OdB - OOTS French translation

[Lissou]

Here is the new thread for the French transcripts.
Since patches haven't been officially allowed, I have decided to go back to transcripts. I'll still first work with each image to find the translation that is not only accurate, but fit best in the balloons.

For now I have decided to go with transcripts without any page or panel numbers. If it turns out unpractical I'll change that.

I'm going to pace myself, and start from the beginning again.

So here you go with the first strip :

0001 - Nouvelle édition (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0001.html)

Gobelin : Grrr !
Son : boing !
Haley : Qu'est-ce que... ?! Il allait te casser la gueule, ce gobelin.
Durkon : Je såis pås, je me suis juste senti très... ståble.
Son : POUF !
Roy : Euh... C'est une chemise de maille, je crois.
Elan : Cool !
Vaarsuvius : Je comprends. Je pense que nous sommes en cours de conversion vers l'édition 3.5.
Roy : Hé bien, c'est vrai que je me sens plus intimidant...
Belkar : YES !
> Ça fait 3 ans que je suis rôdeur, il se faisait vraiment attendre, cet avancement.
> Allez, venez voir Papa, mes petits points de comp' !
Son : pshh !
> pshh !
> pshhhhhhh !
Roy : Ouuh... Ton arme a rétréci
Haley : Hihi, elle est toute petite.
Belkar : MERDE !
Son : ding !
Elan : Ooh ! Des points de compétence !
Belkar : FAIT CHIER !

Starting on the second strip, I'll use initials for reccuring characters.
I have also decided not to keep all transcripts in the first post unless asked to, since I believe it probably won't be necessary.

A few comments on the translation in general, for people who weren't around for the last thread :
- I have decided to translate names, since they have a meaning.
- For Durkon, I'm transcribing his accent using special characters. Dwarves don't typically have an accent in French, so I gave him a "norse" accent. I believe it doesn't make it too hard to read (like the dwarven accent sometimes does) yet it's obvious that he has an accent.
- For Vaarsuvius, I am going to try and keep the ambiguity and I believe I can do it even if it's harder in French than English.
- Puns will be translated with other puns/jokes if they don't translate well. When it happens, I'll explain my reasoning in the comments.
- Cultural jokes that wouldn't be easily understood will also be adapted into something most speaker of French would get. I'll give preference to French cultural jokes if I can't find a more universal one, because I'm French (and this translation should be seen as a Parisian French translation, even though I'm trying not too use too much slang so it's easy to understand in other French-speaking countries)

In other words, this translation is to be viewed as a translation of the spirit more than the text. I won't translate a pun literally and lose the pun, I'll find another pun even if it changes what was said slightly. Similarly, a joke about something obscure to French-speaking readers will become a joke about something less obscure.

My priority in translating will be plot>spirit>letter.

Comments are absolutely welcome but that doesn't mean I'll change anything at all if I strongly disagree with your interpretation.

[JoseB]

Glad to see you back, Lissou! :)

I just wanted to note that you did not translate what Elan says in the last panel ("Oooh! Skill points!"), which is what prompts Belkar to shout "DAMN IT!" for the second time :)

Gambatte! :)

[Lissou]

Glad to see you back, Lissou! :)

I just wanted to note that you did not translate what Elan says in the last panel ("Oooh! Skill points!"), which is what prompts Belkar to shout "DAMN IT!" for the second time :)

Gambatte! :)

You're right! I forgot to copy it. I'll fix that right now, thanks :)

Okay, here is the second one :

0002 – Ça me rappelle le CE1 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0002.html)

E : Compétence ! J'aime mes six nouveaux points de compétence !
R : Il est immense, ce niveau. On trouvera jamais l'escalier à ce rythme.
> Haley, prends la moitié du groupe avec toi et va explorer ce côté-là.
H : Ça marche !
> Vaarsuvius, viens avec moi !
V: Nos destins sont désormais liés !
E : Houhou !
R : Heu, hum... Durkon, par ici.
H : Hum... Belkar.
B : Loser.
E : Houhou, choisis-moi !
H : Okay, à plus tard !
E : Hé, Roy, Houhou !
> Hé ho ! Allez, choisis-moi !
D : Dis, tu vås...
R : Je réfléchis.

Not much to say about this one. If anyone is wondering, I originally translated (with help) up to strip 60 or so. That was transcripts.
Then I worked on patches, in balloons, up to strip 35 (and the text changed to fit in balloons, plus I decided not to use other people's work, althought I hadn't reached that point yet).

So now, I'm mostly taking the images and writing down everything to turn them back into transcripts (I lost all my previous data when my computer crashed, but the images were on photobucket at the time. They have been taken off now, but I still have them on my computer)

When I reach strip 35, I will translate again, fit everything in balloons, then make a transcript out of it.
It will take longer than just copying it all, so I'm posting the transcripts slower than I am making it in the hopes that when I reach the strips I need to translate, I'll have a buffer.

We'll see how that turns out.

[Arctic]

I don't see the point of "translating" sounds. No matter the language, sounds should sound the same. A tree falling in a forest don't go "bam" in England, and "beding bedang" in France.

[Zanaril]

I don't see the point of "translating" sounds. No matter the language, sounds should sound the same. A tree falling in a forest don't go "bam" in England, and "beding bedang" in France.

I assume it's either because some letters are pronounced differently, or because the translated spellings are how they're normally written for a sound associated with a certain thing. Sheep might actually sound more like "beh", but you wouldn't recognise it as a sheep unless it was written "baaa".

[Lissou]

I assume it's either because some letters are pronounced differently, or because the translated spellings are how they're normally written for a sound associated with a certain thing. Sheep might actually sound more like "beh", but you wouldn't recognise it as a sheep unless it was written "baaa".

Good example, since the sound for a sheep is "bêê" in French :P
Animal sounds are actually all different. "Miaou" for a cat (it's "nya" in Japanese incidentally), "ouaf" for a dog, "crôa" for a frog... "coin coin" for a duck...
Obviously, the animals actually sound the same no matter where you live, but the way it's usually written down (and recognised by the people who speak the language) is different.
The sound for a gunshot in French is "pan", I don't think it's the same in English. And although "boom" sounds the same it's spelled "boum" in French.

Sounds are very much part of a translation, as if you leave them as is, a reader of another language might have absolutely no idea what the sound is supposed to be. And when there is no context... Not to mention that because it's a different language, even when it's the same sound the spelling will be different.

Some things don't change though, like Zzzz staying Zzzz from English to French. Of course, if we didn't use the same alphabet that would need to change as well.

[Arctic]

Pouf =/= Pop.
Psssh Pshh Pshhhh =/= Waa waa wawawawa.

Those are the ones I was thinking of.

[warrl]

Standard written sound effects sometimes differ significantly from one language to another.

This is particularly true of vocalizations. A French rooster greets the sun with "cocorico". (Stress all syllables except the third.) That is even a syllable shorter than the sound an American rooster makes.

[JoseB]

Pouf =/= Pop.
Psssh Pshh Pshhhh =/= Waa waa wawawawa.

Those are the ones I was thinking of.

Think that this is also a *cultural* translation. In French, possibly "pop" doesn't evoke the sudden appearance of an object, "pouf" being more appropriate (culturally) for that.

The "waa waa wawawawawa" has also very strong cultural implications: In English it possibly evokes a humorous trombone going along with the shrinking, which in French possibly doesn't carry the same connotation. The translation evokes more the effect of a balloon deflating, which also works very well.

In short: This being as much a cultural adaptation as it is a translation, I think that Lissou took the right approach there. If I were to re-do my Spanish language translation of the strips, I would do something similar (re-writing sound effects and onomatopoeias) to bring them into the "cultural orbit" of Spanish speaking readers.

(EDITED TO ADD): I have seen a Russian-language translation of OotS, as well as the famous Czech-language one. BOTH of them translated and adapted sound effects.

[i6uuaq]

This is particularly true of vocalizations. A French rooster greets the sun with "cocorico". (Stress all syllables except the third.) That is even a syllable shorter than the sound an American rooster makes.

there's a joke in there somewhere if someone could be bothered to tease it out...

[[TS] Shadow]

This is awesome. Now I can bring in OotS strips to French class and have it be relevant. :smallamused:

Seriously though, do you want any help with this? I would love to assist you in this I could really use the practice.

[Lissou]

A bit more on the sound effect thing, more specifically, on my reasoning in choosing the sound effects.

First, "pop". In English, the association between "pop" and something appearing is obvious, be it only because "to pop" is also a verb. That verb doesn't exist in French.

However, "pouf" is the traditional sound for something appearing or disappearing, often (but not always) in a puff of smoke (which I think is how the sound effect originated). It seemed to me that it fit there.

"wawawawa" didn't really mean anything to me. I realised it went with the shrinking of the dagger, but it wasn't sonething that sounded like a French sound effect at all. I could have "Frenched" the spelling into "oua", except "ouah" means "wow", which would make it confusing. After thinking about it, I went with "psh", which is indeed the sound effect for something deflating (balloon, but also tire, etc). It seemed appropriate to me.

My way of choosing the sound effects isn't to look at the English one and go "what is a close one in French?" but look at what caused the sound effect and see what sound would be associated with it in French. If there are several and one of them is close to the original one, that's the one I choose.

For instance, "ding" is the sound made by a microwave when it's ready, or an elevator that stops (the kind that beeps, at least). It's close to "ping" and fits what's happening, so that's what I went for.

In a lot of comics, the way the sound effects are really part of the image makes them hard or impossible to translate. That's not the case with OOTS, though, since the sound effects are as easily to change in a translation as the words in the balloons are.

I'll try and remember to explain how and why I chose sound effects when they look very different from the original English. But in short, it boils down to one thing : the French translation is "optimised" to stand on its own. The target reader would not speak enough English to read the original. As a result, the French translation is all they have. They can't go to the English to check something that sounds weird, and they won't compare both.

Here, I'm showing it to a different audience. And audience who has read the original and will of course focus on the differences. It's interesting for me because it helps me explain how I chose my translations, but it also means it might be disappointing if you expect something that's completely true to the original.

[TS] Shadow: I accepted help last time, and realised that it didn't work that well. The other translators were good, but it was sometimes hard to coordinate, and we had different opinions on ways to translate some things.

As a result, this time I have decided to go with "my" translation. Between quotation marks, because I am still accepting comments and suggestions, but I'm not going to split the strips like last time. I feel more comfortable doing all of them, as I feel it will be more consistent.

So your help is welcome as far as comments and suggestions are concerned. Questions are welcome as well.

Finally, here is the transcript for strip 3 :

0003 - Détection, détection... (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0003.html)

H : ...et les Bottes de Rapidité étaient super puissantes, mais elles étaient, genre, vert pomme.
V : Un choix des plus cornéliens, en effet.
B : Stop !
> Je viens de rater un jet de Détection, je crois.
H : T'es sûr ? Je vois rien du tout.
B : Justement.
> Hé, V, t'as bien un familier qui te donne Vigilance, non ?
V : Humm ? Oh, oui, bien sûr. Mon corbeau est avec moi.
Son : pouf !
B : Alors ?
V: Rien.
Son : pouf !
H : Je savais pas que tu avais un familier...
Ninjas gobelins : Heu... On est JUSTE à côté...
B : Là, je viens de rater un jet de Perception Auditive, je crois !

I already explained the pop/pouf thing. For the rest, the title lost the joke (didn't work in French), and of course I used the official French terms for all D&D terms.
"See anything?" "I do not." became "So?" "Nothing." for space reasons, as "Tu vois quelque chose ?" didn't fit.

No other significant change I can think of.
Oh, yes, and "lime green" is "apple green" in French. Limes are actually called "green lemons" in France so you can imagine how "green lemon green" wouldn't work very well :P

[[TS] Shadow]

Oh, I see. That makes sense. I can image all of the mistakes I'd make anyway. :smalltongue:

[JoseB]

I love how you made Vaarsuvius say "Un choix des plus cornéliens, en effet."

That is... that is... that is so Vaarsuvius!! :smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin:

I would have never thought of having V say something like that... But it fits so well!

You are a great translator, Lissou :)

(P.S.: For those who don't know what a "Cornelian Dilemma" is... here you go. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelian_choice))

[Lissou]

Thanks JoseB :)

I went back on the old French thread to check because I remembered getting some help. And what happened is that Alge'n said:


3- "un choix des plus cornéliens" would accentuate V's refined language but that's really minor.

So I don't want to take all the praise, since the formulation is better due to his advice. But I'll take some of the praise anyway since he didn't suggest "choix cornélien" in the first place :P

0004 - Le Pouvoir de la musique (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0004.html)

E : Saute, saute, saute par-dessus le fossé !
R : Qu'est-ce que tu fabriques ?
E : C'est mon Inspiration talentueuse !
> Grâce à ma chanson magique, j'encourage mes alliés et leur facilite la tâche !
R : Laisse tomber.
Ogre : Huh. Cent or pour passer.
R : Je m'en charge.
D : Øk, møn gårs.
R : Heu, bonjour... On a, heu, payé hier.
Ogre : Ah, d'accord.
E: Bluffe, bluffe, bluffe l'abruti d'ogre !
> Il a dû réussir son jet de Psychologie.
R : Je te hais.

Not much to say... I chose "mon gars" to translate "lad" partly because it has both an A and an O. If he's going to say it often, might as well make it even more characteristic by having his accent represented every time he says it.
(I'll have to think of a similar translation for "lass", thought).

I also want to voice my contentment that now that I have moved to Canada and find myself with a different keyboard, I can type ø and å instead of having to copy-paste them.

[JoseB]

How about "mam'zelle" for "lass"? You have at least an "a" to transform to "å" there. Unless it sounds too "childish"...

[Lissou]

How about "mam'zelle" for "lass"? You have at least an "a" to transform to "å" there. Unless it sounds too "childish"...

Hmmm... I'm not sure it fits the "paternalistic" side of Durkon... But I'll think about it, thanks for the suggestion.

The thing is, "jeune fille" could work (well, depending on the context) but I,d lose the special characters. Oh well, he hasn't said it yet, I'll cross that bridge when I reach it.

[lio45]

Wow! Great work. There are so many things that are impossible to translate properly though... unfortunately. I personally would tend to recommend learning English to anyone who's serious about enjoying OOTS. Still, good luck to you!! :)

Also, it's kinda weird to see all the roleplaying concepts translated...

I don't know anyone who would say "un jet de Détection". It'd be "un jet de Spot" around here (Qc). That's easily traced to the fact that we use pretty much only US-sourced English material for roleplaying, from my experience... but maybe that is something that is different in France? Just curious.

[lio45]

Animal sounds are actually all different. "Miaou" for a cat (it's "nya" in Japanese incidentally), "ouaf" for a dog, "crôa" for a frog... "coin coin" for a duck...

Another example, a dog barking is "guau" in Spanish. Reading it aloud (with Spanish pronunciation) does indeed render something that looks like barking, even though it's not exactly the same sound as the French "ouaf".

Keep using the proper French language sounds, as you said you'd do already. It's the only way to go. (Not that you needed my advice, since you're already doing it exactly like that!)

[Gwynfrid]

An interesting, if challenging, exercise. Looks like you're off to a good start. A suggestion, though:



Haley : Qu'est-ce que... ?! Il allait te casser la gueule, ce gobelin.
Durkon : Je såis pås, je me suis juste senti très... ståble.


"Casser la gueule" doesn't really resonate with the idea of stability. I'd propose :
"Il allait te balancer cul par-dessus tête, ce gobelin". This way, Durkon's answer makes sense.

[Lissou]

I don't know anyone who would say "un jet de Détection". It'd be "un jet de Spot" around here (Qc). That's easily traced to the fact that we use pretty much only US-sourced English material for roleplaying, from my experience... but maybe that is something that is different in France? Just curious.

Yeah, all of the manuals have been translated into French and that's what we use in France. I'm checking in my French manuals that I'm using the right terms.
Using the English ones makes sense for anyone who plays with the English manuals, but since the manuals exist in French as well (and since the people who speak English enough to read the English manuals probably can read oots in English as well) I'm going with the official French versions.
I don't always like their translations ("arcane">"profane" for instance) but that's what the French players would be familiar with.

It's not unusual that people from Quebec would be more familiar with the English than French version, though, that happens for lots of things, for instance video games. I have no clue what the various pokémons are called in English for instance.


"Casser la gueule" doesn't really resonate with the idea of stability. I'd propose :
"Il allait te balancer cul par-dessus tête, ce gobelin". This way, Durkon's answer makes sense.

That's a good point, using an expression that means pushing over would probably work better. However, your suggestion is too long (and doesn't sound very natural to me). I'll think about it.

[lio45]

Yeah, all of the manuals have been translated into French and that's what we use in France. I'm checking in my French manuals that I'm using the right terms.
Using the English ones makes sense for anyone who plays with the English manuals, but since the manuals exist in French as well (and since the people who speak English enough to read the English manuals probably can read oots in English as well) I'm going with the official French versions.
I don't always like their translations ("arcane">"profane" for instance) but that's what the French players would be familiar with.

Yep, and anyway, I'm quite certain your target demographic is mainly French, as any 'Québécois' with the slightest interest in roleplaying is likely to understand English well enough to be able to follow the original comic, at the very least.

OdB = Ordre du Bâton? Ou bien "Ordre du Bonhomme Allumette"?? Not really off to a good start when the comic name itself has its pun lost in translation... :(

[Lissou]

OdB = Ordre du Bâton? Ou bien "Ordre du Bonhomme Allumette"?? Not really off to a good start when the comic name itself has its pun lost in translation... :(

OdB = L'Ordre du Bâton.
Stick figure = bonhomme-bâton. (I'm guessing you say "bonhomme-allumette" in Quebec?)

0005 - Les Petits esprits se rencontrent (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0005.html)

E : On a semé l'ogre ?
R : Si par «*semé l'ogre*» tu entends «*attiré deux amis à lui*», alors oui, on l'a semé.
D : Plus vite stp.
B : Je vois toujours rien !
V : Retraite expéditive ! Retraite expéditive !
Son : VLAN !
B : Des ogres !
H : Bravo, bien Détecté.

R : pffiou !
H : ouais...
R : Attends... Pourquoi vous courriez, vous ?
E : Bon, ça a l'air d'un bon endroit pour se reposer.

Durkon says "stp" which is short for "s'il te plaît" ("please"). Not only does it take less room but it's faster to say too. (Another option is "steup" but I decided against it as it's less recognisable)

Sound effect: WHAM > VLAN. "Vlan" is used for strong shocks, and has the advantage of being relatively close to the original sound.

The title comes from "Great minds think alike" which in French is "great minds meet". I turned it into "Small minds meet".

Can't think of anything else to comment on right now.

[lio45]

OdB = L'Ordre du Bâton.
Stick figure = bonhomme-bâton. (I'm guessing you say "bonhomme-allumette" in Quebec?)

OK, makes sense in France French then. Which is what's important.

Yes, that's what we say, and I didn't know you did not -- I learned something new today. I'm usually quite familiar with France French (my dad's actually from France, I still have family over there, so I'm there once in a while) but I guess that since I have never had an opportunity to talk about stick figures while over there, I just never happened to find out that "bonhomme allumette" wasn't universal standard French. ;)

I'll try and keep watching that thread, maybe I can eventually suggest anything that'll be of use (so far, you're doing a great job, nothing to add!)

[Lissou]

0006 -Y'a-t-il un prêtre dans la salle ? (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0006.html)

D : Bøn, øn leur å réglé leur cømpte, åux øgres. Et måintenånt ?
> Åh øui, c'est vråi.
> Søins impørtånts ! Søins impørtånts ! Søins légers !
B : Hé, ça valait au moins un Soins modérés !
Son (x3) : Soin !
E : Cesse, cesse, cesse, hémorragie interne !
H : Elan !
E : Salut Haley. Regarde toutes les épées que j'ai trouvées.
> Elles étaient dans ma rate.
D : T'es gråvement blessé, møn gårs ?
E : Ça dépend...
> C'est important, ça ?

Really short one here... Nothing too weird about it, pretty straightforward.
The sound effect in English, "heal" being an actual word and not a "sound word" was translated.

I didn't tranlate the words on the bandaid box. However I assume any official translation, if there ever is one, would probably either translate it or, which would work better but might not be allowed by the author, replace the image.

[Lissou]

0007 - 3615 Thor (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0007.html)

D : Elån est en piteux étåt… et je n'åi plus de Søins imp.
R : Fais ce que tu peux, Durkon.
D : Ø puissånt Thør, tøn humble serviteur å besøin de ton åide.
3615 Thor : Bonjour. Vous êtes bien sur 3615Thor.
> Pour continuer en commun, psalmodiez « un ». Ech tod kodo kra'th, sh… « deth » frek.
D : Heu… « un ! »
3615 Thor : Si vous connaissez le nom du miracle à accomplir, psalmodiez « un ».
D : Un !
3615 Thor : Veuillez entonner les deux premières lettres du miracle.
D : Hé bien, je veux te søigner donc…
> S, Ø.
3615 Thor : Vous avez choisi « Soumission des impies ». Pour confirmer votre choix, psalmodiez « un ». Sinon, psalmodiez « deux ».
D : Deux !
3615 Thor : Vous avez choisi « Souffrance éternelle » Pour confirmer votre choix, psalmodiez « un ». Sinon, psalmodiez « deux ».
D : Deux ! DEUX !
3615 Thor : Vous avez choisi « Déchirure ». Pour choisir le type de déchirure à infliger aux ennemis de Thor, psalmodiez « trois ».
D : Trøis.
> Nøn ! Merde !
3615 Thor : Vous avez choisi « Déchirure du colon ».
D : Årgh !
E : Heu… Si je prenais une potion, plutôt ?

"3615 Thor" is a reference to MiniTel, which was used in France before the Internet and "3615" was pretty much the equivalent of "www". (And you couldn't click so you had to type the letter or number for the option of your choice to travel between pages)
The fact that it's numbers also makes it age better as one could always figure that it's a phone number of some sort.

I couldn't find a translation using 3 letters like the original, so I tried with 2.
I translated the options as "Heathen Submission" and "Eternal Suffering" though, so I managed to kinda keep the meaning for them.

However, since the "tumor" joke comes from "two", I had to find something starting with a sound similar to "deux"... The only thing I could find fitting the bill was "déchirure" (tearing). That can't be pleasant.

Apart from that, the thing was mostly making 3615 Thor speak in a more natural way, for instance instead of "Welcome to ThorPrayer" it says "You have reached ThorPrayer" (or, you know, something equivalent to that), which felt more idiomatic in French. (And there are some other similar adaptations).

It was a bit challenging when I first worked on it (or course that was over a year ago, writing it down again wasn't that much of a challenge :P)

[Lissou]

0008 - De l'avantage d'un Bluff élevé (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0008.html)

H : Elan, je t'ai trouvé cette potion de soins.
E : Merci Haley !
Son : glou glou glou glou
H : Ouah, c'est de la bonne !
E : Comme tu dis !
> Mais comment ça a réparé ma cape ?
B : Hé, est-ce que vous avez vu une bouteille verte…
> HÉ !
> T'as pris ma potion !
H : Quoi ?
> Oh, je vois. Vu que je suis une roublarde, c'est forcément moi qui l'ai volée.
> Ouuuh ! Fermez tous les verrous, voilà Haley… c'est une ROUBLARDE !
B : Mais… T'as la bouteille dans la main !
H : Franchement, Belkar, vu tous les préjugés qui courent sur les halfelins, je t'aurais cru plus compréhensif.
B : Heu… je… je voulais pas… heu...
H : Non, non, c'est bon. C'est juste… Je pensais qu'on était plus proches que ça.
E : Tu devrais avoir honte.
H : *Sniff*
E : Wahou, c'était super.
H : Mon père était un voleur dans la 1ère édition. C'est de famille.

Sound effect time: "glou glou" is the drinking sound in France. Pretty straightforward :P

[Lissou]

0009 - J’aimerais bien savoir, Elan (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0009.html)

H : Qu’est-ce que vous faites ?
R : On a trouvé une ceinture magique sur un des ogres.
> Mister V lance Identification.
H : Je parie que c’est une ceinture de force de géant.
R : Ah ouais ? 10 po que c’en est pas.
E : Ça pourrait être une ceinture à poches multiples.
R : Ça pourrait être une idée, si la ceinture avait, je ne sais pas, moi, des POCHES ?
V : Voilà, mes divinations sont achevées.
> Cet objet de pouvoir est une ceinture de Féminité/Masculinité.
R : Une quoi ?
V : Elle contient un puissant enchantement qui transforme quiconque la porte en un membre du sexe opposé.
R : Tu plaisantes.
V : Nullement.
D : Eurk !
R : C’est n’importe quoi.
> Allez, on se casse.
> Tu me dois 10 po.
H : Compte là-dessus…

Not much to say... V-Man became "Mister V" which seems more likely as a nickname. And yes, that means Roy uses male pronouns and adjectives for V (unless he explicitely says "she" in an English strip, of course).

[Lissou]

0010 - Comme Discours captivant, mais en soporifique (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0010.html)

B : Qu'est-ce que tu foutais ?
E : Heu… rien.
D : Chut !
R :Combien ?
H :Douze… non, treize.
Gob 1 : Shuk da yub-yub !
Gob 2 : Gruuta !
V : Sieur Vertegarde, je pense avoir un sort capable de nous venir en aide.
R : Ça me va.
> Ne m’appelle pas « sieur ».
V : Affrontez votre destin, créatures des ténèbres !
> Votre chute est proche, car le pouvoir profane que je possède dépasse votre faible entendement gobelin !!
> Les forces même du cosmos sont à mes ordres, et pourtant jamais vous ne pourriez imaginer le destin funeste qui est le vôtre, à vous et à vos comparses maléfiques. Non ! Vos faibles intellects vous laissent bouche bée face à moi, qui sait façonner la réalité selon mes moindres désirs !
> La magie qui est mienne est capable de mettre en pièces l’univers… non, le multivers tout entier, et c’est d’ailleurs la gâcher que de l’employer sur des créatures si pitoyables. Mais j’y consacrerai tout de même mon énergie, et vous maudirez le jour où j’ai choisi de causer de tels ravages dans vos misérables vies par la simple vertu de mes pouvoirs profanes. Et alors, dans les jours et les années qui vont suivre, quand les enfants viendront jouer dans le cratère fumant qui était jusque là votre antre maléfique, ils ne sauront rien de…
H : Bien joué, Vaarsuvius !
> Ton sort a endormi tous les gobelins !
V : Mais… mais…
> Je n'ai encore rien lancé.

First, this is the first example of my translating the names.
Considering they have a meaning, not translating them would make it weirder (for instance when Xykon keeps remembering Roy's name wrong, he'd have to do it in English. Which is weird in a world where English doesn't exist).

If the story took place in an English-speaking place, like the US for instance, it would make perfect sense for all the characters to have English names, and I wouldn't dream of translating them. But their names aren't in English. They're in Common, and have been translated into English for the English-speaking reader.
From this point of view, it only makes sense that they would be translated into French for the French-speaking reader.

Roy's family was named after his sword, which has a green hilt. In French, his name is therefore Roy Vertegarde. Vert(e) means green, and putting the adjective before the noun (it's usually the other way around in French) gives the name a more... elegant tone, let's say. It sounds better and more like a name.
Moreover, "garde" is short enough that it doesn't look too weird. It just... works.

As for Sir > Sieur, I didn't want to keep it as "Sir" because it's not like V is calling him a British Sir. Just like the names, it's a translation from Common, therefore I adapted it into French terms.
You may recognise the word from "monsieur". You know how you have "milady" = My Lady? Well "monsieur" is the same, comes from "mon Sieur".

In other news, I have some kind of a “dilemma” here.
I could invert two of Roy's sentences, and the balloons would fit better. It would cause him to FIRST tell V not to call him Sir, THEN tell him to go ahead with his idea. I'm unsure whether I should do it or not. What do you guys think? Balloon-wise, it would work a lot better.
It's probably not worth killing myself over since these are transcripts, but since I'm trying to make them so they can fit in the balloons without needing to be modified, it's kind of bugging me.

[JoseB]

Go ahead and change the order. I think it is worth doing so.

[Lissou]

0011 - Différences d’alignement (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0011.html)

E : *BAILLE*
R : Coup de grâce ! Coup de grâce !
D : Øh-øh…
Prêtre gobelin : Maudits bienfaiteurs !
R : On dirait que quelqu’un a réussi son jet de Volonté…
V : Mais je n’ai pas lancé de sort !
Prêtre gobelin : À votre tour d'essayer !
> Ténèbres maudites !
H : Peux pas… penser…
E : Peux pas… bouger...
V : Mal absolu… me submerge…
R : Hais les monstres…
> avec des niveaux de classe…
Prêtre gobelin : Ah ! Imbéciles au cœur pur, vous n’êtes pas de taille contre la puissance du Mal !
B : Hé, qu’est-ce qu’il se passe ?
Prêtre gobelin : Ténèbres maudites !
Son : Splotch !
E : Hé, pourquoi Belkar n’a pas été affect(é ?)
R : Vaut mieux pas y penser.
B : Prems’ pour l’amulette.

Sound effect: "stab" is a verb. If I wanted to use a verb too it would be "poignarder" (literally "to dagger", meaning to stab) but that's long and doesn't sound like, well, a sound. So I used a sound instead.

[Lissou]

Okay, first, a little announcement: not that I have been updating this thread very regularly lately, but I'm about to leave for Vcon. I leave on the 1st and come back on the 5th, so no updating at all within that time.
I'm getting ready now so it's probably my last update until the 6th or later.


0012 - Niveau inférieur, niveau supérieur (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0012.html)

R : Enfin, un escalier !
H : Ooh, ce prêtre gobelin valait 1000 PX !
R : Bon, on passe au niveau inférieur !
H : Bon, on passe au niveau supérieur !
R : Au niveau supérieur ? On l’a déjà fait.
H : Oui, et là on recommence.
R : Pourquoi, il y a quoi ?
H : Des attaques sournoises !
R : Quoi ? On aura des attaques sournoises au niveau supérieur ?
H : Pas vous, idiot, moi.
R : Tu veux te prendre des attaques sournoises ?
H : Bien sûr.
R : Pas question. C’est trop dangereux. On passe au niveau inférieur.
H : Au niveau inférieur ? Il nous faudrait pas, genre, un vampire pour faire ça ?
R : Hein ?
H : D’ailleurs, on y gagne quoi si on passe au niveau INFÉRIEUR ?
R : Des monstres plus forts !
H : Tu veux descendre d’un niveau ET affronter des montres plus forts ?
R : Évidemment.
H : Ça serait pas plus logique d’affronter des monstres plus forts quand on sera au niveau SUPÉRIEUR ?
R : Non, on l’a déjà fini. On passe au niveau inférieur.
H : Non !
R : Mais si !
H : Non !
R : SI !
V : Aha ! Un nouveau niveau de sorts !
R : Non, on reste !
V : Hein ?
R : Personne ne sort.
V : C’est que vous êtes un guerrier, vous n’apprenez pas cela.
R : Quoi ? C’est une blague, c’est ça ? Les guerriers, ça fonce tout droit ? Ça suffit maintenant, on passe au niveau inférieur.
H : Supérieur !
V : Mais si je passe au niveau inférieur, je perdrai mon niveau de sorts.
R : Non, on reste !
V : Hein ??
B : On va en endurer combien, des conneries comme ça, parce que personne chez TSR n’a pensé à utiliser un dico de synonymes ?

So, the "up!" "down!" part didn't have balloons big enough for "supérieur !" "inférieur !" so instead, they're arguing in a "yes!" "no!" way (also known as "does not!" "does too!").
Obviously, the puns needed adapting. Instead of spell/spelling the pun is now sors (spell)/sortir (to go out, to leave).
It doesn't work perfectly, but then again the original one is a bit of a stretch too. ("I'll lose my spell level" "L-E-V-E-L")

0013 - Intrigue en vue ! (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0013.html)

R : On descend les marches ! On approche encore du but.
H : Pourquoi tu l’as pas dit, que tu voulais descendre ?
B : On a un but ?
R : Bien sûr. Qu'est-ce que tu crois qu'on fait ici ?
B : Bah, je me disais qu’on allait se balader, zigouiller des êtres doués de raison parce qu’ils ont la peau verte et des crocs et nous pas, et leur piquer leurs affaires.
> Quoi ?
E : Bien sûr qu’on a un but, Belkar. Laisse moi t’expliquer…
R : Oh non, nous y voilà…
E : Nous sommes dans le sombre Donjon de Dorukan, un antre sinistre rempli de monstres maléfiques.
H : Et de richesses !
E : Ils ont été créés par la liche Xykon, un mage mort-vivant fou et assoiffé de pouvoir.
> Ouh, méchante liche !
H : Et de richesses !
E : Mais nous allons détruire ce Xykon et rendre la région paisible à nouveau !
Son : CRAC !
H : Et de richesses ! Heu non, ça veut rien dire, ça…
B : Cette idée de « richesses » m’intrigue, et j’aimerais bien en savoir plus.
D : Cømment tu ås fåit ce truc åvec les imåges, møn gårs ?
E : C’est mon nouveau sort d’Invocation : Exposition d’intrigue !

For the sound, I just used "crac" which sounds like bones breaking.

See you guys next week :)

[Yiuel]

Yep, and anyway, I'm quite certain your target demographic is mainly French, as any 'Québécois' with the slightest interest in roleplaying is likely to understand English well enough to be able to follow the original comic, at the very least.

I agree : being from the same demographic (Quebec-French), this comment is very true for most people I have met.

However, I don't know how well they understand the intricacies of the various references or all the details. Rich's text is full of words which could lead to differences in understanding, and cultural references could be better served in some cases. (Like Belkar singing a different score when under Nale's suggestion spell...) But Lissou's translation would be useless for the second purpose (US references are more likely to be understood than France ones, especially about pop culture), and the difference in dialects spoils the indept meaning-feeling of words.


I don't know anyone who would say "un jet de Détection". It'd be "un jet de Spot" around here (Qc).

I need Brain Bleach, desperately :

After Crack Parings, should we do Crack Translations? Having a whole translation being done on Quebec's RPG-speak would make me laugh so hard. (Now, I am likely to be shot by various Language Ayattolahs that roam around.)

[/crack]

[Lissou]

Wow, it's been... a while.

To celebrate my not having updated in aged, I bring you this special double update! Two strips at once! For no additionnal charges!

0014 - Pourquoi Roy est toujours fatigué (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0014.html)

V : Sieur Vertegarde, j’ai le regret de vous informer qu’à une exception près, j’ai lancé tous mes sorts destructeurs.
D : Øui, je suis presque à sec åussi, møn gårs.
R : Hum, OK, on va camper ici.
> V et Durkon vont dormir toute la nuit. Je prends la première garde. Haley, prends la deuxième.
H : Ça marche !
> Hihi… C’est à moi ! Rien qu’à moi ! Hahahah !
R : Attends… réflexion faite, Belkar, prends la deuxième garde.
B : Et merde !
> Bwahaha ! J’ai des problèmes émotionnels profonds ! Crève ! Crève ! Crève !
R : Non ! Heu… attendez, reposez-vous tous les deux, et on va laisser Elan…
Gobelins : Salut, on vient tuer tout le monde.
E : OK !
Bonnet : Âne
Son : Boink ! Boink !
R : Pff… Encore une nuit blanche en perspective.

0015 - Soirée en famille (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0015.html)

R : *BAILLE* Abrutis de compagnons même pas fiables…
Eugène : Roy… Roy…
R : On m’appelle ?
Eugène : Non, Roy, je crie juste « Roy ! Roy ! » comme ça, pour le plaisir.
Roy : Aaaah !
> Papa ?? Mais… Maman et toi, vous êtes morts…
Eugène : Ouais… C’est le truc, pour être un fantôme, les conditions sont assez strictes.
> Maintenant arrête de me regarder avec ces yeux ronds et écoute :
> « Le bouc fera volte-face / mouche celle qui vole »
R : Quoi ? Je… J'ai rien compris.
Eugène : Bien sûr que tu n'a rien compris, c’est un présage.
R : Un présage ?
Eugène : Seigneurs, Roy ! Une allusion à des évènements futurs ! Ça tient le lecteur en haleine. Ils ne t’ont rien appris dans la fac de guerriers fantaisiste où je t’ai envoyé ?
> Bien sûr, ta mère voulait que tu fasses magicien, mais noooon. J’ai du payer 40 000 po par an pour que tu puisses apprendre à faire des moulinets avec une épée géante.
R : Une épée à deux mains, Papa.
Eugène : Bah. Bref, je vais te laisser, j'ai une partie de canasta prévue avec des archons.
R : Attends, Papa !
Eugène : N’oublie pas, Roy : « Le bouc fera volte-face / mouche celle qui vole »

> Et puis quoi, il n’y a pas de prêtres là où tu vis ? Ça te tuerait de Communiquer avec les morts de temps en temps pour nous dire comment ça va à ta mère ou moi ?

Notes: I rewrote 0015 partially because the version I had didn't sound natural at all (I'm referring to Eugene's balloons, incidentally).
The prophecy is still the translation I came up with in the first place a year or so ago. I'm pretty happy with it, but I'll explain it when I upload strip 60 or so, when it's explained in-comic.

I'm not promising to update more often, but I sure hope I will.

[Lissou]

Another double update today!

0016 - Pesez vos mots (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0016.html)

R : Tu te lèves de bonne heure
V : Techniquement, je ne dors point.
R : Bienvenue au club.
> Hé, V, tu t’y connais en esprits ?
V : Mes connaissances sur les habitants de l’au-delà sont sans égales.
R : Je crois que j'ai reçu la visite d’un fantôme.
D : Un fåntøme ?
> RENVØI DES MØRTS-VIVÅNTS !
R : Aaah !
V : Mes yeux !
R : Durkon, on discute, c’est tout. Il n’y a pas de mort-vivant ici, rendors-toi.
D : Øh, pårdøn.
V : Vous avez donc reçu une visite posthume ? Pour vous remettre un message d’importance, sans doute ?
R : Je suppose…
> Et pour m’accabler de reproches, aussi.
V : Si j'en crois mon expérience, il faudrait toujours écouter ces messages d’outre-tombe. Les humains ont tendance à ignorer de tels augures, et bien souvent leur situation empire.
D : Un våmpire ?
> RENVØI DES MØRTS-VIVÅNTS !
R : Argh ! Merde, Durkon !
V : Mes yeux !!!
D : Øh, pårdøn, pårdøn. C’est juste que je ne suppørte pås les mørts-vivånts. Çå ne se reprøduirå pås.
> Bøøøn… Je me recøuche, ålørs.
R : BREF… Je crois que l’esprit, c’était mon père.
V : Vraiment ? Dans ce cas, j’accorderais d’autant plus d’importance à ses paroles, car de tels signes sont rares.
R : Je suppose que ça veut dire qu’ils veillent sur moi, Maman et lui, ce qui est plutôt cool.
D : Un trøupeåu de gøules ?
> RENVØI DES MØRTS-VIVÅNTS !
R : Là, vraiment, tu exagères.
V : Pitié, pitié pour mes pauvres yeux inutiles !

Comments: so, the undead puns. The first one is the same. The second one is "empire (to get worse) / vampire" (pronounced the same apart from the added v for "vampire"). The third one is "plutôt cool (pretty cool) / troupeau de goules (herd of gouls)" and is more of a stretch (but that's kinda the point).

0017 - Au fil de l’épée (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0017.html)

R : Bon, je vais monter la garde pendant que V et Jojo-la-Gâchette préparent leurs sorts.
D : Hé. Désølé.
R : Vous, les trois sournois, allez explorer ou je ne sais quoi.
B : Pourquoi on se coltine Elan ? Il est complètement inutile.
H : Il est pas inutile, il est… à utilité réduite.
E : Merci, Haley !
H : Tu t’enfonces, tu sais.
B : Bah ! Est-ce que t’as une arme au moins ?
E : Bien sûr ! Une rapière.
B : Tu rigoles ? Avec un truc aussi fragile, parler trop fort compte comme une tentative de Destruction d’armes !
E : Mais vois plutôt :
Son : scratch ! scratch ! scratch !
E : Ta-da !
Inscription : L’Ordre du Bâton est passé par là !
B : Wahou, okay, c’est impressionnant.
H : Cool !
Chimère : Et ça vous rend tellement plus faciles à trouver !
B : On a raté tous nos jets de Discrétion et de Détection, c’est ça ?
Chimère : Oh oui.
> Grave.
B : BORDEL !
Son : casse !

The sound effect was changed to "casse" (breaks). To keep with the name of Sunder in French, I'd have to have the sound effect "is destroyed" but I'm sure you can see how that's probably not a great idea. I could also simply use a sound such as "crac" or something, but I'm happy with "casse".

[AtopTheMountain]

E : Compétence ! J'aime mes six nouveaux points de compétence !

Shouldn't that be "J'adore", since he's saying "I love my six new skill points"? Of course, I'm not exactly what you'd call "fluent" in French, so I could be wrong.

[Lissou]

Shouldn't that be "J'adore", since he's saying "I love my six new skill points"? Of course, I'm not exactly what you'd call "fluent" in French, so I could be wrong.

Generally speaking, "love" is said "aimer" and like "bien aimer" so "I like" would be "j'aime bien". (Yes, the "bien" switches places)
I think "j'adore" would be too strong, it is a really strong word. But it is true that it means "love" as well.

[esmerelder]

@ Lissou -- Just wanted to say that these translations are great! I'm not at all a fluent French-speaker, and last took classes three years ago, but I've been going through this thread to see how much I remember. I love the way you've altered some of the jokes and puns so that they make sense in French, please keep going if you have time and are so inclined!

[Lissou]

Thanks esmerelder, it's always nice seeing that people are following your work.

I do try to explain the changes I've made because I feel just posting translations isn't that interesting, and I realise most people on the forum wouldn't speak much French, if any.
So of course it's of limited interest to most people, but hopefully those who do know a bit of French, or a lot of French, or care about translations in general, will keep enjoying my work.

0018 – Surprise, surprise. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0018.html)

B : Qu’est-ce que c’est que ce truc ?
E : J’en sais rien… j’ai du rater mon jet de Savoir bardique.
Tricouak : Nous sommes la chimère Tricouak.
> Xykon sait que vous avez massacré ses gobelins.
> On est là pour vous tuer.
B : Je suis surpris.
E : Moi aussi.
H : Ah oui ? Hé bien veuillez transmettre à votre employeur :
> ATTAQUE SOURNOISE !
Son : shtak !
E : Psst… Haley, tu as l’initiative, c’est encore à toi.
H : Ah oui, c’est vrai…
> ATTAQUE SOURNOISE !
Son : shtak !
Tricouak : Ouah, la 1ère attaque m’a surpris…
> Mais la 2ème, je m'y m’attendais VRAIMENT pas !
> Attaques sournoises de merde.

The chimera's name being based on the sound it makes when it dies, I changed the name to match the sound.
The sound of the arrows being drawn is taken from French language graphic novels. Most fighting sounds I took from there, so that I know what's already in use and familiar to the readers (although I have to admit I never paid enough attention to remember them without checking. But I figure, if you don't pay attention to them, it's that it was done well. If they stand out, that's a problem).

To fit the balloons, some small changes. "He sent us. Now you die." became "We're here to kill you." (therefore still conveying the message that they were sent by him.)
Similarly, the counter-offer part was lost, becoming "Please transmit/forward this to your employer". (Still the formal way of phrasing it though).
All in all, pretty straightforward.
The title was inspired by a hidden camera show called "Surprise sur prise" ("surprise on recording", literally). That's the reason why the title is "Surprise, Suprise" rather than "Double Surprise".

[Lissou]

0019 - La Grande évasion (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0019.html)

B : Il faut l’attaquer !
E : Comment ? T'as cassé ma rapière !
H : Attention, la tête de dragon !
> Esquive totale !
Son : cligne !
B : À l’attaque !
E : Esquive, esquive, esquive la contre-attaque inévitable.
H : Il est trop fort pour nous… Fuyons !
E : Je vais créer une illusion astucieuse pour le distraire.
> Allez !
B : C’est pas vrai, je rêve.
Tricouak : Désolés, nous sommes dans une relation stable.
> C’est pas vous, c’est nous.
> Poursuivons-les !
H : Ooooh, c’est trop mignon.
B : Super, ta diversion, andouille. Il est sur nos talons !
E : Hé, comment je pouvais deviner que c’était pas un coureur ?
B : Visiblement, c'en est un.

The "playa" wasn't very easy to translate, so I went for a different joke. A word for "playa" is "coureur", short for "coureur de jupons" (meaning someone who runs after skirts). It's a normal word to use though, so Belkar's "never say playa again" wouldn't make much sense. So instead, Belkar says "apparently he is (a runner)". Since Belkar is looking behind him and Trigak is running at the time he's saying that, it's basically just a play on words, meaning he's catching up.

The sound "wink" was translated into "cligne" which is the verb in French. I have decided to go for verbs when they are short enough, sounds if the verb would be too long or complicated, or if the sound is extremely common in use in comics.

[Sutremaine]

So of course it's of limited interest to most people, but hopefully those who do know a bit of French, or a lot of French, or care about translations in general, will keep enjoying my work.
I'm interested in language in general and I like this. Apparently I've forgotten too much of my high school French for this to be useable without constant cross-referencing, but I like reading the notes anyway.

[Katana_Geldar]

Lissou, I only know a little French but I am curious about your reasonings for translating Haley's "Evasion!" since it's a pun on the title and what she says is similar to Elan's song as Belkar attacks.

I really do like this though, brings a whole new perspective on the strips.

[Lissou]

Lissou, I only know a little French but I am curious about your reasonings for translating Haley's "Evasion!" since it's a pun on the title and what she says is similar to Elan's song as Belkar attacks.

I really do like this though, brings a whole new perspective on the strips.

Oh, that's quite simple, I used the D&D Manual term for that. I try using the official French translations since anyone reading the comic directly in French would most likely be familiar with D&D in French.

"Esquive totale" is the French term they use for "Evasion", and Esquive" (without the "totale") is dodge.
The title as a result might seem less accurate, I guess, but since they're escaping, it still works (it's actually the French title for "The Great Escape", if you were wondering.)

[Gwynfrid]

Overall I think you're doing a very nice job of it. "Surprise, surprise" and "La grande évasion" are cool references. "il est à utilité réduite"... great ! It's good that you insert some french-language puns, especially since you can't always carry the english ones over. So, congrats so far.

A couple of typos I noted, I hope mentioning them is helpful for you:

0012: "Ça serait pas plus logique d’affronter des monstres plus forts quand on sera au niveau SUPÉRIEUR ?"

0013: "Et de richesses ! Heu non, ça veut rien dire, ça…"

[Lissou]

A couple of typos I noted, I hope mentioning them is helpful for you:

Yes, mentioning typos is most definitely useful :) So thanks, and thanks for your support, too.

[bilbo_pingouin]

Hey! I haven't been around for ages (about 4 years I think...) !

Nice that you went on translating, Lissou! But I am a bit curious about why you did not link on the previous threads? I mean you may agree or disagree with previous translations, but you even posted twice yourself... furthermore, our original project went as far as the page 76!

Old translations can be found: here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5272) and previous Lissou's thread: here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85968).

And if you're still up to it, we could try to continue together...?

[brab]

I just found this thread when searching for French translations for OOTS. My son loves the books, but he does not speak English...

Before I bother The Giant Himself, I was wondering if he had been contacted to allow these translations to be put on the comics themselves.

Thanks for the great work!

Alan

[Nimrod's Son]

Before I bother The Giant Himself, I was wondering if he had been contacted to allow these translations to be put on the comics themselves.
In his own words. (http://www.giantitp.com/FAQ.html#faq14a)

[Lissou]

There can be no official translation at this date, and non-official translations can't be put all over the internet, only transcripts are allowed.

If you want to take these transcripts and order them in such a way that you can print them and put them over the books, or have them next to the books so that you son can refer to them, you're absolutely allowed to (for personal use) but I'm afraid I can't help you with that (apart from letting you take all and any transcript you see in this thread).

I haven't worked on the translation in a while because it got a bit depressing doing all of that work for so little result, since transcripts aren't practical to read, and posting them here will only really reach people who can speak English to begin with (and probably don't really need a translation).

Hopefully, when the story is complete, official translations will be allowed and you will be able to buy the books in French for your son. In the meantime though, I think it might work better to help him read them in English as much as possible.
Good luck :)

[brab]

Thanks for the replies. The FAQ is 5 years old so I was wondering if it still held.

In the meantime I guess I'll just have to translate the books "on the fly" for my son.

[NerfTW]

It would be a great way to teach him English, I suppose. You can never know too many languages.

[lio45]

You can never know too many languages.

Especially considering that English isn't just any random language. It's THE single most useful language out there.

(Otherwise, I'd disagree, because there's only a limited number of languages in which one can maintain fluency at a given time, so it might be wiser to focus on a certain number of them and forget about the rest.)


And there's also the fact that a translation will never be as awesome as the original... if you want your son to fully savor the excellent humor in OotS, he'll pretty much have to read it in English.