Project: EarthBound [SNES] in Latin

[Nikolaos]

EDIT: This will not be continued as seen in this thread. If I return to this, I will start fresh with new translations.

This post will be updated with the latest videos and current questions!

I mentioned earlier that I was working on translating a SNES game. Well, here's the thread for it.

This is a rather free translation - I want to capture the essence of the game without being limited to word-by-word precision. As such, I want you to feel free to suggest ANY alteration that you think would be better than my translations.

I want the dialogue to run smoothly, so I read every line aloud to find which word order rolls off my tongue best. If the resulting phrases sound unnatural to you, just let me know, and offer your advice.

All critique is welcome!

Latest video:
[youtube]

Past videos:
Sermo Bombi
LatinBound

Latest screenshot:



Major questions:

This will be where my most important questions at any time will be. In most cases, it won't be important at all

Re-evaluating priorities - no questions here

Current enemies to be named:

I'll keep this section updated. Whenever an enemy is named, I'll remove it and add another. I give the English names for reference and inspiration - you certainly aren't required to stick to it. I prefer puns and alliteration when possible, but they can be set aside when they just don't sound or work right.

English: Starman Junior
Latin: Homo Stellaris Iunior?

English: Coil Snake
Latin: Spira Serpentis?

English: Runaway Dog
Latin: Canis Cavendus?

English: Spiteful Crow
Latin: Odiosa Corvix?

Misc. Text:

This will be updated with translations that I am unsure of.

English:
Do you think mom will let me stay up late tonight?

Latin:
Existimasne matrem esse situram me vigilare?

??? - Auto Fight (A setting in which battles are fought without player input)

Meteorite and meteor? I doubt that Latin distinguishes the two, so that isn't much of an issue. I can't seem to find a word for them that isn't poetic, though.

 

[Nikolaos]

NOTE - All current issues are in the first post. Questions here may not necessarily need answers any more.

In order to maintain organization in the first post, I'll start my questions in another post.

A few important variables have a strict limit on the number of characters they may hold. Here is a list of my current concerns:

Start New Game - 14 character limit (same as the string)
My translation: Ludum incipere

Text Speed: - 11 character limit (same as the string)
My translation: None yet

Fast - 6 character limit. Refers to "text speed".
My translation: Dependent on "Text Speed"

Medium - 6 character limit. Refers to "text speed".
My translation: Dependent on "Text Speed"

Slow - 6 character limit. Refers to "text speed".
My translation: Dependent on "Text Speed"

Continue - 9 character limit (one more than string) (as in "continue game")
My translation: Procedere

Copy - 5 character limit (as in "copy save-file")
My translation: None yet

Delete - 6 character limit (as in "delete save-file")
My translation: Delere

Set Up - 7 character limit (meaning "change settings")
My translation: None yet

There is a number of other inflexible strings that I'll bring up later.

What do you think of my current translations, and what do you propose for the others? Abbreviations may be necessary for a few translations.

Edit - There are also towns that may be different to name.

The first town is "Onett" (and the second "Twoson", then "Threed" - you may see a pattern here). While these names had their English forms even in the original Japanese, I think some Latinization is due. I am thinking of slightly Latinized, yet indeclinable names, such as "Unet/Vnet" for the first town. Your thoughts?

 

[Iohannes Aurum]

Here is my suggestion:

Onett: Unet
Twoson: Duoson
Threed: Tresdo

This is similar to these Pokémon names: Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Articuno is a portmanteau of "artic" [sic] ("arctic" is the correct spelling), symbolizing the Pokémon's affinity to the cold and uno (Spanish and Italian (and Latin in the singular masculine and neuter dative and ablative senses) for "one"), symbolizing that it is the Pokémon after the gluttonous and slothful Snorlax. Zapdos is a portmanteau of "zap", symbolizing the Pokémon's affinity to electricity and dos (Spanish, Asturian, and Catalan for "two"), since it follows Articuno in the Pokémon numbering. Moltres is a portmanteau of a portmanteau of "molten", symbolizing the Pokémon's affinity to heat and tres (Spanish, Asturian, Catalan, Galician, Occitan, and Latin for "three"), since it follows Zapdos in the Pokémon numbering. Strangely enough, the Pokémon numbers for Snorlax, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres are #143, #144, #145, and #146 respectively.

When did Mewtwo #150 precede Mew #151, especially given that Mewtwo is the genetically modified version of Mew?

 

[Nikolaos]

This is similar to these Pokémon names: Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres

Haha... I played a good number of the handheld games, and never caught that. Nice catch!

When did Mewtwo #150 precede Mew #151, especially given that Mewtwo is the genetically modified version of Mew?

I think it was just to hide Mew's existence, given that it was a secret event-distributed creature.

Thanks for your suggestions - I'll use those for now, possibly permanently. But, would a T sound more natural in place of D in "Tresdo"?

 

[Iohannes Aurum]

But, would a T sound more natural in place of D in "Tresdo"?

Yes, it would. Tresto would sound good as well.

 

[Nikolaos]

Here's the little bit that I have completed since yesterday:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjCXADHW22c[/youtube]

All critique is welcome.

 

[Iohannes Aurum]

Here is the debugging menu that you might be familiar with:

IVSORRVM TABELLA EMENDANDI

1. LVDVS
2. VISE CHARTA
3. VISE PERSONA
4. VISE PROPRIVM
5. EXHIBE PVGNAM
6. COMPROBA POSITIONEM (this one might have to be shortened)
7. MODVS SONI
Oh, the selection cursor's name ( ) is CIRBIVS.

Suggestions are welcome

 

[Nikolaos]

Are these too hard to understand for menu options?

Pro. - Procedere
Tran. - Transcribere
Del. - Delere
Cel. Scrib. - Celeritas Scribendi (this one is shown in its full form when setting up the game, but abbreviated in the game menu)

Iohannes: Haha, I never thought about translating the debug menu, but it does sound like it would add a bit of polish and completeness to the hack. I think I'll do it

 

[Iohannes Aurum]

Are these too hard to understand for menu options?

Pro. - Procedere
Tran. - Transcribere
Del. - Delere
Cel. Scrib. - Celeritas Scribendi (this one is shown in its full form when setting up the game, but abbreviated in the game menu)

Include a downloadable manual containing the full terms and it will not be too hard to understand.

Iohannes: Haha, I never thought about translating the debug menu, but it does sound like it would add a bit of polish and completeness to the hack. I think I'll do it

That would make LatinBound more authentic, as if a programmer fluent in Latin actually programmed the game.

Speaking of the debug menu, if you have the time, can we create a list of all of Kirby's copy abilities in Latin and possibly some of the Kirby games (fortunately, there is not much text in those games, other than the names of the copy abilities)? If we do, then can you create a new thread featuring a video of the games in Latin? View this as inspiration and here for the full list of all copy abilities.

 

[Nikolaos]

Include a downloadable manual containing the full terms and it will not be too hard to understand.

I think I will do that... but I have a slightly different idea about implementation. I'll show that in the next video

Speaking of the debug menu, if you have the time, can we create a list of all of Kirby's copy abilities in Latin and possibly some of the Kirby games (fortunately, there is not much text in those games, other than the names of the copy abilities)? If we do, then can you create a new thread featuring a video of the games in Latin? View this as inspiration and here for the full list of all copy abilities.

I need to find out how to edit text in that game first - it shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

Here is a sentence I just translated - is it too verbose?

Existimasne matrem esse situram me vigilare?

Original : Do you think Mom will let me stay up late tonight?

I left out "...late tonight" simply because I forgot about that part.

Two early-game enemies:

Coil Snake

Runaway Dog

How do "Spira Serpentis" and "Canis Cavendus" sound for their new names?

 

[Nikolaos]

The first post will now be updated to include current developments and questions.

And now:

English: Spiteful Crow
Latin: No idea yet

EDIT - I think I have a name for it: Odiosa Cornix, borrowed from Fabulae Aesopiae.

 

[Quasus]

Actually immo is not a negative word. It just indicates that some additional information will be given: ‘yes/no, and what’s more…’

 

[Quasus]

Desessard suggests āssula būbula for beafsteak in his Le latin sans peine.

 

[Nikolaos]

Actually immo is not a negative word. It just indicates that some additional information will be given: ‘yes/no, and what’s more…’

Ah, I was hoping that negativity would be implied in opposition to "sum". Do you have any ideas to replace it? Of course, there's "non", which I may be forced to use, but alternatives would be great. The problem is that there is a four character limit - in one other place, I had to use "NS" for "Non Sum".

Thanks for the correction!

Desessard suggests āssula būbula for beafsteak in his Le latin sans peine.

I will probably use "bubula" alone - six character limit

But, the character limits only apply to menus - once all of the menus are translated, we will be free to be as verbose as we wish/is necessary.

EDIT:

I think I figured it out - I'll rephrase the question to if the player wishes to use those settings, making the answers "Sic" and "Nolo".

Is Vin haec sic? too much of a stretch?

 

[Quasus]

Is Vin haec sic? too much of a stretch?

Perhaps just omit ‘sic’?

 

[Nikolaos]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3kADSdJakc[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FazFRmlXVug[/youtube]

 

[Nikolaos]

I'm breathing some life into this project again. I know more now than when I began, so it should go a little easier... and I'm only learning more as time goes on.

Anyway, here is the list of default names that may be used when starting a game - they are all, unfortunately, indeclinable.



First row: Official names - "King" changed to "Rex". "Steak" translated to "Bubula". "Rockin" changed to "Virtus".

Second row: Roman gods.

Third row: Roman praenomina"

Fourth row: Greek titans and gods and stuff.... I really don't know much about them.

Fifth row: Latin Discussion members, semi-randomly picked and abbreviated when necessary for space purposes (character names allow fewer characters than the "favorite food/thing" fields)

Sixth row: Video game characters - Lucas is from Mother 3, Marle is from Chrono Trigger, Jim (Raynor) is from StarCraft, and Link is from The Legend of Zelda.

Seventh row: First three words of the Aeneid

For the dog, all of the names except for Rex and Gorgo are recorded names of Roman dogs.

These default names are liable to change, but I just wanted to hurry and replace the original text