Befall (aka translation fun)

NighteyesGrisu
NighteyesGrisu Posts: 563 Critical Contributor
edited March 2015 in MPQ General Discussion
So for weeks I've wondered why Thorette's red is called "Beifall" in german (which means applause).

Only today, I noticed that it's not Beifall but Befall which can, at least in theory, be translated with smite but which is almost never used this way. Usually Befall is used to describe a infestation, like Pilzbefall (infestation with fungus).

But at least now I know, why the animation isn't Thor standing there clapping her hands until her enemies give up icon_e_smile.gif

(and yes, I still wish there was a way to set your desired language manually)

Comments

  • hurcules
    hurcules Posts: 519
    Interesting. So what would the proper German word be?
  • NighteyesGrisu
    NighteyesGrisu Posts: 563 Critical Contributor
    Probably "Vernichten" which goes more towards "utterly destroy" than just "Befall"
  • GuntherBlobel
    GuntherBlobel Posts: 987 Critical Contributor
    Bad/funny translations would make a great thread.
  • jojeda654
    jojeda654 Posts: 1,162 Chairperson of the Boards
    Can I ask what Hulk's Green is called in the German translation?
  • NighteyesGrisu
    NighteyesGrisu Posts: 563 Critical Contributor
    jojeda654 wrote:
    Can I ask what Hulk's Green is called in the German translation?

    Donnerklatschen icon_eek.gif
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Wait, MPQ picks which language the app is in for you? That seems kinda stupid. What's the point of having different language packs if there is no way to select one? Is it determined by some kind of phone global setting?
  • NighteyesGrisu
    NighteyesGrisu Posts: 563 Critical Contributor
    Lerysh wrote:
    Wait, MPQ picks which language the app is in for you? That seems kinda stupid. What's the point of having different language packs if there is no way to select one? Is it determined by some kind of phone global setting?

    at least on Android (and I think IOS too) it picks the language based on the language of the OS. I really would love to have them change this
  • NighteyesGrisu
    NighteyesGrisu Posts: 563 Critical Contributor
    GuntherBlobel wrote:
    Bad/funny translations would make a great thread.

    and then there's the puns that almost always get lost in translation...
  • rainkingucd
    rainkingucd Posts: 1,439 Chairperson of the Boards
    My favourite one so far is the Thick as Thieves event, which is translated as "Dumme Diebe".

    It translates Thick as the British slang for idiot, and completely loses the context of the phrase.
  • NighteyesGrisu
    NighteyesGrisu Posts: 563 Critical Contributor
    rainkingucd wrote:
    My favourite one so far is the Thick as Thieves event, which is translated as "Dumme Diebe".

    It translates Thick as the British slang for idiot, and completely loses the context of the phrase.

    yeah, that's one silly translation. Also "Die verlorene Sonne" somehow doesn't catch the pun in the original "prodigal sun" either.
  • Xenoberyll
    Xenoberyll Posts: 647 Critical Contributor
    Puns and such are hard to translate from one language to another. They just don't work most of the time. I don't expect much there.

    Red SheThor is "Befall" in German btw, which isn't applause but implies something like a disease, a better word would be "Zerschmettern" (smash/shatter/crash ) but apparently they just do word for word translations with no regard to context or meaning.

    The worst was Ragnarök though. His german color transform ability is OP in German because it reads as change 2 tiles of every color because "every" and "any" can both translate to the same German word. Also some texts are too long for the available room (i.e. Buttons) in German.

    I asked support to add a language option a while ago and they said it's a good idea but apparently it's not important to them.
    The languages are there though, because when you change your phone setting to a different language the ingame language changes too. It's a hassle though.
  • Xenoberyll
    Xenoberyll Posts: 647 Critical Contributor
    Also, talking strategies in international Alliances works with the colors only because nobody knows the right names of abilities and reverse translating leads to misunderstandings.

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