Comment / Analysis
Normally I wouldn't consider writing anything about a game trailer, much less make a link to it, but I love the live-action trailer for this game so much I am willing to make an exception. A good live-action game trailer is a rare thing. Rare even when what you usually see in a game trailer matches a lot of what you can replicate in a game. Even rarer is a game made by a North American development studio in which said trailer nails down a spoken foreign dialect accurately, which in this case is Cantonese. Just simply spot on. I have experienced my share of so MANY bad Cantonese on other Western media in the past (X-Files Season 3 Episode 19: Hell Money, I am especially looking at YOU!) where the non-native speakers just literally butchered the language! This was a nice treat for a change. From the choice of music right down to the linguistic accuracy, I couldn't have asked for more.
Coming from a native Cantonese speaker like me, depending on where you are, I will sum up the dialect in one word: DANGEROUS. The persistent challenge with a Chinese dialect like Cantonese is accurate interpretation of what is being said. Mood e.g. annoyance, and intonation plays a huge part, which can influence the meaning of a word depending on the pitch. Literal translations can, and will, get you in trouble if you utter it to the wrong person, or worse, to the wrong person IN the wrong place AT the wrong time.
So I am going to break down the video at various points, and explain away so you can come off with a better understanding of the occasional Cantonese, a little bit of Triad lore, and hence the wholesome appreciation of just how awesome this game trailer is.
The word "pok gai", if you Google it, can mean many things. In the context of this trailer, it was directed at a person, which in this case takes on the various insulting meanings of "asshole", "dickhead", "shithead", "scumbag", "prick", "son of a bitch", or "bastard".
The Sun On Yee Triad is basically a reversed spelling off the real-life Hong Kong Sun Yee On triad organization. I am actually still amazed they used a spin-off off a real Triad name instead of making one up. This, and the fact that the development team actually went to great lengths like fly to Hong Kong to interview the police and some Triad members (through a contact) for their field research was nothing short of exceptional. All this simply adds authenticity to the game, and I think players should consider themselves very fortunate. A game of this genre with this much authenticity doesn't come along very often.
Check out Siliconera at https://www.siliconera.com/sleeping-dogs-interview-true-triad-stories for the interview with United Front Games.
This is where one of the gangsters demand the protagonist to "Fong hoi ngo low sai er." The official translation "Let him go!" as in the video is reasonably correct in part. Not exactly accurate, but acceptable. If you want accuracy, the translation should have been "Let go of my boss!" or "Let my boss go!".
The meat cleaver is the Triad's choice of bladed weapon for many reasons. For one, it is easily accessible unlike a handgun. Secondly, it is also easily concealable. Other variations include a machete. I grew up in a high school with a notorious reputation for Triad gang activities, so I have witnessed my share of gang fights and hear the occasional stories of people getting chopped outside school grounds.
The terrified boss yells "Mho! Mho!" with the official translation being "Stop! Stop!" before his hand gets chopped off. The correct translation should have been "Don't! Don't!".
The song used in the trailer is called "Sleepwalking" from KU:PALM, which is the fifth album by Photek.
What can I say? Watch the Hong Kong crime thriller Infernal Affairs (2002) in original CANTONESE to get a feel for the film's atmosphere and cultural immersion, and see how it became the primary inspiration for our beloved game Sleeping Dogs.