breakfast
• S.我的早饭被頑皮的浣熊吃掉了
• T.我的早飯被頑皮的浣熊吃掉了
• P.Wǒ de zǎofàn bèi wánpí de huànxióng chī diàole

• E.It’s not easy eating on a rocket
• S.在火箭里吃饭很不容易
• T.在火箭裡吃飯很不容易
• P.Zài huǒjiàn lǐ chīfàn hěn bù róngyì

• E. I was chosen last to be on the team
• S.我是最后一个被选入队里的人
• T.我是最後一個被選入隊裡的人
• P.Wǒ shì zuìhòu yīgè bèi xuǎn rù duì lǐ de rén

• E.Houston Rockets
• S.火箭队
• T.火箭隊
• P.Huǒjiàn duì

Summary:

Today’s words are a bit more advanced, but check out the example sentences to see how they could be used in a sentence.

Let me know your thoughts on the movie in the comments below, and If you have any cool Chinese words relating to it, let me know.

Note: The film poster is in Traditional characters. I can’t seem to find a simplified one.  My friend In Shanghai tells me that it’s not come out yet, so if any one knows more on this, please get in touch or leave a comment below.  

 Reblogged about here:

http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/10/07/guardians-of-the-galaxy-name-taiwan/

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/China-Changed-Guardians-Galaxy-Title-It-Hilariously-Awkward-67569.html

http://comicbook.com/2014/10/07/guardians-of-the-galaxy-is-called-interplanetary-unusual-attacki/

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Gwilym James

Executive Producer at ChinesePod

You probably recognize Gwilym as one of the co-hosts of ChinesePod. Gwilym hails from the U.K. but has lived in Taiwan since 2012. His interests include keeping abreast of technology news, going to the cinema, and playing with his lovely cats.

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