Language translations for leader sayings

[Morningcalm]

Until we have someone make a compilation of Shaka and Pocatello XML + reasonable translations by those not fully conversant in the language, we'll be scratching our heads.

Speaking of, does anyone have the Language XML Translations for Theodora's Attacked and Declare War lines? It seems like the writing they had for the medieval Greek was just...very bad, grammatically.

 

[otaman1]

The first sentence of Pocatello's intro is this:

Ne Chief Pocatello. (I am Chief Pocatello.)

Dunno the rest.

 

[seancolorado]

Some guessing on translation. This will be rather difficult as Old Javanese is moribund language only used by artists (shadow puppeteers, traditional Javanese opera players etc) and scholars in modern day Indonesia.

* Gajah Mada Intro: Hangadegto kito hinar pakan maha wirya, Gajah Mada, ring Nuswantara [You face us, the great warior, Gajah Mada of Nusantara] (Nusantara is poetic name for Indonesian archipelago.)

Not just a poetic name, but also an alternative acceptable name for the archipelago itself.

I despise the name Westerners coined it: "Malay Archipelago"

The name for the entire Indonesian/Malaysian/Australian archipelago is called Nusantara, end of story.

 

[God of Kings]

I must agree, seancolorado.

I prefer the name Nusantara as well.

 

[digrosz]

Sorry if it has been said already, but I find it disturbing that William Of Orange speaks Dutch.
Not only does he have a weird voice, he also was French, not knowing any Dutch. I guess they let him speak Dutch so that it would appear more logical.

 

[Geppenguin]

Not just a poetic name, but also an alternative acceptable name for the archipelago itself.

I despise the name Westerners coined it: "Malay Archipelago"

The name for the entire Indonesian/Malaysian/Australian archipelago is called Nusantara, end of story.

That's a bit harsh...
I do agree Nusantara is a more encompassing name, but considering that the various dominant cultures (Javanese, Acehnese, Balinese, Bugis etc.) of the archipelago are all closely related to the Malay culture (which is the most widespread, from the Peninsula to Borneo to Sumatra), it is an acceptable name. It's no worse than calling India the Indian subcontinent (the etymological reasons for this are rather preposterous too). Bahasa Indonesia is also based much more on Malay than any of the other languages.

Different names are used because of the differing backgrounds of the user. Nusantara for the Malays, Javanese and many ethnic groups of the archipelago because it is from their language, Malay Archipelago for Westerners because their first contact was with the Malay sultanates of Melaka and Johor-Riau. Sundaland is used in scientific texts. All are valid to describe the archipelago.

 

[IgorS]

Sorry if it has been said already, but I find it disturbing that William Of Orange speaks Dutch.
Not only does he have a weird voice, he also was French, not knowing any Dutch. I guess they let him speak Dutch so that it would appear more logical.

This whole language idea in Civ V was ridiculous from the very beginning. I know, they wanted to make it authentic, but it just came out absolutely wrong. Willem is not the only problem. Catherine speaks Russian as if she spoke it since she was a child and didn't grow up speaking German, Montezuma's Nahuatl has Spanish words, Atilla speaks Chuvash, and Ramesses speaks Arabic. Oh, yeah, and George Washington sounds like Bill Clinton.
So I hope that Civ V is the last time in the franchise leaders speak their own language. They should either all just speak English or not speak at all.

 

[Morningcalm]

Sorry if it has been said already, but I find it disturbing that William Of Orange speaks Dutch.
Not only does he have a weird voice, he also was French, not knowing any Dutch. I guess they let him speak Dutch so that it would appear more logical.

"Under the guidance of the regent, Mary of Hungary, William grew into a handsome young nobleman, elegant and well-spoken in French and Dutch as well as in his native German, and intelligent and at ease with people. He married a wealthy heiress, Anne of Egmont and Büren, in 1551, thus becoming the richest nobleman in the Netherlands. Charles V was particularly fond of him, and during his abdication at Brussels on Oct. 25, 1555, he rested his weary arms upon young Orange's shoulders."

Source: http://www.answers.com/topic/prince-of-orange

So no, him speaking Dutch with some archaic words is perfectly fine.

This whole language idea in Civ V was ridiculous from the very beginning. I know, they wanted to make it authentic, but it just came out absolutely wrong. Willem is not the only problem. Catherine speaks Russian as if she spoke it since she was a child and didn't grow up speaking German, Montezuma's Nahuatl has Spanish words, Atilla speaks Chuvash, and Ramesses speaks Arabic. Oh, yeah, and George Washington sounds like Bill Clinton.
So I hope that Civ V is the last time in the franchise leaders speak their own language. They should either all just speak English or not speak at all.

I respectfully disagree. Having them speak English would invite caricatured actors to speak the lines in stereotyped accents. I think having the leaderheads voiced in (generally) accurate languages with interesting lines is a good thing. They did mess up on Attila, Theodora, Alexander and some other leaders, and the actual translations rarely appear in the game (hence this thread), but it added an interesting cultural element that Civ IV lacked. That said, I hope Civ VI will have more lines from the leaders, and also the unit speech (so that when you play the civ, you hear your civ's language).

 

[ales_]

Catherine speaks Russian as if she spoke it since she was a child and didn't grow up speaking German, Montezuma's Nahuatl has Spanish words, Atilla speaks Chuvash, and Ramesses speaks Arabic. Oh, yeah, and George Washington sounds like Bill Clinton.

1) Yes, Catherine should speak with a German accent.
2) Yes, Montezuma should have no Spanish words.
3) Chuvash is the best possible language for Attila.
4) Ramesses' language is the biggest mistake in game.
5) We don't know how Washington sounded, do we?

 

[sukritact]

1)5) We don't know how Washington sounded, do we?

Given he was British; we can assume he has a British accent?

 

[The_J]

Moderator Action: Guys, this is not the right thread to discuss if all or only some of the leaders should speak their own language! This thread is for the translations of what they say, not for that type of discussion you're having at the moment.

 

[Piobmhor]

This whole language idea in Civ V was ridiculous from the very beginning. I know, they wanted to make it authentic, but it just came out absolutely wrong. Willem is not the only problem. Catherine speaks Russian as if she spoke it since she was a child and didn't grow up speaking German, Montezuma's Nahuatl has Spanish words, Atilla speaks Chuvash, and Ramesses speaks Arabic. Oh, yeah, and George Washington sounds like Bill Clinton.
So I hope that Civ V is the last time in the franchise leaders speak their own language. They should either all just speak English or not speak at all.

Disagree. I remember how horrible Shogun 2 became after they changed so the units spoke English instead of Japanese. While not perfect I rather hear grammatically wrong Greek before making everyone speak English.

I also don't get all the hoopla. This is a Civ game not Rosetta Stone. The foreign languages are supposed to add immersion, not be 100% accurate. At least Firaxis tried.

 

[IgorS]

I really don't want to continue this discussion here, and I remember that we already had such a discussion in the past. I just have one thing to say (and it is the same thing I've said then): "Assassin's Creed" - all characters speak English, but their accents don't sound stereotypical.

 

[Pikachao]

Hey, so I've been doing some research for the Shoshone stuff, and I've only been able to get a few things translated (real life and everything.) So I'll post up the little stuff that I have right now, and I'll post the amazing and comprehensive references I've found so if other people want to help translate, they'd be able to (they are really big, one's a dictionary and the others a guide on Shoshone grammer, so with those two, it's probably enough to fully translate it.) Just to note that I switched the word order in the english versions so it's be clearer.

Intro: I am Chief Pocatello. You do come down in unto the middle of Indian land (ne Chief Pocatello. eN ai’ hani" bidai na newe sogope bihande.)

Lets hear it 3: “?” (ha?) (This is a hard one to translate into english because “ha” is defined as “question marker” so he’s basically saying “?” to you.)

Declare war 1: base person (Newe Bishia, or Newe Bishi, which would be rotten person)

Request: hear ???? (Nangka ???? [sounds like haik])

here are the references:
Grammer: http://www.wyominglinguistics.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Survey-of-Shoshone-Grammar1.pdf
Dictionary: http://www.wyominglinguistics.org/w...2/09/Eastern-Shoshone-Working-Dictionary2.pdf

 

[sukritact]

Lets hear it 3: “?” (ha?) (This is a hard one to translate into english because “ha” is defined as “question marker” so he’s basically saying “?” to you.)

Out of interest, do you know how grammatical this is? Both Thai and Chinese have question markers ("ไหม",“吗”), but I don't think either can be used as a stand alone question.

 

[Pikachao]

Out of interest, do you know how grammatical this is? Both Thai and Chinese have question markers ("ไหม",“吗&#8221, but I don't think either can be used as a stand alone question.

I can't one hundred percent say this, because the grammar references I have don't mention anything for or against it, but it seems like saying "ha" by itself probably wouldn't be too out of place. It's used specifically to specify a question as yes/no ("is it raining?" "am I dead?" etc.) so it's kind of like Pocatello is asking "yes?" when he says it (kind of, but not completely.)

 

[sukritact]

I can't one hundred percent say this, because the grammar references I have don't mention anything for or against it, but it seems like saying "ha" by itself probably wouldn't be too out of place. It's used specifically to specify a question as yes/no ("is it raining?" "am I dead?" etc.) so it's kind of like Pocatello is asking "yes?" when he says it (kind of, but not completely.)

Hmm.... I just asked since question markers in the two languages I gave have the same purpose ("现在下雨吗?/Is it raining now?" ; but you would never see the particles used independently without context. I've never seen a language use the question marker independently, although I see no reason to say there are no languages that may use the particle in this way.

 

[Pikachao]

Hmm.... I just asked since question markers in the two languages I gave have the same purpose ("现在下雨吗?/Is it raining now?" ; but you would never see the particles used independently without context. I've never seen a language use the question marker independently, although I see no reason to say there are no languages that may use the particle in this way.

Well if it isn't grammatically correct, it could be slang that's become commonplace (unless I'm wrong in the assumption that multiple people help translate for the game, then it'd just be a single persons colloquialism)

 

[gamel]

Hi, as a native French speaker Napoleon's lines are not exactly transcripted, there are some spelling mistakes
It's a shame he says "tu" (informal "you" used for friends and family) instead of "vous", it really doesn't suit a legendary figure like him. Some people have already complained about this in other languages :/
The funny thing is that the voice acting is quite bad, he sounds like a guy reading a text and acting an artificial angry voice, some kind of cartoon voice acting. Besides, historically, Napoleon is Corsican, and Corsicans have a very different accent

Question for the German speakers here : why does Bismarck say "ihr" and "euch" instead of "Sie" and "Ihnen"? Is this some kind of translation error (some guy had to translate the english "you", not knowing in our context "you" is intended to only one person?) or has my German declined over the years?

Spoiler :

Napoleon
French.
Intro: Welcome. I'm Napoleon, of France; the smartest general (lit. "military") in world history. (Bienvenue, je suis Napoléon, de France, le militaire le plus intelligent de l'histoire mondiale.)
Attacked: You've fallen into my trap. I'll bury you. (Tu es tombé dans mon piège. Je vais t'enterrer.)
Declares war: You're disturbing us, prepare for war. (Tu nous déranges, prépare-toi à la guerre.)
Gloat: Let that be a lesson to you; I'm invincible. (J'espère que tu as appris ta leçon; je suis invincible.)
Defeated1: I commend you for your victory. (Je te félicite pour ta victoire.)
Defeated2: I'm beaten.. Do what you will with me. (Je suis battu... Fais de moi ce que tu veux)
Peace: It seems I underestimated you. I won't make the same mistake again, I promise you. (Il semblerait que je t'aie sous-estimé. Je ne referai pas cette erreur, je te te le promets.)
Request: France offers you this exceptional proposition. (La France t'offre cette proposition exceptionelle.)
Demand: This is what France demands, your survival depends on your answer. (Voici ce qu'exige la France, ta survie dépend de ta réponse.)
HateHearIt1: Speak. (Parle.)
HateHello: It's you. (C'est toi.)
HateNo: Certainly not. (Certainement pas.)
HateNo2: That's unacceptable. (C'est inacceptable.)
HateNo3: You cannot be serious. (Ce n'est pas sérieux.)
HateYes: Agreed. (D'accord)
HateYes2: I guess I've no choice. (J'imagine que je n'ai pas le choix.)
HateYes3: Certainly. (Certainement.)
HateYes4: Agreed. (C'est d'accord.)
HateYes5: Excellent. (Excellent)
NeutralYes: Excellent. (Excellent)
NeutralHearIt1: Continue. (Continue.)
NeutralHearIt2: I'm listening. (J'écoute.)
NeutralHearIt3: Go on. (Vas-y.)
NeutralHearIt4: You were saying? (Tu disais?)
NeutralHello: Hello. (Bonjour)
NeutralNo: We refuse. ( Nous refusons.)
NeutralNo2: Of course not. (Bien sûr que non.)
NeutralNo3: No. (Non)
NeutralYes: Very well. (Très bien.)
NeutralYes2: Very well. (Très bien.)
NeutralYes3: I heard (Entendu).

 

[Gigaz]

Because there are actually three ways to adress someone in German.
The informal "du/dein" for most occasions where you are among friends.
The formal "sie/ihr" which is for interaction with strangers and shows respect.
The formal "ihr/euer" which was reserved for nobility. As there is no more real nobility in Germany, it is basically only used in literature in a historical context.

The speaker for Bismarck is clearly a native German speaker and he does it right with the "Ihr", even though he is mostly among the bad voice actors.