Common questions

Are they really speaking Chinese in Firefly?

Are they really speaking Chinese in Firefly?

Joss Whedon’s iconic space western Firefly doesn’t just take audiences into the future, but plunges them into a culture that’s a blend of American and Chinese. Throughout the short-lived series, characters often speak Mandarin Chinese without subtitles.

What language do they speak in Firefly?

English
Mandarin
Firefly/Languages

Why does everyone in Firefly speak Chinese?

The Alliance’s full title is the “Anglo-Sino Alliance.” Joss Whedon intended for it to be the merger of USA and China, the last of the world’s superpowers. That’s why many characters sometimes speak Chinese. The Alliance flag, seen in the original pilot, is a blending of the US and Chinese flags.

What are they saying in Chinese on Firefly?

If they really wanted to get across that the source box is a really big change in Simon’s life and also follow the Chinese pattern for saying it (“这是很大的变化”), it would have been best for him to say something like “This is a very da (de) bianhua,” wherein da bianhua maintains its function as a noun phrase.

What does go se mean in Chinese?

Usage: Goushi is literally dog excrement, but you can use it to insult anything you consider worthless junk. Your shoddy research paper is goushi, your car that won’t start is goushi, your boyfriend who won’t call you back smells like goushi.

Is there swearing in Firefly?

Easily Firefly’s most famous swear word is “gorram,” which is a mild version of goddamn; other variations include “goramit.” Other futuristic cuss words include “ruttin'” and “humped,” which are both variants on a particular swear word beginning with the letter F.

Was Zac Efron in a serenity?

Guest cast Zac Efron as young Simon Tam. This episode marks Efron’s television debut.

What does luh suh mean?

Garbage 垃圾: Luh Suh (Pinyin: lā jī; southern dialect: lè sè). Get bold or audacious: 放胆 Fahn Dahn (Pinyin: fàng dǎn), literally “release courage.”

Why does everyone speak Chinese in Firefly TV show?

In the television series “Firefly,” it seems like every person on every planet speaks Chinese. Conversations often transition randomly between English and Chinese, and even the computer alerts are in both languages. Why? Is there an in-universe explanation for this?

What kind of language do they speak in Firefly?

Folks in the ‘Verse speak English or Chinese, one or the other being the dominant tongues most everywhere. It pays to know at least a little of both if you plan to get very far.

Is there Chinese subtitles for Firefly on Netflix?

If the viewer chooses to add subtitles on Netflix, the screen will display “Speaking Chinese” rather than translating what the character is actually saying. Nevertheless, each episode’s individual wiki page contains a “Mandarin Translation” section.

Why did Joss Whedon use Chinese in Firefly?

One of the reasons for Joss Whedon’s use of Chinese in Firefly is to show how closely the cultures are intertwined. In the Firefly universe, Chinese is to future Americans as Spanish is to present-day Americans. It’s easy to imagine how government forms could be written in English and Chinese, as they are written in English and Spanish now.

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