Everyone knows Disney. Disney was originally founded on 16 October 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney as the Disney Brothers Studio. From the beginning of its operation, Disney has made various movie themes, one of which is Disney Princess which start with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937.
Disney is also famous for the songs they used in their movies. Most of the languages they used in their songs are in English, but they sometimes also used other languages. Aside from its songs, Disney also uses language in other aspects, such as in its theme park, and also has its own language used by the employees.
In this article, we will discuss how Disney uses language in its songs, theme park, and also among its employees. article How Disney Garners Benefits Using Language: In Songs, Themepark, and Between Employees.
Disney movies are mostly included songs that are fun, easy to sing, and known by everyone. Disney music is an important way which helps children to learn more about how to value cultures. An important aspect of a culture is its language. We connect our identities to the languages we speak, and how we treat a language reflects how we view the cultures that speak it.
So, what would Disney music tell the audiences about the languages and cultures their movies are set in? Here are some Disney movies and their multilingual opening songs to see how non-English languages are treated.
Belle, Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast’s opening song uses “Bonjour” to tell the audience where the movie took place without compromising linguistic understanding. Outside of “bonjour” repeated in different instances, there isn’t any French in the rest of the song. The audiences won’t really get reminded musically that the movie is set in France until “Be our Guest”
Circle of Life, The Lion King
In this movie, Disney uses Zulu in the song as their common formula to tell the audiences where the movie is set. However, the Zulu in Circle of Life is starting powerful but fades into background support for the main English lyrics.
Tulou Tagaloa, Moana
Disney was so eager to show their cultural sensitivity and the importance of the Polynesian setting in Moana, that they even used “Tulou Tagaloa” as the opening song. Moana used both the Polynesian language of Tokelauan and English in the song “We Know the Way”.
This song blends three languages beautifully into one cohesive melodic line, where we have Moana’s ancestors singing in Tokelauan and Samoan. However, people who sing the song aren’t named characters and made the languages become the background to the events of the movie.
Even so, the song seamlessly switches to English midway while overcoming the challenge of maintaining its musical style and making the gap bridged between the characters and its audience extremely effective.
He Mele No Lilo, Lilo, and Stitch
“He Mele No Lilo” is entirely in Hawaiian. Although the song is not completely sung by the named characters, it is implied that people in the movie are singing it, and the last few lines are sung by Lilo and her fellow dancers. This movie also has two other songs that sport Hawaiian.
One, “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride”, which accomplishes the same bilingual cohesion as “We Know The Way”, is not sung by any of the characters. However, the other song, “Aloha ‘Oe” is sung by the character, it’s entirely in Hawaiian, and it has historical and cultural significance.
Disney’s Approach to Song Localization
Disney also translates many of its songs into the original language of its film sets. Those songs including Honor to Us All from Mulan (Mandarin Chinese), Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid (Danish), Bippity Boppity Boo from Cinderella (French), Mob Song from Beauty and The Beast (French), Once Upon a Time from Sleeping Beauty (French), A Whole New World from Aladdin (Arabic), Zero to Hero from Hercules (Greek),
I’ve Got No Strings from Pinocchio (Italian), Heigh-Ho from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (German), and Love is A Song from Bambi (German).
So, how does Disney make their songs in different languages? If you look at the lyrics of Disney songs in different languages, you will very quickly realize that they do not use the same words. even though they mean the same thing, or play the same role in the storyline of the movie. This is the difference between translation and localization. Translation means converting your content from the source language into the target language while respecting the grammar rules and syntax.
In contrast, localization is about more than rewriting the text into a different language and adapting the message to local audiences. If we’re talking about localizing music content, the whole process becomes even more difficult. Disney uses a rich and meaningful melody as the common mood thread across cultures. Disney songs’ lyrics also need to convey the same meaning and add the same value to the storyline and overall experience.
The Art of Lyric Translation
Translation will look for the equivalent term in another language, but localization would look for the best way to convey the same meaning in a specific context or experience, according to what makes the most sense locally and culturally.
For this, Disney even goes to the extent of finding local equivalents for the names of their heroes and places so that local audiences can relate better to the characters and the overall story. Localization in Disney’s songs is tricky because, in opposition to the rule, the words in the songs are more meaningful than the instrumental. Their songs often take a narrative form of a dialogue or a story being told, which makes them crucial for plot development.
Meanwhile, translating lyrics is a specialized art that requires musical inclinations, poetic talent, and a playful attitude to language. Lyric translators break down a song’s text into individual pieces and then use their intuition to reassemble them again in another language. To get the message across as well as adapt it to the target culture, lyric translators need to pay attention to melody, rhyme, and rhythm. A direct translation won’t cut it. In most cases, what’s required is a transcreation. This much looser adaptation ensures the song will be a cultural and musical success in the target language as well.
Let it Go from Frozen was the song that was translated into 44 different languages. Frozen has localized into 44 languages on average. The songs in this movie, including Let it Go, are translated and recorded new for each version, with the twin aims of finding performers with similar voices and ensuring that all the lyrics match up with the characters’ original lip movements.
Aside from its songs, Disney also uses language to create a sense of place and also to engage its worker. On Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando, most of the signage in the Asia area of the park was translated. However, some signs were left in English, with their original lexicon left intact. Disney also offers a service called Ears to the World which is for guests with limited English proficiency.
The service provides a complimentary wireless headset with a translated narration that is synchronized to specific attractions. This is available in 6 languages for over 20 attractions throughout the theme parks. Disney uses translation and language to create a sense of place. They do a masterful job of making guests feel like they are traveling to exotic lands.
Five Ways Disney Uses Language for Unity and Inspiration
In Disney parlance, employees are cast members, and the product everyone is focused on is the show itself. Disney is all about the show. Everything the company builds, does, and communicates is dedicated to putting on the show. It’s a show that takes place on the grandest of scales, done with elite precision and professionalism. To that end, Disney created a specific and common language, one of the key building blocks of its remarkable culture. Disney also has five ways to use the common language to keep everyone unified, aligned, and inspired:
· Make your people feel part of a unified tribe
Disney’s team members are in show business, which is why you will never hear anyone inside the company refer to them as employees. As cast members, they put on an ongoing series of spectacular productions all day long, every day, performing their jobs with putting on a great show as top-of-mind. If playing a specific character, they’re referred to as that character — as Snow White or Prince Charming. Fantasy and shows don’t come to life unless cast members are truly in character.
· Make your locations and assets more than just utilitarian
In Disney-speak, onstage means that guests are within sight or earshot. The cast members must keep their uniforms, behavior, appearance, and spoken vernacular consistent with the show or attraction being presented. Meanwhile, Offstage in Disney language refers to the places behind the scenes, inaccessible to guests, and used for business functions, storage, and decompression. But while relaxed, even in those areas, employees are still cast members. This was ingrained in Disney’s culture.
· Align every task and function with your mission
Every function at Disney is relative to the brand’s promise of entertainment with heart, and the mission of creating happiness. Everyday tasks are meaningful and disciplined, and those less-than-magical moments and operating procedures are masked. Disney Parks and Resorts have a phrase for nearly everything, giving each action or job a uniquely Disney sound and feel that sounds nothing like any other amusement or entertainment venue. The language keeps Disney guests in a Disney state of mind.
· Use positive and aspirational language
Everything about Disney is aspirational and positive: They hire extroverts, align their actions and mindset with the culture through the language, and shape their perspective by reinforcing that their role is to make the magic happen. It’s a model for any organization: use positive language to change people’s outlooks toward everyday duties and moments.
· Treat your customers like royalty
A Disney employment ad for a bus driver showed a photo of a driver and a young guest, stating, “To some, I’m a bus driver. To this princess, I’m her coachman.” Disney Parks and Resorts consider their visitors far more than just customers.
They are royal guests. When they enter the resort hotels, they hear ”Welcome home,” and then experience a first-class guest experience. But it all comes down to the language that reinforces the mission and brand promise of the company, and then how much Disney values their cast members.
That’s how Disney uses language in their business. For their movies and songs, Disney uses language to show the audiences where the movie took place. At the theme park, Disney uses language to create a sense of place and make the visitors feel how to be in the place their park referred to. Disney also uses language to engage its worker, where Disney has their language used by its worker.
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