Tribulations of a Translator (POTENTIAL SPOILERS)

Sunless Sea
121

Aaaargh!

I finally bouhgt and installed Zubmariner assuming my backup translated dll files were in order (they were last time I checked), but when I was about to copy them back to the game directory, I realized one of the two was missing, SunlessGame.dll, the biggest of the two. I have no idea what happenned to it, whether I inadvertently deleted it or what.
I’ve been unable to recover it so I’ll have to translate it again from scratch, which is going to set me back somewhat (it’s not so much text compared to the whooping 80% of events.json still to be translated, but it’s a pain to hunt for every translatable string in the dll. Again).

It’s my own damn fault for not double checking the backups were in place before installing the DLC. Just needed to vent a little.
edited by Cpt. Eructus on 11/29/2019

122

Does anybody know where these interactions are stored in the game files? You know, the ones where you see something on the zee-floor, sail over it and get some minor reward through a log message, without triggering a proper event, like extra oxygen from a vent, supplies from a wreck or terror form a constant companion husk.

I’ve been unable to find them neither in the json files nor the dlls, but they must be somewhere.
edited by Cpt. Eructus on 12/7/2019

123

I’m back for more!

“The inhabitants of Scrimshander spend much of their time praying on the mysteries of the past. They spend almost as much time arguing about their interpretations. Salted residents often collect nearby salvage, studying the results and inscribing their interpretations on any skeletal remains.”

What’s the meaning of “salted” here? Is it just because they gather salvage in the salty zee and thus end up salted themselves or is there something else to it?

124

Salty or salted certainly connects to the sea and to zailoring generally. Also, it’s a suggestion of age (both because old heads, like salt, are white, and a wry nod at salting being a way to preserve meat). The age links are particularly appropriate for this text, which is emphasizing Scrimshander’s historical leanings. These inhabitants aren’t just piratical historians; they are historical themselves.

125

Thanks. Once again, layers upon layers. I’ll see what I can do.

126

&quotApproach the Raven Haired Dotress&quot

Does &quotdotress&quot mean something or am I right to assume it is a typo and it actually means &quotdoctress&quot

Apparently this Nook event is UNUSED, so not a big deal, but I may as well get it done just in case.
edited by Cpt. Eructus on 2/1/2020

127

Insofar as I know, dotress doesn’t actually exist in the English language. It may be (highly unlikely) that its refering to dote, ie. someone who dotes. Otherwise, it’s more likely she’s a doctress, whether medical or academic. It would depend on the text, I think, which I’m unable to find on the wiki.

128

There’s not much context to go on. She’s a potential partner in an underwater orgy in Nook (the other being a Mischievous Eyed Gentleman… or both) and that is her only appearance. There’s nothing to go on about whether she could be a doctress or anything else.

&quotHer tongue presses eagerly against yours. She stops you from floating away by digging her ragged fingernails into your cheeks. Her writhing body wraps around yours with the slippery finesse of an eel. She drags you down, deeper into the tooth, and then deeper into her embrace. When all is done, she kisses you gently on your forehead. Her eyes do not leave yours as she lifts your wrist to her mouth. She bites down - sharply, firmly, gently - suckling at the warm blood.&quot

As I said, the event seems to be unused and even if it wasn’t, her nomenclature is mostly inconsequential, I was just curious at this point. I went with doctress anyway.

I wonder if this was cut from the game for being a little too explicit for the general tone. The Gentleman option even includes some bondage, and is mention of &quoteffluence&quot from the orgy being carried away by the currents.

PS. I hope I’m not braking any rules by posting this cut content. It’s out there in the events file for anyone to see.
edited by Cpt. Eructus on 2/1/2020

129

On the description of Batuk
&quotHis head is bald. His beard is near.&quot

Should I understand that his head is bald and his beard is nearly bald? From the protrait, the beard looks short but not bald, and that’s a weird way of referring to a beard anyway.

Wiktionary lists an obsolete meaning for &quotnear&quot I’ve never seen before: &quotImmediate; direct; close; short.&quot So maybe just a fancy way of saying ha has a short beard?

130

[quote=Cpt. Eructus]I personally had never heard aguamala before (well, maybe once or twice but I didn’t remember it), so it could be relatively rare in some regions and more common in others, but I wouldn’t say obscure. By the nature of the name it looks like a more colloquial word than medusa.

And in the end, I think I’m hesitant to let it go because I like the mythological echoes of the word medusa more than the so much more straightforward and pedestrian &quotbad water&quot :P
edited by Cpt. Eructus on 2/23/2019[/quote]

Just a thought on this: aguamala, in certain parts of the Caribbean, like Cuba, is used to name a certain type of algae you can find in beaches- I am a little confused as to how to translate it back to English: think of algae that are poisonous to the touch. So,translating it to aguamala might be a little…jarring.

Also, I am sorry for coming late to this. Just found out about this thread now, and am re-reading it,so i will be making some comments on things just thought i could give a little bit of insight, me coming from Latin-America and all that, and it being obvious that your regional variation of Spanish differs from mine. This makes me wonder: exactly to what kind of Spanish are you translating this? Castilian, Latino, a neutral variant?

131

[quote=Cpt. Eructus]
That brings up another issue: the proper translation of Cannoneer in this context would be Artillero, but I’m already using that for the Longshanks Gunner and other instances of the word &quotgunner&quot, and there’s not really a proper synonim of Artillero in Spanish. &quotCañonero&quot doesn’t have that meaning according to the DRAE, but I’ve found at least one 19th century reference (or rather, reference in a book written in the 20th century to look like the memoirs of a 18th-19th century soldier) to it being used for cannon-makers rather than cannon-users (page 105), which would also fit our Cannoneer and their inventions. I haven’t found any other reference but I’m inclined to use Cañonero anyway, bacuse if nothing else, it’s perfectly understandable in context.
edited by Cpt. Eructus on 3/11/2019[/quote]

Hum. &quotEl Cañonero Irreprimible&quot?. Sounds good,but then you are slapping a gender on this,so…Also, &quotcañonero&quot is also a type of ship,you know?

Let me quote the RAE: dicho de un barco o de una lancha: Artillado con algún cañón. &quotSaid of a ship or boat: manned with a type of cannon&quot, Also, it is synonymous with &quottronera&quot: espacio en las baterías para colocar la artillería- a space in the batteries to put the artillery.

I believe the more exact translation would be &quotLombardero&quot, said of a gunner who wields a lombarda. I know it is not the most exact term,but, it is a rather arcane term which correctly delivers the idea you are trying to convey.

132

[quote=Cpt. Eructus]

By sheer chance I came across the word &quotcañonista&quot that I’d never heard before. Apparently it’s the specific word for the tradesman that makes the barrels of firearms (cañón is Spanish for both cannon and the barrel of any firearm). That’s too specific and strays even further from the original meaning of cannoneer than &quotcañonero&quot does, but it has the advantage of being a gender neutral word, which would make the &quotCañonista irrefrenable&quot a suitably neutral name. Other neutral option is &quotcondestable&quot, the rank of artillery NCOs in the Spanish navy, but that’s also very specific to the naval service and it’s much more obscure than another definition of the same word meaning a high royal official (later became ceremonial) in charge of the army, which would create confusion. Im torn: on one hand, cañonista is closer phonetically to the word cañón/cannon, which makes it easier to understand that it’s at least something related to cannons (even if it really isn’t necessarily) but condestable is slightly closer to the intended meaning.

Or I could go for &quotOficial de Artillería&quot. It’s longer and more cumbersome but it’s probably the best option, the more I think about it.

edited by Cpt. Eructus on 7/22/2019[/quote]

&quotCondestable&quot also meant a military and political charge in the army,so perhaps it would be better left off,because it is not exact. As to &quotcañonista&quot, it sounds good,but what about the article?

133

[quote=Cpt. Eructus]On the description of Batuk
&quotHis head is bald. His beard is near.&quot

Should I understand that his head is bald and his beard is nearly bald? From the protrait, the beard looks short but not bald, and that’s a weird way of referring to a beard anyway.

Wiktionary lists an obsolete meaning for &quotnear&quot I’ve never seen before: &quotImmediate; direct; close; short.&quot So maybe just a fancy way of saying ha has a short beard?[/quote]

Hum. I would assume that the use of near in that sentence is to both convey the obsolete meaning and subtly imply that his beard might be fading. Try &quotrala&quot.

134

[quote=Preacher Tzara]
Hum. I would assume that the use of near in that sentence is to both convey the obsolete meaning and subtly imply that his beard might be fading. Try &quotrala&quot.[/quote]

I thought of that but from the picture it doesn’t look &quotrala&quot to me. Besides, I’m using that adjective for a different character in the same event (Bourdain’s &quotthinning hair&quot) where I think it’s more appropriate.

For the Cannoneer I decided on &quotoficial de artillería&quot. The article can be worked around, saying &quottu oficial de artillería&quot instead of &quotel/la oficial de artillería&quot.

About &quotaguamala&quot, I don’t doubt it can have other regional meanings, but jellyfish seems to be overwhelmingly the more prevalent one (and the only one recorded by the RAE), and even searching for &quotaguamala cuba&quot most of the results still are about jelyfish. Could it be that those poisonous algae are called aguamala after the jellyfish? Both wash up on the beaches and are poisonous to the touch so the connection makes sense.

For the most part I’m going with what I know and translating to Castilian Spanish, as I’m from Spain myself, but I do try to keep it as accessible as I am able for all Spanish speakers. For example I try to avoid translating the verb &quotto take&quot for &quotcoger&quot, which is the most common word for it and perfectly innocent in Spain, but not so much in most Latin American countries. I also try to add a little 19th century falir to the text, which I think also can help, as Spanish variants back then hadn’t diverged as much yet as they have today.

135

[quote=Cpt. Eructus][quote=Preacher Tzara]
Hum. I would assume that the use of near in that sentence is to both convey the obsolete meaning and subtly imply that his beard might be fading. Try &quotrala&quot.[/quote]

I thought of that but from the picture it doesn’t look &quotrala&quot to me. Besides, I’m using that adjective for a different character in the same event (Bourdain’s &quotthinning hair&quot) where I think it’s more appropriate.

For the Cannoneer I decided on &quotoficial de artillería&quot. The article can be worked around, saying &quottu oficial de artillería&quot instead of &quotel/la oficial de artillería&quot.

About &quotaguamala&quot, I don’t doubt it can have other regional meanings, but jellyfish seems to be overwhelmingly the more prevalent one (and the only one recorded by the RAE), and even searching for &quotaguamala cuba&quot most of the results still are about jelyfish. Could it be that those poisonous algae are called aguamala after the jellyfish? Both wash up on the beaches and are poisonous to the touch so the connection makes sense.

For the most part I’m going with what I know and translating to Castilian Spanish, as I’m from Spain myself, but I do try to keep it as accessible as I am able for all Spanish speakers. For example I try to avoid translating the verb &quotto take&quot for &quotcoger&quot, which is the most common word for it and perfectly innocent in Spain, but not so much in most Latin American countries. I also try to add a little 19th century falir to the text, which I think also can help, as Spanish variants back then hadn’t diverged as much yet as they have today.[/quote]

Hum. About the beard, what I meant with &quotrala&quot is that the impression of the sentence describing it appears, at least to me, that such beard is not as long as it used to be. My particular headcanon on the matter is that it used to be longer. &quotCorta&quot seems to be the easier solution here. But then, words such as &quotfina&quot- in a certain application of the word, as prim- or even &quotprecisa&quot.

As to aguamala, yes, I have checked it out and it does refer to a type of poisonous algae. Apparently, it is also used in other parts of Latin America to refer to the algae and not to the jellyfish.

As to the Cannoneer, yes, &quotoficial de artilleria&quot seems good. A question, tough: you know that officers are classified according to their functions, in five classes- and mascots-, if I remember it well. The position for the Cannoneer is called Gunnery Officers, which also means &quotoficial de artilleria&quot. how are you translating that?

Anyway,sorry for buggering you. Hope it helps!

136

It does help a lot having the perspective of other Spanish speakers. Thank you.

Another option for the beard could be &quotrecortada&quot

For the officer class of &quotgunnery officer&quot I went with &quotartillero&quot. The way the game is coded, it automatically adds the plural form of the officer classes to the right-hand panel of the officers tab, so if I was to translate as &quotoficial de artillería&quot, it would become &quotoficial de artillerías&quot bacause it only pluralizes the last word, that it perceives as the noun. That already happens with the first mate (&quotprimer ofical&quot becoming &quotprimer oficiales&quot) but in that case I find it less jarring.

I already modified that function to change how it reacts to vowels and make it form plurals that wotk in Spanish (so &quotcirujano&quot becomes &quotcirujanos&quot and not &quotcirujanoes&quot and &quotoficial&quot becomes &quotoficiales&quot instead of &quotoficials&quot), but that is all I can do.
edited by Cpt. Eructus on 3/9/2020

137

[quote=Cpt. Eructus]On the description of Batuk
&quotHis head is bald. His beard is near.&quot[/quote]

I hate to break up a fascinating conversation, but I’m almost entirely certain that this is a typo, and that it should read, &quotHis beard is neat.&quot

138

[quote=Siankan][quote=Cpt. Eructus]On the description of Batuk
&quotHis head is bald. His beard is near.&quot[/quote]

I hate to break up a fascinating conversation, but I’m almost entirely certain that this is a typo, and that it should read, &quotHis beard is neat.&quot[/quote]

Oh. That would tender it moot, indeed. Howewer, if that is the case, then &quotrecortada&quot is the mist fitting Word. Perhaps we should ask FBG? Barring that, I believe &quotrecortada&quot should be used, based on the ambigous state of that sentence.

139

[quote=Siankan][quote=Cpt. Eructus]On the description of Batuk
&quotHis head is bald. His beard is near.&quot[/quote]

I hate to break up a fascinating conversation, but I’m almost entirely certain that this is a typo, and that it should read, &quotHis beard is neat.&quot[/quote]

That makes sense. &quotrecortada&quot looks like the best option then, because it works in both scenarios, regardless of it being &quotnear&quot or &quotneat&quot. Thanks
edited by Cpt. Eructus on 3/10/2020

140

What’s your take on translator notes. There are a few things that could benefit from a little explanation, like some literary quotes from authors largely unknown outside the Anglosphere used in the ingame text.

Of course, I don’t want to overdo it and explain every little contextual change I’ve made to the original text, but in your opinion, would it be beneficial to add the occasional note?

Generally, I would say that video games are not the place for that kind of thing, but Sunless Sea is already almost more like a novel than a game, so it could even contribute to that literary flavour.

I started wondering this when i came across the first and only mention of the L.B.s in Sunless Sea. And while L.B.s may be easy for an English audience to interpret as Little Bastards, there’s nothing of the sort in Spanish (there’s h. de p. (hijo de puta> son of a bitch), but that’s way too strong and doesn’t fit the style at all), so I opted for translating the abbreviation literally as PP.BB. (pequeños bastardos, repetition indicates plural in Spanish, as with EE.UU. for the USA) and add a very short note explaining it.
edited by Cpt. Eructus on 6/14/2020