Lost in tranlation : puns, references and other changes

[CatPix]

We all know that tranlating games is a unending source for fun and surprises. Most people that know their retrogaming references know their "all your bases are belong to us" and other "this is a secret to everybody".

 

But aside from plan poor translations, there is much more into translations than just mistakes.

Depending on the game era, company and country, a translation can receive a slight overhaul, being adapted for otherwise obscure cultural references... Or the translation can just throw everything out of the window and completely rewrite a text or change a character's personnality.

 

Some examples that I noticed :

 

In the Fallout series, there is the famous opening that says "War never changes". The French intro for Fallout 1 and 2 replace it with "La guerre, toujours la guerre" (War, always war) Fallout 3 and 4 replace it with the more interesting "La guerre ne meurt jamais" (War never dies).

 

https://youtu.be/xm6wl7ocGDs?t=1m55s

 

The canine companion Dogmeat in all the series is renamed Canigou in French, from a brand of pet food, itself named from a French mountain (which name origin is unknow but had long been believed to be of Roman origins, thus linking Canigou with canines).

 

 

Probably the biggest change is made within the Diamond City Radio, with radio host Travis Miles sounding, in the French version, like a late teenager with no knowledge of English, as he sometime comment about songs "I should translate it someday to understand it" "So this song title mean..." and make at least one reference to French singer Johnny Halliday "Next song is from Johnny... eh, no, Billie Holiday". I didn't listened to the original English version fully, but with a name like Travis Miles I doubt that in the original games he isn't of American origins and thus wouldn't understand English well.

 

And a translation oversigh :

This junk item in Fallout 4 :

is named in game "Industrial size shortening" which was translated as "Raccourcissement aux dimensions industrielles" except that "Raccourcissement aux dimensions industrielles" in French only mean "cut to industrial measurement" which doesn't make any sense and certainly doesn't relate to anything food related!

The confusion can be explained as "shortening" isn't common at all here (I had to look up for it myself) and I assuem that the "industrial grade" refer either to an item quality or size? Which would never be used in French regardless. (the fact that this is a junk item and not a food item probably didn't helped).

 

On another Bethesda game, Skyrim, most of the item names and places were replaced if they sounded english, including the game namer place itself. If the game title is still Skyrim, the region itself is referenced as Bordeciel; Windhelm as Fortdhiver, Riften as Faillaise, Whiterun is Borderive... and Solitude as.. Solitude. whew!

 

 

Mario & Luigi : Bowser's Inside Story is renamed as Mario& Luigi : voyage au centre de Bowser (Journey to the center of Bowser)

 

In Zelda Majora's Mask, there is an interesting bilingual joke made.

On the marketplace, two jugglers give you clues and exchange a joke.

 

 

The original text is :

- Did you hear about the kidnapping?

- Oh my, the kidnapping?

- Yep! But the kid woke up. Get it? Kid napping?

- Hoo hooo hooo hoo!

 

The French one (translated back in English, but with the joke altered to give you the effect that in French, it doesn't make any sense) is :

 

- Did you hear about the abduction?

- Oh my, the abduction?

- Yep! But the kid stoop up.

- Hoo hooo hooo hoo! Why am I laughing, it's not fun! Maybe in another language it make sense?

 

The joke being that in French, the word "enlèvement" does NOT contain the word "enfant" (kid) so the text read "enf-lèvement" which doesn't make sense, but give French audiences the clue to translate it into english, and reveal the original pun! This one is kinda hard to catch unless you know both English and French... as it's a pun based on a too litteral translation

 

And a classic of translation mistake/changed for coolness.

 

Star wars (count for here as there has been an assload of games made ) is often subtitled/followed by the translation "La guerre des étoiles".

 

It's a nice sounding translation for French people, sounds nice and catchy.

But there is a sort of mistake made here, since "La guerre des étoiles" doesn't translate as "Star Wars", but as "Stars War".

 

 

So, do you know of other games that received some massive or minor changes during translation? differences between US and UK version, Japanese games changed for US or European audiences... preferably things that aren't referenced in websites, and as I pointed out, not only translation mistakes, but deliberate changes count too!