[native english] Translations - Fantasy Language

[Thanee]

Someone recently "accused" () me of reading/playing almost all games in english, since it just sounds "cooler", because it's more exotic to us non-native speakers. I don't think so, I think english is simply better suited for this kind of language, but even moreso, I think it's a matter of original versus translation. There is always some kind of loss occuring in translation.

So, I'd like to ask you lot of native english speakers...

How do all those fantasy terms sound to you in english?

Talking about stuff like "Warlock", "Polymorph", "Disintegrate", "Beholder", "Mind Flayer", etc.

Do they sound cool and mysterious or rather stupid and silly (or whatever else) to you?

(Asking about both roleplaying books/novels and computer games (i.e. Diablo or any MMORPG / CRPG).)

Bye
Thanee

 

[Tatsukun]

For me, if I can see an old root in the word, it seems more like a DnD word. Words like "Necromancy" are much cooler to me than "Death magic" or the like.

I guess the old root just hints at some kind of ancient meaning, it feels almost Tolkien-esque if the words are old.

That's my two yen!

-Tatsu

 

[diaglo]

silly.

Beholder is taken from the phrase beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder.

it is a play on words.

 

[Thanee]

Beholder is taken from the phrase beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder.

That is, BTW, actually the same in german.

"Schönheit liegt im Auge des Betrachters." (Betrachter being the german word for Beholder.)


Please don't get affixed to the above example terms, they are just completely random examples. I mean this in a much more general way. It's probably better to think in terms of computer games, where they use lots of terms and mix and match them together to form names and such, like "Bloodsail Buccaneer", for example.

Bye
Thanee

 

[diaglo]

funny, i find latin or latin based languages to be better with words.

i find the english ones to be stilted. but YMMV.

mind flayer
intellect devourer
eye tyrant
rust monster... and so on.

sure, they provide an image. but not necessarily the one i want.

edit: but considering english at least the olde kings english has its base in german. it might work best for you.

 

[Gez]

As a non-Native speaker, I am not in Thanee's situation.

A few English words are cool (like "dweomer") and some others are used out of habit (because the translations were, to say it politely, really not good), but only in metagame context. Like in "Oh, un beholder! Cassos!*" or "je lui balance une fireball en pleine tronche, à cet abruti!**" -- that kind of things.

* "Oh, a beholder! Bye-bye!" ** "I cast a fireball up that dumbass' nose!" -- rough translations.

But when going for the "cool and mysterious" factor, it's time to open up the lexicons and/or coin up new words from greek and latin roots. As an amateur etymologist, I like unhearthing old words from ages past anyway.

English words always sounds silly.

Especially because using them does not make you sound like an erudite using terms of old lore, but like a financial journalist trying to cover up the fact he has no idea what he's speaking about, so he's just stitching marketing buzzwords together to look in the know.

 

[Desdichado]

The more modern and "clinical" or technical, the worse they sound, for the most part. For a traditional fantasy game, more archaic words always sound better, but that could largely be the monumental influence of Tolkien on the genre more than anything else. In general, I think descriptive words are much less evocative. Mind flayer or beholder is silly.

That's because real words don't often develop like this. We don't say "striped killer cat" we say tiger. Tiger doesn't mean anything at all other than that big, striped killer cat. We say wolf, not "feral pack-hunting canine." D&D has gone too often down the descriptive route, and it doesn't actually sound like a natural word.

 

[JimAde]

Many names start as descriptive, but as the language changes around them they become "just words." So, for example, many people think of "grizzly" as just a name for a kind of bear, because modern English speakers say "grizzled" instead of "grizzly" to describe fur with bits of another color in it (as these bears often have). In fact, I don't hear the word "grizzled" all that often either. If it goes completely out of usage, only the name of the bear will remain and everyone will think it's "just a word."

But I agree that clinical names sound weaker. I sometimes run my monster names through a translator to get cool-sounding names that mean the same thing.

 

[Turjan]

@Thanee: It's a bit of a dilemma. The English words in your game just sound more exotic, because many players don't have an immediate grasp of the language. The translation then unveils how unimaginative the terms often are .

However, I see using english terms in german games more as a sign of laziness . I don't mean this in a bad way, because it's quite a lot of work to translate everything, as the sources are often not available in a german translation. It's laziness, nevertheless .

 

[Aeson]

I am a native English speaker. Like many Americans I have had little exposure to other languages. To me other languages sound exotic. I would use words from other languages if I could in my game. As for reading I prefer English only because it is my language.

I like Illithid over Mind Flayer, Beholder over Eye Tyrant. Drow instead of Dark Elf. Of course then you get in the whole Drow = cow or Drow= row. I say use which ever you like they both work. Does Drow translate in German? I know some words don't have a translation.

My opinion. Use what ever language you feel comfortable using.


What is the translation for the words you used in your example? Polymorph, Mind Flayer ect..
My access to German speakers is limited but I can find a Spanish speaker under every rock.