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by **Tonyblack** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 7:18 am

Welcome to the site indopratchettfan!

I think it very much depends on the translator whether the humour comes across. I've heard that some countries have excellent translators.

by **Penfold** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 12:31 pm

Tonyblack wrote:I think it very much depends on the translator whether the humour comes across. I've heard that some countries have excellent translators.

At the Museum of Curiosities recording, Terry also told of his early days as an author where the German publishers would slip soup adverts into his books without his knowledge!

(A bit like CMOT's attempts at subliminal advertising, I guess. Can you have subliminal reading?)

Welcome from me as well indopratchettfan!

by **Tonyblack** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 12:41 pm

I read somewhere that in the Italian versions Death was a female as is the case in Italian mythology. This wasn't really a problem until Reaper Man. :lol:

by **Jan Van Quirm** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 12:44 pm

Tonyblack wrote:... in the Italian versions Death was a female as is the case in Italian mythology. This wasn't really a problem until Reaper Man.

You read it in this very thread I think! :wink:

Crysania told us

by **Tonyblack** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 12:45 pm

Jan Van Quirm wrote:
Tonyblack wrote:... in the Italian versions Death was a female as is the case in Italian mythology. This wasn't really a problem until Reaper Man.

You read it in this very thread I think! Crysania told us

Indeed - but I'd also read it before that as well.

by **Sjoerd3000** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 1:50 pm

Welcome to the site indopratchettfan

by **unseenu** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 6:56 pm

I do french at college so i have been digging around the internet for a couple of french ones:

La mort-Death
La Huitième Couleur-The colour of magic(the eighth colour)
Timbré-Going postal("Post marked")
La Huitième Fille-Equal rites(the eigth daughter)

by **CrysaniaMajere** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 4:56 pm

Tonyblack wrote:
Jan Van Quirm wrote:
Tonyblack wrote:... in the Italian versions Death was a female as is the case in Italian mythology. This wasn't really a problem until Reaper Man.

You read it in this very thread I think! Crysania told us
Indeed - but I'd also read it before that as well.

it is female in Italy, but you don't have to search for mithology, it's just that the death is a female word. every word has a gender and "the death" translated "LA morte" is female, so they always talked about it as a woman, and as things goes, since men always dictate this things, Morte is often thought of as a sexy woman in black :roll:

Anyway they stopped translating many of TP's books, so they didn't have to change much

by **unseenu** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:13 pm

another thing i've noticed is that mort is always called mortimer as that word is always used to refer to the reaperman so calling him "mort" which on its own means "dead" would cause confusion.

by **CrysaniaMajere** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:21 pm

unseenu wrote:another thing i've noticed is that mort is always called mortimer as that word is always used to refer to the reaperman so calling him "mort" which on its own means "dead" would cause confusion.

who calls Mort Mortimer??in the French version?
it still was Mort in the italian version, though Death is Morte, so very similar.. but not so similar as in the French version...

by **Tonyblack** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 6:21 pm

In the book Mort, the character is indeed called Mortimer, which gets shortened to Mort. There's a bit when Death and Mort first meet:

WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
'Uh,' said Mort, 'Mortimer ... sir. They call me Mort.'
WHAT A COINCIDENCE

Death is acknowledging that in some languages he is known as Mort, or in countries where words have sex - Morte. :lol:

by **Cheery** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:03 pm

Oui! Il est morte. Means "He is dead".

Doesn't just "Mort" mean death? That would be a bit of a problem in the french edition

by **Cheery** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:13 pm

Speaking of the meaning of names: did you know "Detritus" means "rubbish" in latin? :lol:

Poor guy!

by **Tonyblack** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:32 pm

Cheery wrote:Speaking of the meaning of names: did you know "Detritus" means "rubbish" in latin?

Poor guy!

It used in English too. :wink:

by **theoldlibrarian** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:44 pm

Tonyblack wrote:
Cheery wrote:Speaking of the meaning of names: did you know "Detritus" means "rubbish" in latin?

Poor guy!
It used in English too.

I would thought it was closer to rubble or wreckage :wink:

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