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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
 Posted - 07 May 2010 : 13:16:43
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I was going through some of my old stuff boxed up the other day and noticed I have the novel Crown of Fire in french. I never actually took the time to read it, but it got me thinking. Has anyone here read any FR novels translated in another language? If so, how was it? Better yet, has anyone read any of the novels in the translated format as well as the original english version? How does it compare (do you get the same feel for the realms in both)??
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Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Zireael
Master of Realmslore
Poland
1190 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2010 : 19:02:58
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I read most of my Realms novels in Polish. They are quite good, especially Elaine Cunningham's, where I know for certain the translator kept in touch with her.
Lately I read some in English (the Polish publisher decided not to publish FR anymore)... and I think I like both versions the same. Language is not a problem for me.
I'm trying to get the third part of Empyrean Odyssey, unfortunately, the net store where I get English FR books doesn't have it. It has Gossamer Plain and Fractured Sky, but not Crystal Mountain. Why? Beats me... |
SiNafay Vrinn, the daughter of Lloth, from Ched Nasad!
http://zireael07.wordpress.com/ |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2010 : 19:11:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Zireael
I read most of my Realms novels in Polish. They are quite good, especially Elaine Cunningham's, where I know for certain the translator kept in touch with her.
Lately I read some in English (the Polish publisher decided not to publish FR anymore)... and I think I like both versions the same. Language is not a problem for me.
I'm trying to get the third part of Empyrean Odyssey, unfortunately, the net store where I get English FR books doesn't have it. It has Gossamer Plain and Fractured Sky, but not Crystal Mountain. Why? Beats me...
Sold out too fast maybe? |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Murray Leeder
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
228 Posts |
Posted - 08 May 2010 : 05:12:14
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| It's a resumé peculiarity that I've been translated into Polish (Realms of Shadows), Spanish (Plague of Ice) and Hungarian (Son of Thunder). |
Edited by - Murray Leeder on 08 May 2010 05:12:54 |
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Quale
Master of Realmslore
1757 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2010 : 12:36:52
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| I've read a few in my own language (Shadowdale, Pool of Radiance, Azure Bonds). The fantastic elements sounded ridiculous, it was years ago, only thing that I remember that they translated lich as leš which means corpse. |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2010 : 12:41:56
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quote:
Originally posted by Quale
... they translated lich as leš which means corpse.
I can probably see why they made that mistake. The person being paid to make the translation was likely not a fan of the material. |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Dart Ambermoon
Learned Scribe
Germany
253 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2010 : 22:46:51
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| Read a few in German...disgustingly awful. Every character talks in stilted fantasy language (e.g. Bruenor talks like Alustriel), they renamed some Gods (Bane became Tyrannos) and places, others the left the same...novels and rpg products in German were simply terrible. I only found out FR authors were actually good after reading in English. Thank Finder, I´m bilingual. Some of my friends aren´t and I´ve had the hardest time to convince them FR novels are good and not sub-standard. |
~ In Finder I trust, for danger I lust ~ |
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ElaineCunningham
Forgotten Realms Author
2396 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2010 : 00:02:25
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| My FR books have been translated into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish, Finnish, and Hebrew. Not all the books have been translated into all those languages; for example, ELFSHADOW is the only book in Hebrew and the books in the Counselors & Kings trilogy are my only German translations. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36910 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2010 : 01:07:48
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quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
My FR books have been translated into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish, Finnish, and Hebrew. Not all the books have been translated into all those languages; for example, ELFSHADOW is the only book in Hebrew and the books in the Counselors & Kings trilogy are my only German translations.
Which brings to mind a question... How oft are books edited for content, to match cultural sensibilities, when being translated? |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2010 : 01:23:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
My FR books have been translated into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish, Finnish, and Hebrew. Not all the books have been translated into all those languages; for example, ELFSHADOW is the only book in Hebrew and the books in the Counselors & Kings trilogy are my only German translations.
Which brings to mind a question... How oft are books edited for content, to match cultural sensibilities, when being translated?
Addendum:- And do such changes usually have any impact -- whether positive or negative -- upon the pricing of these translations? |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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ElaineCunningham
Forgotten Realms Author
2396 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2010 : 01:52:38
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
My FR books have been translated into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish, Finnish, and Hebrew. Not all the books have been translated into all those languages; for example, ELFSHADOW is the only book in Hebrew and the books in the Counselors & Kings trilogy are my only German translations.
Which brings to mind a question... How oft are books edited for content, to match cultural sensibilities, when being translated?
It would be interesting to know the various considerations that go into the translation process. The only one I'm aware of is the abbreviated nature of the French translations. They are VERY short. I can't vouch for the accuracy of this explanation, but I have been told the publisher believes that French readers prefer shorter books. |
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Zireael
Master of Realmslore
Poland
1190 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2010 : 08:35:56
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
My FR books have been translated into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish, Finnish, and Hebrew. Not all the books have been translated into all those languages; for example, ELFSHADOW is the only book in Hebrew and the books in the Counselors & Kings trilogy are my only German translations.
Which brings to mind a question... How oft are books edited for content, to match cultural sensibilities, when being translated?
Addendum:- And do such changes usually have any impact -- whether positive or negative -- upon the pricing of these translations?
Pricing of the translations depends on the publisher. Pricing of the originals depends on the bookstore and/or the relation of dollar to the local money. A given original FR book can cost from 20 zloty to 30 zloty in different stores. For those unaware, a dollar is about 4 zloty right now... or 3,5... That's over 2$ of difference. |
SiNafay Vrinn, the daughter of Lloth, from Ched Nasad!
http://zireael07.wordpress.com/ |
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Quale
Master of Realmslore
1757 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2010 : 09:17:51
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quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
My FR books have been translated into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish, Finnish, and Hebrew. Not all the books have been translated into all those languages; for example, ELFSHADOW is the only book in Hebrew and the books in the Counselors & Kings trilogy are my only German translations.
And in Croatian, I remember now reading Elfshadow (Vilinsjena).
The price was about 9 $. |
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Kerrigan
Acolyte
Germany
31 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2010 : 14:14:12
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I've started reading FR-novels in German, but I switched to English by now; most translators are terrible (you have to get good ones to translate the flair!). Most published novels are not translated (Only Salvatore, Elaine's Counselors & Kings, Paul S. Kemps novels, the Cormyr-Trilogy..).
Plus: The german translations are more pricey, they're mostly around 11€ compared to 6 or 7€ for the english versions.
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Zireael
Master of Realmslore
Poland
1190 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2010 : 18:11:26
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| Don't even mention it! (quality, I mean). From what I learned from the German wiki, they even changed the titles. "Homeland" became "Der Dritte Sohn", which means "Third Son", unless my German is really off... |
SiNafay Vrinn, the daughter of Lloth, from Ched Nasad!
http://zireael07.wordpress.com/ |
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skychrome
Senior Scribe
713 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2010 : 18:36:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Zireael
Don't even mention it! (quality, I mean). From what I learned from the German wiki, they even changed the titles. "Homeland" became "Der Dritte Sohn", which means "Third Son", unless my German is really off...
...which is also an unfortunate tradition when it comes to movie titles. It is often impossible to see any connection with the original language title.  |
"You make an intriguing offer, one that is very tempting. It would seem that I have little alternative than to answer thusly: DISINTEGRATE!" Vaarsuvius, Order of the Stick 625 |
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Skeptic
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1273 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2010 : 23:43:30
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quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
It would be interesting to know the various considerations that go into the translation process. The only one I'm aware of is the abbreviated nature of the French translations. They are VERY short. I can't vouch for the accuracy of this explanation, but I have been told the publisher believes that French readers prefer shorter books.
I never heard that reason, but even Harry Potter was trimmed down when translated to French so, don't take it personally ;) |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 13 May 2010 : 12:55:12
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quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
My FR books have been translated into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish, Finnish, and Hebrew. Not all the books have been translated into all those languages; for example, ELFSHADOW is the only book in Hebrew and the books in the Counselors & Kings trilogy are my only German translations.
Which brings this question to mind. Have you ever interacted with any of the translators in question? Have they ever asked you for any sort of input, or talked to you to explain why certain things may come off differently in the other language in question (when this is the case)? |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Jelennet
Learned Scribe
Russia
131 Posts |
Posted - 13 May 2010 : 16:30:23
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I've read some Forgotten Realms books in russian. I don't think that "Daughter of the drow" was really bad... Because I read it very fast and the language wasn't absolutely awful in my opinion. But I haven't read it in english...
In Salvatore's books the translators changed some of the names. Drizzt became Dzirt (I can understand that - Drizzt sounds almost like diarrhea in russian language) and Jarlaxle was changed into Jarlaxe (that I can't understand - just why?). |
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Larloch
Acolyte
Spain
24 Posts |
Posted - 13 May 2010 : 17:49:35
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| In Spain they change the title of the novel, the name of the series and they have a serious problem with the especific terms of the world. For example the trolls that attack Drizzt party in Icewind Dale they translated as gnomes.... |
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Zireael
Master of Realmslore
Poland
1190 Posts |
Posted - 13 May 2010 : 18:09:04
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quote:
Originally posted by Jelennet
I've read some Forgotten Realms books in russian. I don't think that "Daughter of the drow" was really bad... Because I read it very fast and the language wasn't absolutely awful in my opinion. But I haven't read it in english...
In Salvatore's books the translators changed some of the names. Drizzt became Dzirt (I can understand that - Drizzt sounds almost like diarrhea in russian language) and Jarlaxle was changed into Jarlaxe (that I can't understand - just why?).
Maybe because Russian has got a different alphabet? |
SiNafay Vrinn, the daughter of Lloth, from Ched Nasad!
http://zireael07.wordpress.com/ |
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Jelennet
Learned Scribe
Russia
131 Posts |
Posted - 13 May 2010 : 18:54:20
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| "Jarlaxle" and "Drizzt" can be easily written using russian alphabet. |
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ElaineCunningham
Forgotten Realms Author
2396 Posts |
Posted - 14 May 2010 : 18:10:21
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quote:
Originally posted by Alisttair
quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
My FR books have been translated into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish, Finnish, and Hebrew. Not all the books have been translated into all those languages; for example, ELFSHADOW is the only book in Hebrew and the books in the Counselors & Kings trilogy are my only German translations.
Which brings this question to mind. Have you ever interacted with any of the translators in question? Have they ever asked you for any sort of input, or talked to you to explain why certain things may come off differently in the other language in question (when this is the case)?
Only once. The gentleman who translated WINDWALKER into Polish emailed me several times to check on small matters. The name "Thorn," for example, could have been translated into more than one word, so he wanted to give me the chance to "rename" the character. He was very precise and professional, to the point of finding errors in the original English that had slipped by everyone, myself included, on this side of the pond. :) |
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
Posted - 15 May 2010 : 10:38:13
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quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
My FR books have been translated into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish, Finnish, and Hebrew. Not all the books have been translated into all those languages; for example, ELFSHADOW is the only book in Hebrew and the books in the Counselors & Kings trilogy are my only German translations.
And one of your short Dragon Magazine short stories have been translated into Swedish (the one with the Thione-daughter), but not published anywhere - only shown to some of my friends and relatives for the purposes of me being told something along the lines of "why, aren't you clever". |
There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
Terry Pratchett |
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ElaineCunningham
Forgotten Realms Author
2396 Posts |
Posted - 17 May 2010 : 14:07:27
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quote:
Originally posted by Kajehase
quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
My FR books have been translated into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish, Finnish, and Hebrew. Not all the books have been translated into all those languages; for example, ELFSHADOW is the only book in Hebrew and the books in the Counselors & Kings trilogy are my only German translations.
And one of your short Dragon Magazine short stories have been translated into Swedish (the one with the Thione-daughter), but not published anywhere - only shown to some of my friends and relatives for the purposes of me being told something along the lines of "why, aren't you clever".
Ha! Thanks for sharing that--it made my day. :) |
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strahd_zaf
Acolyte
2 Posts |
Posted - 18 May 2010 : 06:53:05
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Hi Elaine,
I am the translator for the Hebrew versions of FR and DL. These days we celebrate the 15th anniversary of the translation of Elfshadow. For this occasion, we have re-printed Elfshadow with new editing and published Elfsong, which was long sought by the Israeli crowd.
I must say that translating Elfsong was a challenge, because of all the songs and the riddles, and I needed to retain the rhythm, and explain strange musical instruments, and etc. But again, I loved the book, and I hope that it would sell well enough that I can convince the publishers to continue translating the rest of Arilyn and Danilo's adventures. |
Being the lord of evil is more a state of mind than an actual position |
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
Posted - 18 May 2010 : 15:25:53
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quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
[quote]Ha! Thanks for sharing that--it made my day. :)
Pleased to hear it. |
There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
Terry Pratchett |
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Genis
Learned Scribe
USA
226 Posts |
Posted - 18 May 2010 : 15:59:58
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I feel like we aren't being excited enough about chatting with random authors like it's nothing. Granted it's probably good we aren't all giddy like school girls or else nothing would get done and I'm sure it would get real old real fast for the authors, but allow me to exercise my own personal right to be giddy like a school girl.
Elaine Cunnningham!?!? OMG! Murray Leeder!?!? WOO! Etcetera...
Yeah, I don't frequent the kind of threads that authors regularly hang out in so its still a novelty for me. It's the simple things in life. 
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ElaineCunningham
Forgotten Realms Author
2396 Posts |
Posted - 19 May 2010 : 13:28:21
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quote:
Originally posted by strahd_zaf
Hi Elaine,
I am the translator for the Hebrew versions of FR and DL. These days we celebrate the 15th anniversary of the translation of Elfshadow. For this occasion, we have re-printed Elfshadow with new editing and published Elfsong, which was long sought by the Israeli crowd.
I must say that translating Elfsong was a challenge, because of all the songs and the riddles, and I needed to retain the rhythm, and explain strange musical instruments, and etc. But again, I loved the book, and I hope that it would sell well enough that I can convince the publishers to continue translating the rest of Arilyn and Danilo's adventures.
Hi, Strahd.
Thanks for posting. I'm very happy to learn of these new translations, particularly ELFSONG. Yes, I can see how that would be a challenge. Sometimes the bawdy references end up being....a tad unsubtle. I read the French translation of some of Danilo's bawdy verse and my response was, "Dang. I thought you people invented the 'double entendre!' " :) One of these days I'll transcribe the music for "Elminster's Jest," the singing sword's ballad, so that translators have a melody and meter in mind. But then, I'm not sure whether that would simplify the process or make it more complicated.
Oddly enough, authors don't always hear when books are licensed to other publishers for translation, and since the accounting can lag far behind the publication, sometimes we don't hear about new translations until they've been out for quite a long time. So I'm always happy to hear from overseas publishers and translators. |
Edited by - ElaineCunningham on 19 May 2010 14:29:04 |
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Kilvan
Senior Scribe
Canada
896 Posts |
Posted - 19 May 2010 : 22:38:47
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| What I don't like about french FR products is that they translate everything they can, even the stuff the shouldn't, like city names. Waterdeep became Eauprofonde (water = eau, deep = profonde) or Battlehammer became Marteaudeguerre (which would mean warhammer), and I think its awful. Other stuff they changed simply to match how the word sounds, like Bane became Baine and Faerun became Féérune. Like with movies, I prefer to stick to the original version to avoid losing stuff in the translation. |
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ElaineCunningham
Forgotten Realms Author
2396 Posts |
Posted - 20 May 2010 : 00:32:01
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quote:
Originally posted by Genis
I feel like we aren't being excited enough about chatting with random authors like it's nothing.
Nice! Let's try that on a business card....
Elaine Cunningham, Random Author
I like it. It's better than my fallback, which is "Obscure Midlist Author."
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FR Novels in other Languages
