Bizarre D&D Translations

[Ukyo the undead]

Hey, hey hey ..

Let me defend the translators:

Sometimes, when you have to translate something you have to use different words than the literally equivalent.

An example is the feat spring attack.
Spring = mola

Attack= ataque


Even though, grammatically, ataque mola describes the feat very well, It´s sounds very very stupid in Portuguese.

Another example:

Great sword

sword = espada
Great= grande

But "grande" in Portuguese also means big( it depends of the context, like in english)

"Great" can have a meaning near to "awesome", in english.

So, if someone translates great sword to portuguese, is can become something like "big sword" , or "awesome sword"

The translators opted to use big sword ( "espada grande"), but I think it could be better: "montante" is another way to name a great sword. It was called this way in the translated 2nd edition.

 

[Blacksad]

I don´t have the spanish monster manual, but I can tell you: The tarrasque isn´t "he". Is "she". "¡LA TARRASCA!"

Considering that at the origin, it's a french monster, and that it is a she in french too. This is normal.

 

[ValamirCleaver]

I'm a bit rusty, but these are what I believe the class names would be in Spanish:

Barbarian = Bárbaro
Bard = Bardo
Cleric = Clérigo
Druid = Druid
Fighter = Combatiente
Paladin = Paladin
Ranger = Guardabosques
Rogue = Rogue
Sorcerer = Hechicero
Wizard = Mago

I would imagine the translations would be very simillar in French, Italian and Porteguese.

Tom

 

[shadow]

As a student studying Japanese, I would like to get ahold of a copy of a Japanese PHB. Have any translations been made into Japanese yet? If so, where can I find one?

With my limited knowledge of Japanese, I would assume the core classes would be translated as follows:

Barbarian = Yabanjin (or just Banjin)
Bard = Baado (From the English "Bard")
Cleric = Shinpu (This is used to refer to Christian Priests)
Druid = Doruido (Again another Enlgish word, since there really isn't a Japanese word for druid.)
Fighter = Bushi
Monk = Sou
Paladin = Paradin (another English-ism)
Ranger = (I'm not really sure how to translate this one)
Rogue = Doroubu (?) (This really means thief, so I'm not sure it would be used in 3e translations)
Sorcerer = Maho-Tsukai
Wizard = Maho-Tsukai (I'm not sure how you would differenciate Wizard and Sorcerer in Japanese.)

If anyone knows Japanese better, feel free to correct my translation.

-Edit changed "their" to "there"

 

[Duorin III]

All your base are belong to me!!!

"All belong me to your base us before the shugar."

Erick Von Claine in the book called "The year of the human stupidness"

 

[Illuminae]

Hey, hey hey ..

Let me defend the translators:

Just you try.
Tenta pra você ver. hehehe

Sometimes, when you have to translate something you have to use different words than the literally equivalent.

True, but that´s EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT THEY DID.

An example is the feat spring attack.
Spring = mola

Attack= ataque

Without knowing the 2 languages well, and using a cheap pocket dictionary, yes.
By the way, using only a dictionary instead of experience and knowledge of both languages and the game, spring could also be translated as Primavera, meaning the Spring (season of the year).

Even though, grammatically, ataque mola describes the feat very well,

WRONG.

It doesn´t.

*Mola* means spring, an object made of usually metal, helicoidally shaped, used in mechanical systems.

Many a word in english have its form directly linked to the idea that originated them in first place.

Thus, the idea for spring in english is something like *something once restrained or compacted, being released or (re)assuming its real (or new and greater) form, quickly or not*

That is why both the Season where the flowers bloom and the mechanical element use the same word in english : SPRING.

But in portuguese, the season is PRIMAVERA, beacause of other language related origins, and MOLA means the mechanical piece.

If you want to use the word mola to describe the feat, you would have to use another word to modify and clarify its original meaning, something like *EFEITO MOLA*, or *SPRINGING EFFECT* in English again.

It´s sounds very very stupid in Portuguese.

Yes, it does.

Another example:

Great sword

sword = espada
Great= grande

But "grande" in Portuguese also means big( it depends of the context, like in english)

"Great" can have a meaning near to "awesome", in english.

So, if someone translates great sword to portuguese, is can become something like "big sword" , or "awesome sword"

Now the confusion is yours, my friend.

*GRANDE* means both BIG and GREAT in english, depending on how you use the word.

If GRANDE is placed BEFORE a word it brings the idea of GREAT.
If placed AFTER it brings the idead of BIG.

EXAMPLES:

Um grande homem.
A *GREAT* man.

Um homem grande.
A *BIG* man.

Another one, just for fun:

BOM, BOA : GOOD

Uma boa garota.
A *GOOD* girl.

Uma garota boa.
A *HOT* girl.



Thus, the better pulled-directly-from-the-dictionary translation should be GRANDE ESPADA, not ESPADA GRANDE (which means BIG SWORD)

For the not portuguese speakers ou there: there is a form some words can take that give them an idea of the size of the material object they represent.

Thus, BIG SWORD = ESPADA GRANDE = ESPADÃO

*REALLY FRIGGIN´ STUPID NAME FOR AN OBJECT THAT CUTS HEADS OFF!*
(and flips out ALL THE TIME, SWEEEEEEEEEEEEET! , sorry, I couldn´t resist)

That and more give me the impression that they used Power Translator Pro to translate the books.

The translators opted to use big sword ( "espada grande"), but I think it could be better: "montante" is another way to name a great sword. It was called this way in the translated 2nd edition.

Mistaken AGAIN. They used the infamous ESPADÃO!!!

Keeping MONTANTE would be MUCH BETTER.
Even using *ESPADA DE DUAS MÃOS* (2-handed Sword) would be better.

 

[Ukyo the undead]

Ha! At least, one time I'm right!

Iluminae, The "Espadão" mistake happened only in the weapons picture. In the table of weapons its grande espada ( or espada grande ) and in the rest of the book.




Are you in any Brazilian mail list?

 

[Illuminae]

Ha! At least, one time I'm right!

hehehehehe

Just for the record, the aim of my rage is the translation, not you.

Are you in any Brazilian mail list?

No, what for?
Do you know a GOOD one?

 

[tarchon]

*Mola* means spring, an object made of usually metal, helicoidally shaped, used in mechanical systems.

Many a word in english have its form directly linked to the idea that originated them in first place.

Thus, the idea for spring in english is something like *something once restrained or compacted, being released or (re)assuming its real (or new and greater) form, quickly or not*

That is why both the Season where the flowers bloom and the mechanical element use the same word in english : SPRING.

But in portuguese, the season is PRIMAVERA, beacause of other language related origins, and MOLA means the mechanical piece.

If you want to use the word mola to describe the feat, you would have to use another word to modify and clarify its original meaning, something like *EFEITO MOLA*, or *SPRINGING EFFECT* in English again.

Not exactly. The base sense of "spring," which is seen in the name of the feat, is to jump. The names of the season and the mechanical device derive from this. A good translation would be probably something that literally means "jumping" or "leaping" attack (saltanda?), though maybe "lunge" would better describe what it really does. The best thing is to pick whatever word is conventionally used to describe jumping when it's associated with an attack in Portuguese. In English "pounce" has a similar meaning too. Like I said, translation requires a high degree of skill in both languages - even many fluent non-native English speakers would misinterpret "spring" here, though I think most educated native speakers would get it. BTW, if you want to use spring to mean "resuming form" you usually have to add "back" to it, like "The slinky springs back into shape after you squish it." If you just say "the slinky springs", it sounds like the slinky is engaged in a predatory ambush.

 

[Someone]

I'm a bit rusty, but these are what I believe the class names would be in Spanish:

Barbarian = Bárbaro
Bard = Bardo
Cleric = Clérigo
Druid = Druid
Fighter = Combatiente
Paladin = Paladin
Ranger = Guardabosques
Rogue = Rogue
Sorcerer = Hechicero
Wizard = Mago

I would imagine the translations would be very simillar in French, Italian and Porteguese.

Tom

Mostly correct, but here´s how it´s been translated: Druid-->Druida, Fighter-->Guerrero (warrior) Ranger-->Explorador (explorer, and I´m really agree with this one) Rogue-->Pícaro.