Bonjour à tous

[oeuvre]

Hi guys,

i hereby prove I exist and would like to present myself.

I'm French (which you might I guessed by the name) and started reading fantasy when I was 12 (which was last century). I read different books and series, but I really fall in love with Brandon Sanderson's oeuvre (work) with the ending of the Wheel of Time.

I've read most of the Cosmere books : Mistborn trilogy and sequel, the 4 stormlight archive and inbetween novels, warbeaker, elantris, the emperor's soul, part of white sand 

And the other books : the reckoners, skyward, the rithmatist, Legion, and even Infinity Blade.

I bought Alcatraz and the Evil Librarian but i'm waiting a bit and will read them with my daughter. It hope it will likely be a nice addition to Harry Potter and the Hobbit (no way i'm reading her LOR though, she'll have to do it on her own ^^).

 

I really am impressed at how Brandon manages to write so many different worlds, characters, and adapt the point of view to what the narrator sees.

Spoiler

I especially loughed with Chiri-chiri"s point of view

And in fact of the whole scale of the work, still manages to write quickly and deliver on time ! 

 

Hope to have nice discussions with you guys about these worlds we love !

 

PS : in case you're wondering, I do like snails, though it's maily the garlic that makes the dish

PPS : I hate it when Lift invent words, I have to check on Google as obviously I can't understand

Edited March 8, 2021 by oeuvre

[AquaRegia he/him]

Welcome to the Shard!  Happy you found us.

I agree that Brandon's ability to write SO MUCH, and with such high quality, seems almost superhuman.  His characters are always so real-feeling, authentic and believable... and the funny bits are FUNNY.

I can see how Lift's unique vocabulary skills would present a problem for a non-native-English reader, but I really get a lot of enjoyment from it.  May I assume you are reading the novels in English?  I know there are French translations; it would be fascinating to hear the thoughts of a true bilingual reader regarding the differences between the versions.  How are those nonsense words Lift uses handled in translations?  How about the nonstandard contractions used to show vernacular speech (e.g., stormin')?  How is POETRY handled?  I always wondered about things like rhyming riddles in the Harry Potter novels... how does one translate THOSE into other languages?

I'm embarrassed by my monolingualism.

[oeuvre]

Hi Aqua, 

thanks for you quick answer. Yes I read the books in English. As I watch movies and Tv shows in English. I find the original text and dialogs, voices, much interesting. I even watch some German, Spanish or even Japanese context in original version. I don't speak all of these languages, but undertitles do the job.

And actually Fantasy is a great way to start reading in another language, because in essence, they include made-up words, so you are in the same position as the native-english reader. First you don't understand everything, but that's something any fanrasy reader accepts. You get transported in a new universe, with new rules, vocabulary, peoples... I think it's part of the package. 

And you reach a good level, you stop translating words, you just get in the flow. For instance I showed a chapter of Rythm of War to my wife, and she saw "the cremling scuttled away". Go translate cremling ! and scuttled, I know what it means, i can here the sounds of the insect moving. But I would be embarrased to translate it.

Regarding translations, of course the first books I read were French translations. They are different kinds of translations, it has changed over time : for instance in the Hobbit, everything was translated, even the names. Bilbo Baggins became Bilbon Sacquet (bag=sac). Rivendell became Fondcombe, but it is impossible to translate back. Now the translation is more respectful of the original work.

In the end, the translation really depends on the quality of the translators. In Harry Potter, it is amazingly well done. Snape became Rogue, which is kind of funny as rogue has another meaning in english. The magical words remained the same, which makes sense because it's mostly latin words. And the anagram for Voldemort was nicely adapted. poertries and songs are painfully translated... The most difficult are puns ... I really would'nt like to be in the translator's shoes when he has to translate puns !

I also saw some bad examples : the Hangover became Very Bad Trip (why ?!). Cruel Intentions became Sexe Intentions ( ?!). And the worst translation ever was from a Drizzt Do Urden book : Legacy (a Drizzt Do Urden book) which became "les revenants du fond du gouffre". Go figure...

Regarding Stormlight, the traduction looks good, from the extract I have read. Surges became Flux which kind of makes sense. The Listeners became ceux-qui-écoutent (those-who-listen) with a kind of native american vibe which clicks.

If you want to dig into it, I recommend the movie "The Translators" which is a thriller based on a topselling book translated in secret.

As a funny sidenote, I just realized that Mistborn had French names in it. For the whole book I read Vin like an English word ^^

[Chasmgoat he/him]

Welcome to the shard!

On 3/8/2021 at 8:28 AM, oeuvre said:

I'm French (which you might I guessed by the name)

I did guess. Oeuvre means a work of art, right? That's one of the only french words I know because of Calvin and Hobbes.

[AquaRegia he/him]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful response!  It is gratifying to hear that truly GOOD translations are being done, and thank the Heralds for the clever and erudite folks who do them.

8 hours ago, oeuvre said:

And the anagram for Voldemort was nicely adapted. poertries and songs are painfully translated... The most difficult are puns ... I really would'nt like to be in the translator's shoes when he has to translate puns !

Regarding Stormlight, the traduction looks good, from the extract I have read. Surges became Flux which kind of makes sense. The Listeners became ceux-qui-écoutent (those-who-listen) with a kind of native american vibe which clicks.

If you want to dig into it, I recommend the movie "The Translators" which is a thriller based on a topselling book translated in secret.

As a funny sidenote, I just realized that Mistborn had French names in it. For the whole book I read Vin like an English word ^^

I didn't even THINK about the fact that LORD VOLDEMORT was an anagram for Mr. Riddle's given name... in English.  Honestly brilliant that the French version of the family name evokes "jeu du sort," which means "twist of fate" or "game of chance."

YES I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets a native American vibe from the Listeners.

I will certainly look into that film.  Thanks!

I read Mistborn Era 1 AND Era 2 both - three times - without realizing those names were French-inspired.  Once someone here told me, I was mortified and felt pretty stupid... and boy do I HATE feeling stupid.  Vin?  Kelsier?  Demoux?  Valette Renoux???  How did I miss it?  I mean, I don't speak French, but I'm not UNEDUCATED, for rust's sake!

[oeuvre]

well you just made me realize that Tom Jedusor was close to "jeu du sort" so ...  

Just found a funny article on this https://bookshelf.mml.ox.ac.uk/2014/05/14/lord-voldemorts-middle-name/#:~:text=So%2C in Italian%2C Tom Riddle,“Eg er Voldemort”).

[oeuvre]

you are correct ! I tried to pick a French word that is used per se in english. Alternatively I had "déjà vu" but it was kind of meaningless ^^

[Honorless he/him]

On 3/9/2021 at 3:28 PM, oeuvre said:

Regarding Stormlight, the traduction looks good, from the extract I have read. Surges became Flux which kind of makes sense. The Listeners became ceux-qui-écoutent (those-who-listen) with a kind of native american vibe which clicks.

Oh I like that! How is the word "Stormlight" translated? 

[AquaRegia he/him]

4 hours ago, oeuvre said:

Just found a funny article on this https://bookshelf.mml.ox.ac.uk/2014/05/14/lord-voldemorts-middle-name/#:~:text=So%2C in Italian%2C Tom Riddle,“Eg er Voldemort”).

Quote

in Harry Potter et le Prince de sang mêlé, penultimate volume of the French saga, we meet a vile, abusive, squalid and half-insane dark wizard, obsessed with his aristocratic descent from Salazar Serpentard, who does indeed go by the name of Elvis.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA  That made my day.  I might start referring to people I disdain as "serpentard".

I forgot to mention the most amazing example of fiction translation I have personally read: the works of Polish SF author Stanislaw Lem.  Absurd, heartfelt, layered, hilarious, science-loving, and surreal, i highly recommend him to anybody who finds that description intriguing.

In one short story from the collection The Cyberiad, a character invents an Electronic Bard, ostensibly capable of creating the perfect poem for any subject.  His friend challenges the robot with an increasingly ridiculous series of topics and constraints, one of which is

 "...a poem about a haircut! But lofty, noble, tragic, timeless, full of love, treachery, retribution, quiet heroism in the face of certain doom! Six lines, cleverly rhymed, and every word beginning with the letter 's'!"

Which the Bard (and Lem, in Polish) promptly delivers.  Then some poor translator had to do it AGAIN, in English.  Amazing.

[oeuvre]

Quote

How is the word "Stormlight" translated? 

Stormlight is translated as Fulgiflamme. Fulgi seems to comes from latin fulgo, meaning to beam. A beaming flame. I think it's quite nice !

[Honorless he/him]

7 hours ago, oeuvre said:

Stormlight is translated as Fulgiflamme. Fulgi seems to comes from latin fulgo, meaning to beam. A beaming flame. I think it's quite nice !

Wow that is creative! It's very difficult to translate fantasy terms like this, and I couldn't imagine any possible translation that sounded good for this word