All your base are belong to us: Difference between revisions
imported>Mindmatrix revert - unsourced trivia |
imported>StarTrekker added Category:Mistranslation using HotCat |
||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
[[File:Aybabtu.png|thumb|320px|The phrase as it appears in the introduction to ''[[Zero Wing]]'']] | [[File:Aybabtu.png|thumb|320px|The phrase as it appears in the introduction to ''[[Zero Wing]]'']] | ||
"'''All your base are belong to us'''" is an [[Internet meme]] based on a [[Engrish|poorly translated]] phrase from the opening [[cutscene]] of the Japanese video game ''[[Zero Wing]]''. The phrase first appeared on the European release of the 1991 [[Sega Mega Drive]] [[ | "'''All your base are belong to us'''" is an [[Internet meme]] based on a [[Engrish|poorly translated]] phrase from the opening [[cutscene]] of the Japanese video game ''[[Zero Wing]]''. The phrase first appeared on the European release of the 1991 [[Sega Mega Drive]] [[Video game conversion|conversion]] of the 1989 Japanese [[arcade game]]. | ||
By the early 2000s, a [[GIF animation]] depicting the opening text became widespread on [[web forum]]s.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Dibbell |first=Julian |date=18 January 2008 |title=Mutilated Furries, Flying Phalluses: Put the Blame on Griefers, the Sociopaths of the Virtual World |url=http://archive.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/magazine/16-02/mf_goons?currentPage=all |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630204641/http://archive.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/magazine/16-02/mf_goons?currentPage=all |archive-date=30 June 2014 |access-date=30 June 2014}}</ref> A music video accompanied by a [[techno]] remix of the clip, originally posted on the website [[Newgrounds]], gained popularity and became a derivative [[Internet meme]] in its own right. The original meme has been referenced many times in media outside of the forums. | By the early 2000s, a [[GIF animation]] depicting the opening text became widespread on [[web forum]]s.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Dibbell |first=Julian |date=18 January 2008 |title=Mutilated Furries, Flying Phalluses: Put the Blame on Griefers, the Sociopaths of the Virtual World |url=http://archive.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/magazine/16-02/mf_goons?currentPage=all |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630204641/http://archive.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/magazine/16-02/mf_goons?currentPage=all |archive-date=30 June 2014 |access-date=30 June 2014}}</ref> A music video accompanied by a [[techno]] remix of the clip, originally posted on the website [[Newgrounds]], gained popularity and became a derivative [[Internet meme]] in its own right. The original meme has been referenced many times in media outside of the forums. | ||
The original phrase in Japanese, uttered by the enigmatic antagonist "CATS", is "君達の基地は、全てCATSがいただいた" ([[Hepburn Romanization]]: ''Kimitachi no kichi wa subete CATS ga itadaita''), which can be translated more | The original phrase in Japanese, uttered by the enigmatic antagonist "CATS", is "君達の基地は、全てCATSがいただいた" ([[Hepburn Romanization]]: ''Kimitachi no kichi wa subete CATS ga itadaita''), which can be translated more accurately as "All of your bases have been taken over by CATS" (see the transcript below). | ||
==''Zero Wing'' transcript== | ==''Zero Wing'' transcript== | ||
| Line 26: | Line 26: | ||
| Operator: Main screen turn on. | | Operator: Main screen turn on. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{lang|ja|CATS：{{ruby-ja|連邦政府|れんぽうせいふ}}{{ruby-ja|軍|ぐん}}のご{{ruby-ja|協力|きょうりょく}}により、 | | {{lang|ja|CATS：{{ruby-ja|連邦政府|れんぽうせいふ}}{{ruby-ja|軍|ぐん}}のご{{ruby-ja|協力|きょうりょく}}により、{{ruby-ja|君達|きみたち}}の{{ruby-ja|基地|きち}}は、{{ruby-ja|全|すべ}}てCATSがいただいた。}} | ||
| CATS: With the help of Federation government forces, | | CATS: With the help of Federation government forces, CATS has taken all of your bases. | ||
| CATS: | | CATS: All your base are belong to us. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{lang|ja|CATS：せいぜい{{ruby-ja|残|のこ}}り{{ruby-ja|少|すく}}ない{{ruby-ja|命|いのち}}を、{{ruby-ja|大切|たいせつ}}にしたまえ・・・・。}} | | {{lang|ja|CATS：せいぜい{{ruby-ja|残|のこ}}り{{ruby-ja|少|すく}}ない{{ruby-ja|命|いのち}}を、{{ruby-ja|大切|たいせつ}}にしたまえ・・・・。}} | ||
| Line 61: | Line 61: | ||
In February 2004, [[North Carolina State University]] students and members of [[TheWolfWeb]] in [[Raleigh, North Carolina]], exploited a web-based service used by local schools and businesses to report weather-related closures to display the phrase within a [[news ticker]] on a live news broadcast on [[Spectrum News North Carolina|News 14 Carolina]].<ref name=":7" /> | In February 2004, [[North Carolina State University]] students and members of [[TheWolfWeb]] in [[Raleigh, North Carolina]], exploited a web-based service used by local schools and businesses to report weather-related closures to display the phrase within a [[news ticker]] on a live news broadcast on [[Spectrum News North Carolina|News 14 Carolina]].<ref name=":7" /> | ||
On 1 June 2006, the phrase "All Your Video Are Belong to Us" appeared in all-caps below the YouTube logo as a placeholder while [[YouTube]] was under maintenance. Some users believed the site had been hacked, leading YouTube to add the message "No, we haven't be{{Sic|}} hacked. Get a sense of humor."<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Sandoval |first=Greg |date=2 June 2006 |title=YouTube: Our humor, not our hack |work=[[CNET]] |url=http://news.cnet.com/YouTube-Humor,-not-hack/2100-1026_3-6079314.html |url-status= | On 1 June 2006, the phrase "All Your Video Are Belong to Us" appeared in all-caps below the YouTube logo as a placeholder while [[YouTube]] was under maintenance. Some users believed the site had been hacked, leading YouTube to add the message "No, we haven't be{{Sic|}} hacked. Get a sense of humor."<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Sandoval |first=Greg |date=2 June 2006 |title=YouTube: Our humor, not our hack |work=[[CNET]] |url=http://news.cnet.com/YouTube-Humor,-not-hack/2100-1026_3-6079314.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140506201205/http://news.cnet.com/YouTube-Humor%2C-not-hack/2100-1026_3-6079314.html |archive-date=6 May 2014}}</ref> | ||
In the [[E3 2016]] demo for the 2017 video game ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild]]'', "all your base are" could be seen written in the game's symbol-based fictional language.<ref>{{Cite web |last=LaGioia |first=Stephen |date=May 31, 2023 |title=Zelda: Breath Of The Wild – Secrets, References, And Easter Eggs |url=https://www.thegamer.com/botw-secrets/ |website=TheGamer |access-date=October 1, 2025}}</ref> | |||
On 19 January 2019, [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] [[United States House of Representatives|Congresswoman]] [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]] of [[New York State|New York]] tweeted "All your base (are) belong to us" in response to a poll which found that 45% of [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] approved of her suggested implementation of a 70% [[marginal tax rate]] for individual income over $10 million per year.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |last1=Cole |first1=Brendan |title=Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Tax Rate Plans Find Favor Among Republicans, She Responds with Retro Meme |url=https://www.newsweek.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-tax-rate-plans-find-favor-among-republicans-she-1298164 |website=Newsweek |date=19 January 2019 |access-date=21 January 2019 |archive-date=21 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121134329/https://www.newsweek.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-tax-rate-plans-find-favor-among-republicans-she-1298164 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite tweet|number=1086483485668319233|user=AOC|title=All your base (are) belong to us 👾|author=Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez|author-link=Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez|date=2019-01-18|access-date=2023-02-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rosenberg |first=Adam |date=2019-01-19 |title=Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made perfect use of this 20-year-old video game meme |url=https://mashable.com/article/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-all-your-base-tweet-meme |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=[[Mashable]] |language=en |archive-date=11 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211012303/https://mashable.com/article/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-all-your-base-tweet-meme |url-status=live }}</ref> | On 19 January 2019, [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] [[United States House of Representatives|Congresswoman]] [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]] of [[New York State|New York]] tweeted "All your base (are) belong to us" in response to a poll which found that 45% of [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] approved of her suggested implementation of a 70% [[marginal tax rate]] for individual income over $10 million per year.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |last1=Cole |first1=Brendan |title=Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Tax Rate Plans Find Favor Among Republicans, She Responds with Retro Meme |url=https://www.newsweek.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-tax-rate-plans-find-favor-among-republicans-she-1298164 |website=Newsweek |date=19 January 2019 |access-date=21 January 2019 |archive-date=21 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121134329/https://www.newsweek.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-tax-rate-plans-find-favor-among-republicans-she-1298164 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite tweet|number=1086483485668319233|user=AOC|title=All your base (are) belong to us 👾|author=Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez|author-link=Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez|date=2019-01-18|access-date=2023-02-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rosenberg |first=Adam |date=2019-01-19 |title=Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made perfect use of this 20-year-old video game meme |url=https://mashable.com/article/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-all-your-base-tweet-meme |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=[[Mashable]] |language=en |archive-date=11 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211012303/https://mashable.com/article/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-all-your-base-tweet-meme |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
{{Portal|Internet|Video Games}} | {{Portal|Internet|Linguistics|Video Games}} | ||
* {{annotated link|Linguistic interference}} | |||
* {{annotated link|Code-switching}} | |||
* {{annotated link|The cake is a lie}} | * {{annotated link|The cake is a lie}} | ||
* {{annotated link|English as She Is Spoke|''English as She Is Spoke''}} | * {{annotated link|English as She Is Spoke|''English as She Is Spoke''}} | ||
* {{annotated link|List of Internet phenomena}} | * {{annotated link|List of Internet phenomena}} | ||
* {{annotated link|Lolcat}} | * {{annotated link|Lolcat}} | ||
* [[I am Error]] | |||
==Footnotes== | ==Footnotes== | ||
| Line 97: | Line 102: | ||
[[Category:Humour in translation]] | [[Category:Humour in translation]] | ||
[[Category:Translations into English]] | [[Category:Translations into English]] | ||
[[Category:Mistranslation]] | |||
Latest revision as of 08:51, 31 October 2025
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates
"All your base are belong to us" is an Internet meme based on a poorly translated phrase from the opening cutscene of the Japanese video game Zero Wing. The phrase first appeared on the European release of the 1991 Sega Mega Drive conversion of the 1989 Japanese arcade game.
By the early 2000s, a GIF animation depicting the opening text became widespread on web forums.[1] A music video accompanied by a techno remix of the clip, originally posted on the website Newgrounds, gained popularity and became a derivative Internet meme in its own right. The original meme has been referenced many times in media outside of the forums.
The original phrase in Japanese, uttered by the enigmatic antagonist "CATS", is "君達の基地は、全てCATSがいただいた" (Hepburn Romanization: Kimitachi no kichi wa subete CATS ga itadaita), which can be translated more accurately as "All of your bases have been taken over by CATS" (see the transcript below).
Zero Wing transcript
Script error: No such module "Hatnote". Below are some other examples of text as it appeared in the poorly translated English release, alongside a more accurate translation from the original Japanese.
| Original script[2] | Basic translation from Japanese[3] | English version of the game[4]Template:Efn |
|---|---|---|
| Script error: No such module "Lang". | Engineer: It appears someone has planted explosives. | Mechanic: Somebody set up us the bomb. |
| Script error: No such module "Lang". | Communications Operator: Incoming visual on the main screen. | Operator: Main screen turn on. |
| Script error: No such module "Lang". | CATS: With the help of Federation government forces, CATS has taken all of your bases. | CATS: All your base are belong to us. |
| Script error: No such module "Lang". | CATS: Treasure what little time you have left to live... | CATS: You have no chance to survive make your time. |
| Script error: No such module "Lang". | Captain: We're counting on you, ZIG!! | Captain: Move 'ZIG'. |
| Script error: No such module "Lang". | Captain: May there be hope for our future... | Captain: For great justice. |
History
Template:External media Zero Wing was released in Japanese arcades by developer Toaplan on 1 July 1989,[5] and in North America in April 1990.[6] The European release of the game on the Sega Mega Drive, also known as the Sega Genesis, which contained the script of the meme's origin, occurred in July 1991.[7]
Zero Wing is one of the most widely known examples of poor linguistic translation in video games.[8]Template:Rp Toaplan staff Tatsuya Uemura (programmer and music composer of Zero Wing and Toaplan founding member) and Masahiro Yuge (fellow Toaplan composer and founder) addressed the meme in interviews during the 2010s. According to Uemura, the English translation in the Mega Drive version was handled by a member of the Toaplan design team in charge of export and overseas business, and not by a professional translator.[8]Template:Rp [9][10] Uemura said that the English skills of the team member who prepared the translations were "really terrible".[8]Template:Rp
The first references of the meme could be seen in 1999 and the early 2000s when an animated GIF of the scene appeared on forums and sites like Zany Video Game Quotes,[11] OverClocked,[12] and TribalWar forums.[13] In November 2000, Kansas City computer programmer and part-time disc jockey Jeffrey Ray Roberts (1977–2011), of the gabber band The Laziest Men on Mars, made a techno dance track, "Invasion of the Gabber Robots," which remixed some of the Zero Wing video game music with a voice-over of the phrase, "All your base are belong to us".[14] (The original music for Zero Wing was written by Tatsuya Uemura and arranged by Noriyuki Iwadare.) On 16 February 2001, user Bad_CRC posted an animated music video accompanying the song onto the Flash game and animation sharing site Newgrounds.[15] The video was shared rapidly, soon becoming an Internet meme and receiving widespread media attention.[16][17][18][19][20] The meme's popularity was seen throughout the 2000s when it was broadcast unauthorized onto the ticker of a Raleigh, North Carolina, TV channel,[21] used as a placeholder message by YouTube while under maintenance,[22] and reproduced onto T-shirts.[20][14]
The 15th and 20th anniversaries of the posting of the remix on Newgrounds were recognized by numerous culture sites.[23][16][24] The meme has been highlighted for its uniqueness in that, unlike other memes of the time, it lacked sexual innuendos or vulgarity.[15][25]
Mentions in media
The phrase or some variation of lines from the game has appeared numerous times in films, commercials, news broadcasts, other games, and social media posts.
On 1 April 2003, in Sturgis, Michigan, seven people placed signs through the town that read: "All your base are belong to us. You have no chance to survive make your time." They claimed to be playing an April Fools' joke, but most people who saw the signs were unfamiliar with the phrase. Many residents were upset that the signs appeared while the US was at war with Iraq, and police chief Eugene Alli said the signs could be "a borderline terrorist threat, depending on what someone interprets it to mean".[26]
In February 2004, North Carolina State University students and members of TheWolfWeb in Raleigh, North Carolina, exploited a web-based service used by local schools and businesses to report weather-related closures to display the phrase within a news ticker on a live news broadcast on News 14 Carolina.[21]
On 1 June 2006, the phrase "All Your Video Are Belong to Us" appeared in all-caps below the YouTube logo as a placeholder while YouTube was under maintenance. Some users believed the site had been hacked, leading YouTube to add the message "No, we haven't be [sic] hacked. Get a sense of humor."[27]
In the E3 2016 demo for the 2017 video game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, "all your base are" could be seen written in the game's symbol-based fictional language.[28]
On 19 January 2019, Democratic Party Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York tweeted "All your base (are) belong to us" in response to a poll which found that 45% of Republicans approved of her suggested implementation of a 70% marginal tax rate for individual income over $10 million per year.[29][30][31]
See also
Script error: No such module "Portal".
- Template:Annotated link
- Template:Annotated link
- Template:Annotated link
- Template:Annotated link
- Template:Annotated link
- Template:Annotated link
- I am Error
Footnotes
References
External links
Script error: No such module "Spoken Wikipedia". Template:Sister project
- Template:Commons category-inline
- Template:Sister-inline
- All your base are belong to us at the Internet Archive
- Template:Know Your Meme
- ↑ Template:Cite magazine
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Template:Cite magazine
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Template:Cite magazine
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Template:Cite magazine
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Template:Cite magazine
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Template:Cite tweet
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".