I am certain that the employees of WotC wish for M:tG to appeal to a great range of audiences, but, since the game is made in the United States and has English as its default language, I am certain that there may be difficulties in translating it into other languages or cultures, leading to situations that could be either humorous or awkward.
For example, the name of the Mardu clan is very similar in pronunciation to merde, the French word for "*****," so I wonder if that caused any problems when the Tarkir block was translated into French. The name of lavalanche is a pun that I doubt translates well into any language other than English, so its name might have been changed. Where there any issues with translating cards from the Kamigawa block into Japanese?
What does anyone else here say about this? Are you aware of any humorous or awkward moments when cards in this game were translated into other languages?
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“Those who would trade their freedoms for security will have neither.”-Benjamin Franklin
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
pucatrade
big receipts
alpha mox emerald
beta time walk
4 goyfs received
3 liliana of the veil
4 karn liberated
3 force of will
4 grove of the burnwillows
snapcaster mage
3 horizon canopy
2 full art damnation
The name of lavalanche is a pun that I doubt translates well into any language other than English, so its name might have been changed.
It's the same name in french, and the pun is only slightly less good. I imagine it's close for other roman languages as well. Lava = Lave, Avalanche = Avalanche.
I had to look up those cards to understand your joke, which was not a major bother for me, but it still would have been nice if you had explained the humor in your post, so that not everyone needs to actually go through the effort of learning why those cards are humorous in other languages.
I remember a local card dealer had a bunch of French Delays and (this being back in 2007 or so) one of them had the art altered to replace the creature with George W. Bush.
Since no one here has actually explained the joke, the French name of delay is "retard" and mugging is "molestation," two words that have negative connotations in English that are not inherent aspects of those words: "retard" simply means to delay or slow, and "molest" simply means to bother or annoy, but most people find those words to be offensive or suggestive, and they have therefore become taboo words in English-speaking societies.
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“Those who would trade their freedoms for security will have neither.”-Benjamin Franklin
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
Tezeret, Agent of Bolas had to be "Agent of Nicol Bolas" in Spanish and Portuguese because "bolas" means "balls" in those languages.
German Ball Lightning is "Kugelblitz" which is totally awesome.
In English Hex's flavor text is "When killing five just isn't enough.". In German, instead it is "Sometimes seven at once is too much."
There are also a variety of misprints such as the Korean Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver has a +1 instead of a +2. And there is a "made up" guy named Franz who is only in German flavor text.
November 2, 2006
Q: When I saw the German versions of Scragnoth and Evil Eye of Urborg, I wondered who or what the "Franz" in the flavor texts could be. I searched the Internet for other cards with "Franz" in the flavor texts and fount that there are some German cards where this Franz appears, but no English cards with "Franz", and besides I found that some flavor texts are totally different (like Scragnoth's) So I would like to know
Who or what is Franz?
Why do you print these different flavor texts on the same cards?
--Arne
Germany
A: From Doug Beyer, flavor text writer:
Franz is an invention of Hanno Girke, a member of our translation team who works on Magic translation into German. To understand Franz’s origin, you need to know something about flavor text translation.
Magic flavor text is first written in English and then translated into other languages. As you might imagine, it can be nearly impossible to preserve the precise intent of English flavor text when it is translated into other languages, especially when it relies on a pun or other untranslatable wordplay. Instead of having to force an awkward translation, Magic translators have the freedom to tweak flavor text to preserve meaning or even to invent their own.
In Classic (Sixth Edition), translator Hanno Girke introduced Franz as a mad blue wizard on Memory Lapse, which, on the German printing, reads essentially:
“I’m not Franz.” – Franz
Thereafter Franz made it onto a few other cards, receiving good feedback from German players—see also the German printings of Defy Gravity, Gorilla Chieftain, Worldly Tutor, Creeping Mold, Uthden Troll, and Defense Grid.
As you’ve found, the most recent appearances of Franz were on timeshifted Scragnoth (the intelligence / counter-intelligence joke didn’t work in German) and Evil Eye of Urborg (which had its English quote tweaked to include the mad wizard Franz).
Who knows, maybe Franz will even appear in English flavor text someday.
Counterspell (ice age version aka Eiszeit) in german: Gegenzauber instant: Unterbrechungszauber .... what the hell Counter target spell: Neutralisiere einen Zauberspruch Deiner Wahl. what does that literally translate to? Neturalize a magic spell belonging [to what]?
Counterspell (ice age version aka Eiszeit) in german: Gegenzauber instant: Unterbrechungszauber .... what the hell Counter target spell: Neutralisiere einen Zauberspruch Deiner Wahl. what does that literally translate to? Neturalize a magic spell belonging [to what]?
why is the word instant so long?
It's not "instant". It's "interruption spell" (i.e., "interrupt").
Counterspell (ice age version aka Eiszeit) in german: Gegenzauber instant: Unterbrechungszauber .... what the hell Counter target spell: Neutralisiere einen Zauberspruch Deiner Wahl. what does that literally translate to? Neturalize a magic spell belonging [to what]?
Rancor in German is "Grüner Zorn", which translates to "Green Wrath". Sounds weird in both languages. Rancor just sounds o...brutal and intimidating. Green Wrath sounds...boring.
Courser of Kruphix is "Rennerin des Kruphix", translating to "Runner of Kruphix". Such a lame name...
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Yikes. The only thing worse than a sexless marriage is a stale metagame at home. When that happens, it's time to sideboard a mistress or two.
The Québecois people (french Canada) often pronounce "merde" like "marde", so I can definitely understand how humorous Mardu would be.
I also collect french versions of Magus of the Tabernacle (mage du Tabarnacle) and Chalice of the Void (Calice du Vide), as they both contain swear words used in French Canada (they are most often linked to religion).
For example, the name of the Mardu clan is very similar in pronunciation to merde, the French word for "*****," so I wonder if that caused any problems when the Tarkir block was translated into French. The name of lavalanche is a pun that I doubt translates well into any language other than English, so its name might have been changed. Where there any issues with translating cards from the Kamigawa block into Japanese?
What does anyone else here say about this? Are you aware of any humorous or awkward moments when cards in this game were translated into other languages?
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
Athreos, Gott der Überfahrt
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
That is very rude; I shall report your post to the moderators.
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
WGURBLands!WGURB
WGUInfectWGU
Legacy Lands Primer
Top 8 SCG Oakland 2014
Helpdesk
My Cube on CubeTutor
pucatrade
big receipts
alpha mox emerald
beta time walk
4 goyfs received
3 liliana of the veil
4 karn liberated
3 force of will
4 grove of the burnwillows
snapcaster mage
3 horizon canopy
2 full art damnation
Don't you mean the...mardurators?
It's the same name in french, and the pun is only slightly less good. I imagine it's close for other roman languages as well. Lava = Lave, Avalanche = Avalanche.
That is very humorous, I must say.
I had to look up those cards to understand your joke, which was not a major bother for me, but it still would have been nice if you had explained the humor in your post, so that not everyone needs to actually go through the effort of learning why those cards are humorous in other languages.
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
R: Copypasta Sauce {Browbeat}
UR: Mana Cache , One Spell to Bind them All {Magnetic Theft}
UG: Epic Struggle , All-In-Poison {Metamorphosis}
UW: Planar Overlay , Decree of the Bailiff {Saprazzan Bailiff}
BG: Thought Gorger , Dark Chroma {Umbra Stalker}
UBR: Dwarven Shrine
WUBRG: Dissipation Field , Maelstrom Nexus
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
And is Phyrexian, apparently.
As far as the French Delay thing goes, it's notable that it's using "retard" as a verb, not a noun, which is a very important distinction to make.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheBackwardsR
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
http://magiccards.info/m10/es/143.html
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588
German Ball Lightning is "Kugelblitz" which is totally awesome.
In English Hex's flavor text is "When killing five just isn't enough.". In German, instead it is "Sometimes seven at once is too much."
There are also a variety of misprints such as the Korean Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver has a +1 instead of a +2. And there is a "made up" guy named Franz who is only in German flavor text.
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Gegenzauber
instant: Unterbrechungszauber .... what the hell
Counter target spell: Neutralisiere einen Zauberspruch Deiner Wahl.
what does that literally translate to? Neturalize a magic spell belonging [to what]?
I buy HP and Damaged cards!
Only EDH:
Sigarda, Host of Herons: Enchantress' Enchantments
Jenara, Asura of War: ETB Value Town
Purphoros, God of the Forge: Global Punishment
Xenagos, God of Revels: Ramp, Sneak, & Heavy Hitters
Ghave, Guru of Spores: Dies_to_Doom_Blade's stax list
Edric, Spymaster of Trest: Donald's list
Neutralize a spell of your choice.
BWTeysa, Orzhov Scion
GWRhys the Redeemed
GUKruphix, God of Horizons
GRXenagos, God of Revels
GThrun, the Last Troll
GStompy
why is the word instant so long?
I buy HP and Damaged cards!
Only EDH:
Sigarda, Host of Herons: Enchantress' Enchantments
Jenara, Asura of War: ETB Value Town
Purphoros, God of the Forge: Global Punishment
Xenagos, God of Revels: Ramp, Sneak, & Heavy Hitters
Ghave, Guru of Spores: Dies_to_Doom_Blade's stax list
Edric, Spymaster of Trest: Donald's list
It's not "instant". It's "interruption spell" (i.e., "interrupt").
BWTeysa, Orzhov Scion
GWRhys the Redeemed
GUKruphix, God of Horizons
GRXenagos, God of Revels
GThrun, the Last Troll
GStompy
"I interupt you!"
I buy HP and Damaged cards!
Only EDH:
Sigarda, Host of Herons: Enchantress' Enchantments
Jenara, Asura of War: ETB Value Town
Purphoros, God of the Forge: Global Punishment
Xenagos, God of Revels: Ramp, Sneak, & Heavy Hitters
Ghave, Guru of Spores: Dies_to_Doom_Blade's stax list
Edric, Spymaster of Trest: Donald's list
Courser of Kruphix is "Rennerin des Kruphix", translating to "Runner of Kruphix". Such a lame name...
I also collect french versions of Magus of the Tabernacle (mage du Tabarnacle) and Chalice of the Void (Calice du Vide), as they both contain swear words used in French Canada (they are most often linked to religion).
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio