Broken Translation Game 2017

[księżycowy]

Yeah, I couldn't figure out for the life of me what néimeatóidí was doing in the Irish translation.

[vijayjohn]

Wait, aren't those roundworms?

[księżycowy]

Ah, same difference.

[Luís]

"I am a special"? The original is weirder than the translation.

I guess I messed it up with all the copy/pasting... should be correct by now.

Btw, apparently this is originally an Indian story

You guys are great at translating, though. Apart from the ringworms, the two versions aren't that far apart.

[vijayjohn]

Ah, same difference.

A type of worm vs. a fungal infection? Okay.

Btw, apparently this is originally an Indian story

No wonder why it sounded so familiar! It must be a Panchatantra story or something.

You guys are great at translating, though. Apart from the ringworms

[Luís]

Ah, same difference.

A type of worm vs. a fungal infection? Okay.

I'm curious to know what the path from "gentle words" to any of those things was...

[księżycowy]

A type of worm vs. a fungal infection? Okay.

Eh, it's still a weird as fuck thing to have there.

[vijayjohn]

Ah, same difference.

A type of worm vs. a fungal infection? Okay.

I'm curious to know what the path from "gentle words" to any of those things was...

Well, it went from:

The sculptor tried gentle words and actions to pacify him, but he did not move.

to:

The sculptor tried to ease him into walking clumsily along with ringworms and nice words, but he was walking very lazily.

So the gentle words survived but not the actions...hmm...and the word "lazily" is definitely a product of my Chinese translation. 懒得动 is literally 'so lazy that [subject] wouldn't move'. Minimally, we have "did not move" -> "didn't feel like moving" -> "was too lazy to move" -> "was walking very lazily."

So I guess it was the actions that became ringworms? (Well, roundworms and then ringworms )

But yes, congratulations indeed and thanks for this contest!

[księżycowy]

You're never going to let this down, are you?
I misread the dictionary entry, ok!?

[vijayjohn]

Sure, but I'm also curious how it got to roundworms in the first place. By the time I got it, it was gentle caresses...so...petting became worms?

[dEhiN]

If I remember correctly, my translation had "sweet words and caresses". I do remember not being sure in the last line whether the first "he" referred to the donkey or the sculptor. By the time it got to me, the last two lines had merged into one, and the connecting word was "then" (então in Portuguese). At first I thought the hanging the head and walking on part referred to the donkey, but then I thought it must refer to the sculptor. So it's possible that change occurred with me! I am curious how "a statue" became "statues" in the second sentence. I know I still had it as singular in my French translation. I also find it interesting about the change in the donkey's thoughts. The translation I got and what I passed on had the idea of everyone praising the donkey for his effort, which is more similar to "everyone respects me for my hard work". I wonder how it got changed to "my work is for the people", which to me definitely conveys a different meaning!

[księżycowy]

I'm sure that are some mistakes in my translation (aside from the ringworms ), if that's any consultation. Maybe Kevin can shed some light on what the Irish should have translated into English as.

[vijayjohn]

Something has got to have happened between French, Dutch, and German to go from caresses to roundworms, though. (Or less likely, it was a German-to-German problem...).

If I remember correctly, my translation had "sweet words and caresses".

Maybe the Portuguese was intended to mean "words and sweet caresses"?

By the time it got to me, the last two lines had merged into one, and the connecting word was "then" (então in Portuguese).

You mean the last two sentences? Yeah, it had merged into one by the time it got to me, too. I think então there was probably supposed to mean 'so'.

I have a hunch the problem was from Dutch to German, maybe something like rondom 'around' (as in hugs around the donkey or something) being misread as rondworm 'roundworm'.

[kevin]

The German was "Älchen", which is a word I had never seen before and briefly considered posting in the "last word you learnt in your native language" thread, but then I realised it might be against the rules of the BTG to do so. I'll admit that this word is ambiguous and I may have chosen then wrong translation. If it's not ring... round... eel... whateverworms, the other options is that it means little eels.

At first I thought the hanging the head and walking on part referred to the donkey, but then I thought it must refer to the sculptor.

That's how I got it. Basically I understood that the sculptor gave up and walked away. Actually, I wonder where "hung his head" even came from. It seems to be an addition that is completely missing in the original.

I am curious how "a statue" became "statues" in the second sentence.

It was still singular in Irish.

I know I still had it as singular in my French translation. I also find it interesting about the change in the donkey's thoughts. The translation I got and what I passed on had the idea of everyone praising the donkey for his effort, which is more similar to "everyone respects me for my hard work". I wonder how it got changed to "my work is for the people", which to me definitely conveys a different meaning!

That's another thing that happened in the final step. Maybe I should have kept the syntax a bit simpler at the cost of losing emphasis... I wrote "Is ar mo stró atá aird ag na daoine seo thar aon rud eile", which literally translates (well, supposedly at least) as "It is on my effort that respect is at these people, above all". It might have been easier to understand without that relative clause, I guess.

[Car]

The German was "Älchen", which is a word I had never seen before and briefly considered posting in the "last word you learnt in your native language" thread, but then I realised it might be against the rules of the BTG to do so. I'll admit that this word is ambiguous and I may have chosen then wrong translation. If it's not ring... round... eel... whateverworms, the other options is that it means little eels.

I had to look up the Dutch word and that translation came up. I had never heard it before either, but what was I supposed to do with it?

[księżycowy]

I am curious how "a statue" became "statues" in the second sentence.

It was still singular in Irish.

Was that genitive singular instead of nom.-acc. plural? Because the form was dealbha.

That's another thing that happened in the final step. Maybe I should have kept the syntax a bit simpler at the cost of losing emphasis... I wrote "Is ar mo stró atá aird ag na daoine seo thar aon rud eile", which literally translates (well, supposedly at least) as "It is on my effort that respect is at these people, above all". It might have been easier to understand without that relative clause, I guess.

Yeah, that was one of the places where I wasn't sure of the syntax, especially for Is ar mo strá. I couldn't find any examples that used the copula followed immediately by ar. I was guessing that it was similar to tá ar. Regardless, I was a bit confused with that sentence.

I also wasn't too sure about:
1) a bhí ina chónaí, but I think I got an ok translation?
2) ach dar leis an asal amaideach gur eisan a raibh meas air. In particular dar leis and a raibh meas air.

[Luís]

So here's the complete chain...

English (original)

Once upon a time, there was an old but skillful sculptor who made his living by carving beautiful statues of gods and goddesses. One day he had to take a statue of a goddess to a rich man in a nearby village. He mounted the statue on his donkey and started his journey. As they walked along, people started to admire the statue. Some stopped to admire and some bowed in respect for the goddess, but the foolish donkey thought that people were in fact admiring him. After a while the donkey thought "Why should I stay with this man? I am special, everyone respects me for my hard work". The donkey stopped half way through and began to bray loudly. The sculptor tried gentle words and actions to pacify him, but he did not move. At last the sculptor took a hard stick and thrashed the donkey. He came back to his senses and walked on humbly.

Turkish (Elaine)

Bir varmış bir yokmuş, hayatını güzel tanrı ve tanrıça heykelleri oyarak kazanan yaşlı ama yetenekli bir heykeltıraş varmış. Bir gün bir tanrıçanın heykelini yakın bir köydeki zengin bir adama götürmek zorunda kalmış. O, heykeli eşeğine bağlamış ve yolculuğuna başlamış. Onlar birlikte yürürken, insanlar heykele hayran kalmaya başlamış. Kimileri hayran kalmayı bırakmış ve kimileri de tanrıçaya saygı için boyun eğmiş, ancak aptal eşek insanların aslında kendisine hayran kaldığını zannetmiş. Bir müddet sonra eşek "Neden bu adamla kalayım? Ben özelim, herkes bana ağır işimden dolayı saygı gösterir" diye düşünmüş. Eşek yarı yolda durmuş ve yüksek sesle anırmaya başlamış. Heykeltıraş onu sakinleştirmek için hafif kelimeler ve hareketleri denemiş, ancak o hareket etmemiş. Sonunda heykeltıraş ağır bir sopa alıp eşeğe dayak atmış. Aklı başına gelmiş ve naçizane bir şekilde yürümeye devam etmiş.

Belarusian (voron)

Жыў-быў аднойчы стары, але таленавіты скульптар, які зарабляў на жыццё тым, што выразаў прыгожыя статуі багоў і багінь. Аднойчы яму трэба было адвезці статую багіні ў суседнюю вёску аднаму багатаму чалавеку. Ён прывязаў статую да свайго асла і адправіўся ў дарогу. Калі яны ішлі гэтак разам, людзі пачалі захапляцца статуяй. Некаторыя спыняліся, каб выказаць сваё захапленне, а некаторыя кланяліся з павагі да багіні, але дурны асёл палічыў, што на самой справе людзі захапляюцца ім. Праз нейкі час ён падумаў: "Навошта мне заставацца з гэтым чалавекам? Я такі асаблівы, і ўсе выказваюць мне павагу з-за маёй цяжкай працы". Асёл спыніўся на паўдарозе і пачаў гучна раўці. Скульптар паспрабаваў супакоіць яго ласкавымі словамі і дотыкамi, але асёл не рухаўся. У рэшце рэшт, скульптар узяў цяжкую палку і пабіў асла. Асёл адумаўся і пакорліва пайшоў далей.

Spanish (Irusia)

Habia una vez un escultor viejo pero talentoso, que se ganaba la vida haciendo estatuas bonitas de dioses y diosas. Una vez el necesito traer una estatua de diosa al pueblo vecino a un hombre rico. El ato la estatua a su burro y empezo el viaje. Cuando ellos iban asi juntos, la gente empezo a admirar la estatua. Unos se paraban para expresar su admiracion, otros se inclinaban por el respeto a la diosa, pero el burro estupido penso, que la gente de verdad le admiraba a el. Despues de algun tiempo el penso: "Para que debo quedarme con ese hombre. Soy tan especial, todos me expresan el respeto por mi trabajo duro". El burro se paro en el medio del viaje y empezo a aullar altisimo. El escultor trato tranquilizarlo con las palabras y toques tiernos, pero el burro no se movia. Por fin, el escultor tomo el palo pesado y golpeo al burro. El burro cambio de opinion y humildemente empezo a ir adelante.

Italian (Ipsedixit)

C’era una volta uno scultore, vecchio ma di talento, che si guadagnava da vivere facendo graziose statue di dei e di dee. Una volta egli dovette portare la statua di una dea a un ricco uomo nel paese accanto. Caricò la statua sul suo asino e iniziò il viaggio. Al loro passaggio, la gente iniziò ad ammirare la statua. Alcuni si fermavano per mostrare la loro ammirazione, altri si inchinavano in segno di rispetto verso la dea, tuttavia lo stolto asino pensò che la gente, in realtà, stesse ammirando lui. Dopo un po’, pensò quindi: “Perché devo starmene con quest’uomo? Sono così speciale, tutti mi mostrano rispetto per il mio duro lavoro”. L’asino si fermò quindi a metà strada e iniziò a ragliare a squarciagola. Lo scultore provò a tranquillizzarlo a parole e con dolci carezze, ma l’asino non voleva saperne di muoversi. Alla fine lo scultore prese un palo massiccio e colpì l’asino, il quale cambiò idea e proseguì a testa bassa.


Mandarin Chinese (vijayjohn)

很久很久以前有一位老但也天才雕塑家靠作神和女神的优美雕像营生。 有一次得把一个女神的雕像带给一个住在附近国家的有钱人。 他把雕像装到了自己的驴子背上， 开始旅行。 在路上人们开始欣赏雕像了。 有些人为了表示自己的赞赏而停着， 有些人鞠躬表示对女神的尊重， 但是笨的驴子以为，事实上人们欣赏它。 因此一会儿以后它想： “我为什么应该跟这个人留下来呢？ 这么特殊， 大家都为我的努力工作尊敬”。 因此它在路中间停着卯足气力叫起来了。 雕塑家尝试用话语和柔软的抚摸让它平静下来， 可是驴子却懒得动。 终于雕塑家拿一根很重的杆子打了驴子， 所以它改变主意， 低着头继续走路了。


Portuguese (Covered)

Era uma vez um sábio escultor que ganhava a vida fazendo magníficas estátuas de deuses e deusas. Certa vez, ele teve que levar a estátua de uma deusa a um homem rico que morava em uma nação vizinha. Ele colocou a estátua em seu burro de carga e começou a viagem. No caminho, várias pessoas começaram a admirar as estátuas. Algumas pessoas paravam para expressar admiração, outras pessoas faziam reverências para a deusa, mas para o burro tolo, elas estavam na verdade admirando ele. Então após certo tempo ele pensa: "Por que tenho que vir com essa pessoa? Estas pessoas valorizam especialmente meu esforço." Então ele parou repentinamente no meio do caminho. O escultor tentou fazer o burro se mover tranquilamente com carícias e palavras doces, mas ele estava com muita preguiça para andar. Por fim, o escultou bateu no burro com uma vara pesada, então ele mudou de ideia, baixou a cabeça e seguiu andando.

French (dEhiN)

Il y avait un sage sculpteur qui gagnait sa vie en faisant des statues magnifiques de dieux et de déesses. Une fois, il a eu besoin de porter une statue d’une déesse chez un homme riche qui habitait dans un pays voisin. Il a met la statue sur sa bête de somme et il a commencé son voyage. Sur le chemin, quelques personnes ont commencé à admirer la statue. Certains d’entre eux ont arrêté à la vanter pendant que des autres se sont incliné devant la déesse, mais pour l’âne insensé, en réalité ils étaient lui apprécier. Alors, après quelques temps, il lui a pensé : « Pourquoi je dois voyager avec cet homme ? Ces personnes valorisent surtout mon effort. » Donc, il a arrêté soudainement au milieu de la route. Le sculpteur a essayé tranquillement de lui faire à marcher avec des caresses et des mots douces, mais il était très paresseux pour se promener. Enfin, le sculpteur a battu l’âne avec un bâton lourd, mais ensuite il a changé d’avis, il a baissé sa tête et il a continué de marcher.

Dutch (Aurinĭa)

Er was eens een wijze beeldhouwer die in zijn levensonderhoud voorzag door prachtige standbeelden te maken van goden en godinnen. Op een keer moest hij het standbeeld van een godin naar een rijke heer brengen, die in een buurland woonde. Hij zette het beeld op zijn lastdier en begon aan de reis. Onderweg begonnen enkele personen het standbeeld te bewonderen. Sommigen van hen stopten met het op te hemelen, terwijl anderen voor de godin bogen, maar voor de dwaze ezel was het in werkelijkheid hem, die ze op prijs stelden. Toen dacht hij na enige tijd: "Waarom moet ik met deze man meereizen? Deze personen waarderen vooral mijn inspanning." Hij stopte dus plots in het midden van de weg. De beeldhouwer probeerde rustig om hem aan het stappen te krijgen met aaitjes en lieve woordjes, maar hij was te lui om te lopen. Ten slotte sloeg de beeldhouwer de ezel met een zware stok, maar daarna veranderde hij van mening, liet het hoofd zakken en ging door met stappen.

German (Car)

Es war einmal ein weiser Bildhauer, der zu seinem Lebensunterhalt vorsah prächtige Statuen von Göttern und Göttinnen zu machen. Einmal musste er Statuen von einer Göttin einem reichen Herrn bringen, der in einem Nachbarland wohnte. Er setzte das Bild auf sein Lasttier und begann die Reise. Unterwegs fingen eine Personen an, die Statue zu bewundern. Manche von ihnen himmelten sie an, während andere für die Göttin bogen, aber für den törichten Esel war es in Wirklichkeit er, der geschätzt wurde. Dann dachte er nach einiger Zeit: "Warum muss ich mit diesem Mann mitreisen? Diese Personen würdigen vor allem meine Bemühung." Er hielt daher plötzlich in der Mitte des Weges. Der Bildhauer probierte ruhig, ihn zum Stapfen zu bewegen mit Älchen und netten Worten, aber er war zu faul zum Laufen. Zum Schluss schlug der Bildhauer den Esel mit einem schweren Stock, aber danach änderte er seine Meinung, ließ den Kopf sacken und ging stapfend davon.

Irish (kevin)

Fadó fadó, bhí dealbhóir críonna ann a raibh rún aige dealbha iontacha de dhéithe agus de bhandéithe a dhéanamh lena bheatha a shaothrú. Uair amháin, bhí air dealbha de bhandia a thabhairt do fhear saibhir a bhí ina chónaí i dtír in aice láimhe. Chuir sé an íomhá ar a ainmhí iompair agus thosaigh sé an turas. Thosaigh daoine éigin iontas a dhéanamh den dhealbh ar an bhealach. Bhí cuid acu á hadhradh agus daoine eile ag umhlú don bhandia, ach dar leis an asal amaideach gur eisean a raibh meas air. I ndiaidh tamaill a shíl sé: "Cad chuige a gcaithfidh mé taisteal leis an fhear seo? Is ar mo stró atá aird ag na daoine seo thar aon rud eile." Mar sin de, stad sé i lár an bhealaigh go tobann. Rinne dealbhóir iarracht shocair é a chur ag spágáil le néimeatóidí agus le focail deasa, ach bhí sé ró-fhalsa le siúl. Faoi dheireadh, bhuail an dealbhóir an t-asal le maide trom, ach tháinig athrú intinne air i ndiaidh sin, agus chrom sé a cheann agus d'imigh sé leis go spadánta.

English (księżycowy )

A long time ago there was a shrewd sculptor that wanted to make a living sculpting wonderful statues of gods and goddesses. Once he had to give statues of a goddess to a rich man living in a nearby land. He put the statue on his beast and started the journey. On the way some people started marveling at the statue. Some of them worshiped and others bowed down to the goddess, but it seemed to the foolish donkey that he was valuable. After a while he thought, "why do I spend time traveling with this man? My work is for the people, above all." Therefore, he suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. The sculptor tried to ease him into walking clumsily along with ringworms and nice words, but he was walking very lazily. Finally the sculptor hit the donkey with a heavy stick, but he changed his mind after that, and he hung his head and he took him away slowly.

[kevin]

Ah, so Car misread "aaitjes" as "aaltjes". That does make a difference.

[kevin]

Was that genitive singular instead of nom.-acc. plural? Because the form was dealbha.

No, I was confused and you're right. I looked at "bhandia" rather than "dealbha" when I wrote this. It is in fact plural, and seems to have been introduced in the translation from Dutch to German.

Yeah, that was one of the places where I wasn't sure of the syntax, especially for Is ar mo strá. I couldn't find any examples that used the copula followed immediately by ar. I was guessing that it was similar to tá ar. Regardless, I was a bit confused with that sentence.

You can basically front any part of a sentence for emphasis using the construction with the copula and a relative clause.

Tá mé ag léamh leabhair. - I am reading a book.
Is mise atá ag léamh leabhair. - I am reading a book (and not you).
Is ag léamh atá mé leabhar. - I am reading a book (and not writing it).
Leabhar atá mé ag léamh. - I am reading a book (and not a newspaper).

1) a bhí ina chónaí, but I think I got an ok translation?

Looks fine, yes.

2) ach dar leis an asal amaideach gur eisan a raibh meas air. In particular dar leis and a raibh meas air.

I think "it seemed to" is a good translation for "dar leis". In the German text I got, it was something like "for the donkey" and I wasn't sure whether "don asal" would convey the right meaning.

"gur eisean a raibh meas air" is again the copula + relative clause construction. Without it, it would be "go raibh meas air" (hm, or maybe I could have maintained the emphasis with "airsean" instead of "air", but that's a word I had to look up in GnaG now, I never saw it before).

[Luís]

It's interesting how "village" became "country" really early on, only to end up as "land".

Also, the part where the donkey starts braying (or screaming in some translations) seems to have disappeared.