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Lost in translation


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Hi guys!

 

I'm in a team making a translation of Don't Starve into russian, and we're having fierce arguments on translation of some words.

 

Could the english-speaking here help us a little bit, please.

 

So, we're arguing whether "Blow dart" means just generic blow gun projectile or "blow" here denotes a kind of action the dart produces onto its target. Which definition is more correct?

 

We're probably going to need help on some more words later :)

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Thanks for the reply.

Well, the matter of the difficulty here is that there are three types of darts in the game - fire dart, sleep dart and blow dart. Fire and sleep ones are named for their action, obviously. So, does the word "blow" emphasize that this dart produces more damage per hit, or is it just added to avoid single-syllable naming? Because, technically, they are all blow darts, right?

Yeah they are all blow darts, the Blow Dart requires less materials, making it less expensive. it does the same amount of damage as the others, just doesn't light them on fire or put them to sleep. It doesn't perform Blow on the object like Fire or Sleeping, its just another ranged weapon

Yes, the generic game dart is called a "Blow Dart."

 

 

The reason it is, is because in Real Life, calling it a "Dart" would mean it's another kind of weapon that is thrown (often at bars and pubs at a "Dartboard.") They wanted to make it clear the "Regular, Fire and Sleep Darts" all are fired from a Blowgun. 

19971.jpg

this is what we're calling a dart gun, and this is the style of dart shooting mechanism the game implies if a bit more aboriginal or amazonian.

 

just imagine the different needle dart colors as the different magics the game implies and it should all be clear.

Could you help me with another phrase, please.

Maxwell's description of the Crank Thing is: "This is used to agitate the humours."

 

I can't understand what does "humours" stand for here.

Maxwell means to "crank up" someone's spirit/mood, like to make them cranky.

 

The definition of "humours" here:

  • a mood or state of mind:

    her good humour vanished

    the clash hadn’t improved his humour

"Humors" or "Humours" was an old (as in 19th century at the latest when it was finally discredited) form of medicine known as Humorism used for over 2000 years. It was believed that by keeping the "Four Bodily Fluids" (Blood, Yellow Bile, Black Bile, Phlem) in balance, it kept you in good health. This is where the phrase, "In Good Humor" came from, meaning "In Good Health." This also is where people got the idea when one was sick, they did the (now considered "barbaric")  action of "Bloodletting" or draining blood to "remove the sickness" (and this was the original definition of what a "Barber" did.) 

 

So (long story short,) "agitating the humors" means "stirring up the body" which (was as Aredshroom said it was) a joke to make them "cranky."

 

Yes all that to make a pun.

 

Maxwell means to "crank up" someone's spirit/mood, like to make them cranky.

 

The definition of "humours" here:

  • a mood or state of mind:

    her good humour vanished

    the clash hadn’t improved his humour

 

This is not entirely correct.  Maxwell is using a form of "humour" that is not used in modern times.  He is referring to the concept of Humorism.

the truthseeker is mostly correct.

 

the "HUMORS" was a term the eclectics an american type of herbalist/experimental physician used to use that had to do with emotional/physical well being and had many different sub-meanings and applications within that field of study. If you thought of humors as "CHI" and chemical energy combined you wouldn't be far from the real way the word was used. there is a fair amount of mysticism mixed with medicine in those teachings.

Greetings, friends.

 

Another important question to us is the meaning of "cut" in the game item "cut grass". Does this "cut" means that grass was cut with something sharp or it was just torn with character's bare hands?

As far as I know, the first variant is the correct one, if it so, is it a lexical title mistake, because we just tear grass without any tools?

 

Regards, Scraggesh/Vik.

Greetings, friends.

 

Another important question to us is the meaning of "cut" in the game item "cut grass". Does this "cut" means that grass was cut with something sharp or it was just torn with character's bare hands?

As far as I know, the first variant is the correct one, if it so, is it a lexical title mistake, because we just tear grass without any tools?

 

Regards, Scraggesh/Vik.

Technically, the idea in game means the grass was "picked." However, the phrase "cut grass" is often meant using a "mower" or "shears" of some sort.

 

But as you have noticed, your character literally pulls the grass out even though the "common English phrase"  implies using a tool. 

we just call it "grass" on the forums, nobody really refers to it as cut grass.  And the implication of having used a tool by saying "cut" is what the dev team had in mind anyway i guess. cut, sheared, reaped... something along those lines, but no one refers to it that way specifically.

Well, of course in general we do the same, just call it "grass" without any precise definitions. But there is translation mod, where i should put some definition for that thing. Furthermore there is russian wiki for this game with an article for "cut grass"...

I'm curious, how do you translate "Houndius Shootius"?  I'm assuming "hound" and "shoot" have relatively simple Russian translations, but does the cultural joke of "take a word and make it sound vaguely Latin" translate to Russian culture?

 

(I'd have the same question about Harry Potter jokes; pointing at someone and freezing them by shouting "Refridgeratus!" is funny in English, but I don't know if it's funny in Russian.)

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