Petike the Taffer on 19/5/2009 at 01:25
The Czech language version has no voice dubbing and features all the usual in-game and menu text translations and the like... There's no Slovak translation, but since Czech is understood by practically every Slovak, there's no real need for it. Besides, I only play the English language originals. :cheeky: As far as the translation of the subtitles in TDS goes, it's nearly a masterpiece - the author did a terrific job. TDP and TMA have well translated texts too, but their minor flaw is a lack of subtitles, that would enable a non-English speaker to understand the characters' speech.
Taffer is translated according to context as swear words of varying intensity : Lotor, gauner, hajzel, darebák, zlodej, etc.
Hammerite and Mechanist language is interspersed with both usual and more rare archaic words. Also, changing words like kdysi ("once / long ago") to a shortened kdys' (with an apostroph) is long recognised as a mainly poetic form in both Czech and Slovak, with the goal of mimicking medieval, early modern or folk vocabulary and grammar. It's been used by various older poets in both nations since the 19.-th century and pretty much represents an equivalent to the "Shakespeare speak" used in the English version.
The Pagans speak in childish diminutives and infinitive - no big surprise here.
The Keepers speak normal everyday Czech, but with a predominantly serious tone and lots of spohisticated and philosophy-related terms.
If I forgot anything, just ask any of the Czech taffers on TTLG.
As far as I go, I developed some of my own personal translations in Slovak, which I use when referring informally to things in the game. I usualy refer to the locations, parts of the City and some of the buildings with the Slovak version of their name (e. g. Stonemarket - Kamenný trh, Old Quarter - Stará štvrť, The Haunted Cathedral - Zakliata/Prekliata katedrála), or using a more hybrid version (e. g. Shalebridgeská Kolíska (Shalebridge Cradle), it sounds better than "Ílovomostská Kolíska" :cheeky:).
I also tend to translate some of the character and faction names and terms : The Pagans are Pohania, the Hammerites are Kladivári, and the Keepers are either Udržiavatelia (practically a direct equivalent) or Strážcovia (which is more like "Watchers, Guardsmen"). The same goes for fantasy races and beings : Craymen - Račí ľudia ("Cray people"), The Undead - Nemŕtvi (a nice literal word-for-word equivalent), Hammer Haunts - Kladivárski kostlivci ("Hammerite (living) skeletons / grim reapers"). ;) I even found a suitable name for the Trickster - Kaukliar (originally "juggler, jester, acrobat", but also an archaic swear word in the sense of "evildoer, schemer, mischievous person" or simply, "trickster"). :ebil: :)
Beleg Cúthalion on 19/5/2009 at 06:31
I'm on the internet!!
Anyway, just stumbled over this sentence: "[...] the Pagans shun technology, living in harmony with the natural world, as well as the supernatural creatures that are the minions of the Woodsie Lord." Shouldn't there be something like "prefer" before "living in harmony..."?
Herr_Garrett on 20/5/2009 at 12:40
Gosh, I'm being referenced!
Shit, I just dug up some stuff about the Pagans' speech in Hungarian and, gods, it's even worse than the English one in DS. They fucking put every damn thing into the sodding infinitive! In Hungarian this implies such a level of idiocity... Gods.
Actually, the great problem with translating to Hungarian is that we they (like, 70% of the population) don't speak English or any forn language at all, so they don't expect a translation, but a hungarianisation. And what with our language being wholly separate, there are a number of things that you can't translate so that it gives back the meaning and is fitting/snappy at the same time. (Translating Pratchett, for instance, is a real nightmare)
Apparently, the guys who "hungarianised" Thief went for the word-to-word translation a) without knowing Hungarian b) without knowing English. The result is pathetic.
IF ANY OF THE "TRANSLATORS" READS THIS THEY CAN SCREW THEMSELVES AND DESERVE TO ROT IN CRAGSCLEFT UNTIL THEY DIE.
Beleg Cúthalion on 20/5/2009 at 19:50
But that's rather a matter of providing a good translation and not of adapting the very content of Thief to Hungarian circumstances, is it?
Herr_Garrett on 21/5/2009 at 05:34
Quote Posted by Beleg Cúthalion
But that's rather a matter of providing a good translation and not of adapting the very content of Thief to Hungarian circumstances, is it?
Aye. Under hungarianisation I mean that the names (of persons, orders, geographcial, etc.) are to be translated into Hungarian, the jokes re-rendered in a way to make sense in our lingo, and so forth. The latter often involves complete rewriting, since your common Hungarian (but, come to that, not just Hungarians) is extremely ignorant of the world. Bah.
An example: the translation of 'Keepers' is 'Őrzők', which might mean guardians, protectors, watchers, watchmen, guards, keepers, security officers, wardens, holders and so forth. While I appreciate the many-hued connotation of the word, and indeed that's why I love Hungarian,
this translation doesn't give back the original at all. Not to say that it sounds rather silly.
'Hammerites' became 'Kalapácsosok' which literally means 'hammery', with the same general feeling of it. I think there's no need to explain further.
'Pagans', again, got the word-to-word translation of 'Pogány', which was a very bad choice of wording in my opinion, since 'pogány' in Hungarian has a very romantic feeling and connotation (coming from our history, long story), that, though might fit the general picture of Pagans as presented in DS, not at all the
original, un-dumbed-down one.
Beleg Cúthalion on 21/5/2009 at 09:34
I that aspect we were quite lucky with the German content provided in TDP/TMA. They did not translate names and surnames (except for Constantine and Viktoria who were at least spoken like their German counterparts) but usually city quarters and the like. In TDS they had a different studio which translated a few terms differently (acolyte, Stonemarket) than in the first chapters and I'm especially a fan of doing this job completely (since foreign language words are always some kind of immersion breaker), but alas... It's my greatest fear for Thief IV that they not only won't translate the very title of the game (the German community makes things worse by primarily using the term Thief because it's shorter) but again leave out any German synchronisation. :erg:
Herr_Garrett on 21/5/2009 at 15:27
Quote Posted by Beleg Cúthalion
(the German community makes things worse by primarily using the term Thief because it's shorter)
What, shorter than Dieb?:confused:
van HellSing on 21/5/2009 at 15:34
Shorter than Der Meisterdieb.
Beleg Cúthalion on 21/5/2009 at 18:28
...or Dark Project/DP. Apparently. Withdrawal from native language.
