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The Korean commentator team: part 1 - Page 5

Blogs > jjl
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oo_xerox
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
United States852 Posts
March 11 2012 06:02 GMT
#81
If you think english commentators sometimes sound awkward you should reaaaally try to hear them in spanish. The commentators of our live BW events sound extremely weird and sometimes i even laugh not because of them saying anything funny but due to the way they sound.....it just doesnt feel natural, i have seen a couple of spanish casted games and it feels really weird and unnatural.

One of the reasons i loved tasteless was the constant jokes and how he really seemed excited when stuff happened.......oh god im feeling so melancholic right now--
I could get a more coherent article by gluing a Sharpie to a dog's cook and letting it hump the page.
[Silverflame]
Profile Joined March 2009
Germany640 Posts
March 11 2012 10:01 GMT
#82
I love Korean commentating. Thanks for this amazing write up! I listen to a language I can not understand or speak and only read (cause it is simple) for more then six years now and it never got boring.
I started to learn Korean like two weeks ago and lets see where it goes^^
Fav P Stork / Fav T Fantasy / Fav Z Hoejja
namste
Profile Joined October 2010
Finland2292 Posts
March 11 2012 11:56 GMT
#83
I have to say Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! to this blog post! Great read :D
IM hwaitiing ~ IMMvp #1 | Bang Min Ah <3<3
Emon_
Profile Blog Joined November 2009
3925 Posts
March 11 2012 14:24 GMT
#84
I've been following BW since '09 and this is the first time I understand what they're saying. Thanks so much for the translations.
"I know that human beings and fish can coexist peacefully" -GWB ||
TBone-
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
United States2309 Posts
March 11 2012 15:39 GMT
#85
What a beautifully constructed post. I don't speak korean, but I vastly prefer Korean commentating then English. To me its just more exciting. At least when it comes to Starcraft, clearly I need to see Korean commentating of LoL.
Eve online FC, lover of all competition
Flonomenalz
Profile Joined May 2011
Nigeria3519 Posts
March 11 2012 16:15 GMT
#86
ahhhh playguuuuuuuu playguuuuuuu playgu ga

my favorite video ever.

Fantastic post.
I love crazymoving
ImbaTosS
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
United Kingdom1685 Posts
March 11 2012 20:19 GMT
#87
I always try to emulate Korean styles in my commentary. Keep the tempo high, keep analysing and always bring the topic back to the game! Really good post, I hope it can help me in the future.
EleGant[AoV]
MementoMori
Profile Joined April 2010
Canada419 Posts
March 11 2012 23:13 GMT
#88
Loved reading this. I really have nothing to add.. But I have definitely wondered in the past why exactly it is I enjoy listening to the korean sometimes and I don't even speak it. Their enthusiasm comes through simply through their tone of voice and how excited they are. One thing I'll say is that I think the reason I enjoy it so much is just that I can tell how much they're enjoying it. I feel that's one thing that's missing from a lot of english casts. Sure, they can be professional and all the rest, but if they still don't have that innate excitement while watching the game you can see that.
for the world is hollow and I have touched the sky
GenesisX
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
Canada4267 Posts
March 12 2012 04:56 GMT
#89
This is one of the reasons I still watch BW vods despite playing SC2 only now. Commentators make the vod 10x better.
133 221 333 123 111
mensrea
Profile Joined September 2002
Canada5062 Posts
March 12 2012 05:28 GMT
#90
jjl,

Great read. Well thought out and obviously a topic you are interested in. Wonderful food for thought. The bit about the syllabic count comparison is somehow reminiscent of the observation made by Malcolm Gladwell about Chinese speakers (Cantonese in particular) tending to have longer number memories (ie they can memorize on average a longer string of random numbers) because the words used to sound out the numbers are remarkably short compared to their counterparts in English.

My view (which isn't necessarily in conflict with yours) is that differences in the way sports casters convey the action is as much rooted in culture than something determined by the linguistic features of their language. Witness the economy of the words used on a typical broadcast of the Premier League in England. The description of the passing action is reduced to a bland roll call of the players who touch the ball: "Rooney. Park. Nani. Back to Park." A full transcript of a match might be the dullest read this side of Spiros Agnew's famed biography (hundreds of blank pages - the 39th American Vice President's life wasn't apparently all that). No flourish of syllables, only a touch of color, quintessentially English.

A further example: the three videos below are all of Dennis Bergkamp's legendary goal in the '98 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals versus Argentina. Easily one of the greatest goals ever scored in the World Cup and in the most dramatic fashion imaginable (it was basically the final play of the match and catapulted the Dutch into the semis). Yeah, you know the one. A goal of such gravitas that one millennial poll indicated the goal was the 2nd most significant event of the 20th century (the end of World War II barely crawled across the line at no. 1).

First the BBC:




It's a study in restrained delivery - not without emotion to be sure, there might have been an exclamation or two there, perhaps a hint of lost composure at the critical juncture, but quickly regained. All in all pretty pedestrian given the circumstances.

Now for the Dutch (recommend full shield upgrades on your ear drums, or at least turn the volume down from 11):




Not saying the Dutch are an emotional people per se nor that the language could compare to one of the Romance languages in terms of emotional bandwidth. But the Dutch are not English. Amsterdam is proof of that.


And this last one of unknown linguistic origin (could it be Dutch again?!), thrown in here to prove the walking dead are really amongst us:






Ahem.

Anyway, my point here (if there is one - I'm just typing away actually, spreading my wings as it were I haven't done this here in a while) is I think professional sports casters all over the world tend to project urgency and drama wherever possible to liven up the proceedings. It's their modus operandi. Koreans certainly do it well (even for archery!), but there's no monopoly here. Listen to this iconic play-by-play (in English!) from the National Hockey League and you'll see what I mean:






One last thing: I see many VODs referenced in this thread to illustrate how the Korean casters enhance the viewer experience by being over-the-top in their commentating. I am surprised no one has yet referenced this next game which, to my mind (and fully acknowledging my generation-scale knowledge gap due to my extended absence from the scene) has one of the greatest commentator reactions of all time:







Yeah, you know the one baby.
Arbiter Reloaded. Baby.

actus non facit reum, nisi mens sit rea.
Keone
Profile Joined April 2011
United States812 Posts
March 12 2012 07:40 GMT
#91
On March 07 2012 14:56 Primadog wrote:
Klazart, where art thou?

This is exactly what I was thinking too. Klazart, in my opinion, was the one closest to Korean commentary. Which was why he was so damn fun to listen to, regardless of whether you thought Klaz actually knew what he was talking about. Loved his casts.
BW Forever. Flash is the Ultimate Bonjwa.
iEatWoofers
Profile Joined August 2011
Switzerland108 Posts
March 12 2012 08:49 GMT
#92
Great post!
I can't really compare korean to english commentating, since I don't understand a single word of korean
But I watch a ton of SC2 to and would like to give my 2 cents^^:
I just think we haven't really found the best casting partners for SC2 yet. IMO we have to many play-by-play casters (not that I have a problem with them, but it's weird when you're a silver player and can correct the casters multiple times during a game... and be right about it >.<). Most of the time they just don't know strats good enough... but they can really make the games exciting once the game gets going (or gets crazy). That's why I'd like a healthy mix - one play by play and one analitical caster.

I mean, having JP and djWheat cast a game together is fun, but let's be honest... JP hardly plays SC2 (and you can hear that in his commentary) and Wheat ... well just go watch KOT But pair either of those two up with a Pro-player or Artosis or Day9 and it's awesome!

I think we need something like a caster-bootcamp... like the redbull lan but for casters/commentators. So they could learn the game from the pros (get better insights into the strategies, have the pros watch the casts after the game and tell them where they were wrong and why, etc.) and they could learn from each other.

And I'm glad we don't have the "goooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal" stuff the spanish and italian commentators do. It really sounds ridiculous IMO.
sluggaslamoo
Profile Blog Joined November 2009
Australia4494 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-03-12 09:32:36
March 12 2012 08:54 GMT
#93
Definitely can be just as exciting in English. Simon Hill is one of my favorite commentators, can make any game exciting.



He also always has the most up to date stats on any player that he can pull at any moment, even on the most unknown players.

I just think the Korean commentators are that much better in skill. I also think SC2 is a much harder platform because there's less WTF moments, (e.g recently neo_g.soulkeys clutch lurker egg mine bait). Even in Korean commentators in SC2 often are stuck with yelling ahhhhhhhhhhhhh ahhhhh ahhhhhhhhh (when banelings are rolling into things), Artosis often stuck with saying just SOOO MANY BANELINGS. There's no plague/daebak mines/overpowered psi-storms/rebooos. Even Tastosis were more interesting in BW, because they had so much more obvious stuff to talk about. Baneling mines would come very close, but SC2 players are too gosu to fall into those traps now and can just use maphack starsense.

Sorry, not to make an SC2 vs BW comparison, I just think English commentators have it harder because SC2 doesn't lend itself as well to crazy skill moments that commentators can go crazy over.

Great post!

EDIT:
I have a different opinion on the SPL Korean observer, sometimes he spends way too much time showing tech and clicking on units and we miss out on a lot of action and I'm forced to look at the minimap and guess what is happening. It can get really annoying sometimes.
Come play Android Netrunner - http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=409008
Danglars
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States12133 Posts
March 12 2012 09:27 GMT
#94
Thank you THANK YOU for talking about meta-commentating. You summed up the entire part of listening to English casters that bugs me and make me weigh muting the commentary. I get small jokes, maybe even can stand some nerd-commentary (Tastosis), but commentating on their own commentary just lags the cast.
Great armies come from happy zealots, and happy zealots come from California!
TL+ Member
Too_MuchZerg
Profile Blog Joined February 2008
Finland2818 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-03-12 12:40:34
March 12 2012 12:36 GMT
#95


Finnish commentator about Granlunds goal. Note Mertaranta usually comments alone.
zturchan
Profile Joined January 2011
Canada156 Posts
March 12 2012 13:37 GMT
#96
I still don't get it. As someone who doesn't speak Korean, I can't stand listening to any commentary in a language I can't understand and will mute it if I'm hellbent on watching. As an SC2 player who enjoys watching the occasional BW match, I need an English commentator to give me some sort of guidance as to how the matchup is playing, that's why we watch casts instead of replays. Why do I care about the commentator's emotions if I'm not being hold how the game is playing out?
l3ird
Profile Blog Joined May 2011
United States368 Posts
March 12 2012 14:44 GMT
#97
as an esports "caster" this is a read that really brings enlightenment to me. Probably one of the best reasons why team liquid has one of the best sites; for these little peer to peer insights!
zeehar
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Korea (South)3804 Posts
March 12 2012 15:21 GMT
#98
On March 12 2012 22:37 zturchan wrote:
I still don't get it. As someone who doesn't speak Korean, I can't stand listening to any commentary in a language I can't understand and will mute it if I'm hellbent on watching. As an SC2 player who enjoys watching the occasional BW match, I need an English commentator to give me some sort of guidance as to how the matchup is playing, that's why we watch casts instead of replays. Why do I care about the commentator's emotions if I'm not being hold how the game is playing out?


obviously, if you have very little knowledge of the game, then you need commentary in your own language. that's not what this discussion is focusing on.
I AM THE UNIVERSAL CONSTANT
Beef Noodles
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States937 Posts
March 12 2012 15:56 GMT
#99
After two years of reading articles on team liquid every single day, I have to say this is the best post and best discussion I've read. This is why I keep coming to this site. Thanks TL.
Pokebunny
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
United States10654 Posts
March 12 2012 16:03 GMT
#100
A wild mensrea appears, and no one comments
Semipro Terran player | Pokebunny#1710 | twitter.com/Pokebunny | twitch.tv/Pokebunny | facebook.com/PokebunnySC
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