Help with a couple french translations

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Jabberwocky
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Help with a couple french translations

Post by Jabberwocky »

I'm translating some text for my sci-fi game
If you speak french, could you check these for me?
French translations are in blue.

Training: Formation
- appears on a sign for the tutorial room.
Medi-lab: Méde-lab
- appears on a sign where you buy items such as "heal stims"
Armory: Armurerie
- appears on a sign where you buy guns and armor
Ship Hangar: Hangar Navire
- appears on a sign where the space ships are docked in the space station.
Mission Control: Contrôle de Mission
- appears on a sign where you receive missions, in the helm of the station
Drop Hangar: Hangar de Débarquement
- appears on a sign where there are drop ships which take you to a planet surface
Salvation Prophecy: Prophétie Du Salut
- the name of the game, which involves a prophecy for the salvation of mankind.
- "Salut" feels wrong here, since it also means "Hi" in french.
The Salvation: Le Salut
- "The Salvation" is the name of a cult-like faction that believes in and pursues the prophecy.
- again, "Salut" feels wrong here.

Thanks for any help you can give.
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Klaim
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Re: Help with a couple french translations

Post by Klaim »

Training: Formation
- appears on a sign for the tutorial room.
I would prefer "Entrainement" if it's about trainning someone to some practice.
"Formation" is ok if it's more like an official job.

So it depends on context but Entrainement seems closer to Trainning.

The problem is that the same English word is used in both cases French will use two French words.
Medi-lab: Méde-lab
- appears on a sign where you buy items such as "heal stims"
Médi-lab would be better (like "Laboratoire Médical").
Armory: Armurerie
- appears on a sign where you buy guns and armor
Yes that's the right word.
Ship Hangar: Hangar Navire
- appears on a sign where the space ships are docked in the space station.
It would be "Hangar Naval" but I've seen it used only for "boats".
The other word for ships is "vaisseau" but it's a word that means "something that contain you and you can go with", it's a very generic word.
In sci-fi, "vaisseau" is used for space ships, so "vaisseau spatial" is very often used.
So here I would have used "Hangar Spatial" because "Hangar des Vaisseaux Spatiaux" is really not good.
"Hangar Spatial" means "Space Hangar" which suggest that it contains spaceships.
Mission Control: Contrôle de Mission
- appears on a sign where you receive missions, in the helm of the station
I'm not sure what mission control means here, even in english... maybe it's very military.
Drop Hangar: Hangar de Débarquement
- appears on a sign where there are drop ships which take you to a planet surface
Looks fine.
Salvation Prophecy: Prophétie Du Salut
- the name of the game, which involves a prophecy for the salvation of mankind.
- "Salut" feels wrong here, since it also means "Hi" in french.
"salut" not use as a "hi" really means "salvation".
In english it's cool but in french "prophétie du salut" is kind of not really sexy...
Maybe "Prophétie Salutaire" that is more like "Salvatory Prophecy" but it's not sexy either.

So I would be you I would keep the game name in english, it makes it sexy for French anyway.
If you really want to have a french name, find another name, maybe "Prophétie " + some cool epic word or something.
The Salvation: Le Salut
- "The Salvation" is the name of a cult-like faction that believes in and pursues the prophecy.
- again, "Salut" feels wrong here.
As said, it's the correct translation, but it's just not "sexy".
Maybe you need another word for it in French.

As it is a cult, I would suggest "le culte du salut" that means "the Salvation cult".
That way it's really reallly more sexy because it's obvious that it's the name of a cult about the salvation, and as a "religion" which means it's "mystic" and that makes it sexy.
Also, it allows you to use it in the title: "La Prophétie du Culte du Salut". It's just too long, so "Culte du Salut" would be better but don't mean the same than the original title.

Choices to be made :)
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Re: Help with a couple french translations

Post by Jabberwocky »

Thanks Klaim,
Much appreciated!

The last troublesome translation is the title. Including the word "cult" in the name doesn't quite fit. I could leave the title in english, but if a good french translation can be found, I would prefer it.

What about "redemption" instead of "salvation"? So: La Prophétie de Rachat.
Does that work any better?
And so the faction named "the Salvation" would then be "le Rachat" en français.
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Re: Help with a couple french translations

Post by Mikachu »

Jabberwocky wrote:What about "redemption" instead of "salvation"? So: La Prophétie de Rachat.
Does that work any better?
No, actually, I think it sounds worse... maybe too old-fashioned word.

For the title, I would just keep it as it is, in english, there are quite a few game titles released here without even being translated (at least that's for France itself, I know that people in Quebec are much more pedantic about translating everything ;)
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Klaim
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Re: Help with a couple french translations

Post by Klaim »

Yes redemption should be translated "redemption" in french, it's the same word with same meaning. Rachat is more for when you buy a company... even if we use it when we owe some to someone.
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Re: Help with a couple french translations

Post by madmarx »

One big problem is that most french are atheist, so many religious words like that are not so commonly used.
"La prophétie de la rédemption" feels very pompous. Maybe in two words : "Prophétie : Rédemption" ?
"La prophétie du salut" can feel akward too because many will wonder which 'salut' it is (from both meaning).
"l'oracle de la rédemption"
"La Prophétie Salvatrice" => means the profecy 'brings/is' salvation in itself (which is not the original meaning). What is cool is that sounds great in french, and reminds easily the english counterpart. (salvateur/salvatrice is the adjective for the 'salut' with religious meaning).
Game names are made to sell, and then you can update the story correctly in the loading screen or the story telling.
Also I don't feel like a game should have "le/la" in the name. Examples are : "Intrigue à Versailles", "Retour en enfer", ... many other.

The 2 best are "Prophétie : Rédemption" and "Prophétie Salvatrice" in my french opinion.

For the "Hangar Spatial", personnaly I would go for "Astroport", but both are ok.
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Re: Help with a couple french translations

Post by Nodrev »

Training: Formation
- appears on a sign for the tutorial room.
"Entrainement" sounds good
Medi-lab: Méde-lab
- appears on a sign where you buy items such as "heal stims"
I would use "Pharmacie" or "Infirmerie" (first is for a civilian context, second is better in a military context) instead of "Médi-Lab", but it's ok too.
Ship Hangar: Hangar Navire
- appears on a sign where the space ships are docked in the space station."
"Astroport" is definitively better
Mission Control: Contrôle de Mission
- appears on a sign where you receive missions, in the helm of the station"
"Centre de commandement" is the correct translation. You could also use "Salle de briefing", but it sound less military.
Drop Hangar: Hangar de Débarquement
- appears on a sign where there are drop ships which take you to a planet surface"
I would rather use "Porte d'embarquement", as in airport, which mean "departure gate"

For the name of the game itself, I prefer the original english game, "Salvation Prophecy". The best translation is the one proposed by Madmarx: "Prophétie : Rédemption"
For the name of the faction, "Le culte du Salut" sounds good.
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Re: Help with a couple french translations

Post by Klaim »

Nodrev wrote:
Ship Hangar: Hangar Navire
- appears on a sign where the space ships are docked in the space station."
"Astroport" is definitively better

I don't agree: Astroport means "airport but for space ships", while here it's the docking par of an "port", not the port itself.
That said, it's a better alternative than my suggestion. "Spatioport" (<=> spacial port -> port spatial in french) means the same but might be clearer.
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Re: Help with a couple french translations

Post by Nodrev »

I don't agree: Astroport means "airport but for space ships", while here it's the docking par of an "port", not the port itself.
That said, it's a better alternative than my suggestion. "Spatioport" (<=> spacial port -> port spatial in french) means the same but might be clearer.
Indeed, you are right. I read the description provided by Jabberwocky again, and the word that game to me is "Garage", but simply "Hangar" (without anything behind) is even better.
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Re: Help with a couple french translations

Post by Jabberwocky »

Klaim, madmarx, Mikachu, Nodrev -
Thanks all for the help.

For the title, it looks like "Prophétie : Rédemption" is the winner. :)
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