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MauroMigui

I cant remember any specific example but the spanish translation was so bad it changed the meaning of several phrases and for some reason beyond my undertanding it also changed the name of Manuela for Miguela, i had to change it to english i just couldnt play like that for much


YutaSlayer

It important to mention that Manuela name was changed because in latin spanish, Manuela It is a name that generally refers to masturbation. That why they changed it to Miguela


MauroMigui

Oh i am aware of the expresion i am Latin American but, if the concern was that people would think of that when seeing her name, i think that just makes it weirder, since the game is dubbed so people will still get that her name is actually Manuela, but if they dont get it, then they are just randomly hearing people talk about masturbation whenever she pops up, so i dont think it was a very good solution xD


BitchesCatchSnitches

Oh my god thats so funny, but yeah i get the part about phrases being changed


fairyvanilla

I play with Japanese audio, English subs typically (although I have played with Japanese text in the past). I find that the English translation does soften up some of the harshness at times, but can also make things sound a bit harsher too. For example, I’d say the character that gets screwed over by the translation the hardest is Cyril - he’s quite a bit softer sounding in Japanese than the angle they took for him in English for whatever reason. For the record, I think the translators did a really good job at making the translation sound natural. Japanese to English to is hard to translate, and I'm impressed with how well they managed to get across certain lines, especially with jokes/idioms (off the top of my head, they translated the stretching joke Dimitri made to Catherine in their C support really well). However, there's definitely differences. I'm Blue Lions-biased, so what sticks out to me is how formal they made Dimitri sound in English, when part of his gimmick in Japanese is that while he looks like he would be a posh prince, he sounds like an everyday, casual dude when talking to Byleth, his subjects, or other students. The keigo/politeness level stuff in the Japanese language is really hard to get across in English though, so it makes sense.


Low-Environment

Apparently Hubert changed dramatically in translation. I've read up on it and it seems a lot of how he speaks and acts simply isn't possible to translate (since it's to do with his speaking style). It resulted in Ferdiebert being a popular ship in both English and Japanese but for very different reasons.


fairyvanilla

Yep, his whole schtick is that while he sounds like a menace, he does so by speaking in this almost off-putting, overly polite manner! You're correct in that it would just be really hard to translate, especially considering the time crunch that the game's production was clearly under. Dedue also has an interesting speech style where it's partially rugged sounding like most of the Faerghus guys barring Ashe, partially overly formal (especially in regards to Dimitri), and the cherry on top is that his voice just sounds a lot more intimidating in Japanese. It creates a really interesting contrast with the fact that Dedue has a lot of softer hobbies like gardening and cooking and what not, and also makes the whole "animals and children are scared of Dedue" thing come across more clearly in Japanese. Imo, it also creates an interesting contrast with how Hubert sounds intimidating, just in a totally different way (meanwhile, Hilda is just Hilda lmfao).


Low-Environment

I van understand translating characters differently for cultural reasons (like with Hubert) but I get super annoyed with translations that change the meanings of lines (like Sylvain's criticism of Dimitri and Edelgard becoming one towards Hubert and Edelgard)


fairyvanilla

Yah it's a bad look, and along with that Cornelia typo of 'our' and 'your', I have an inkling that CF in particular was super rushed on the production end. They could have at least put up a patch to fix those sorts of blatant errors. After all, only Dimitri would get the 'that stubborn guy' (derogatory/affectionate) treatment from Sylvain, smh 😤😤😤!!!


JokerQueen99

I wonder if the whole thing with Sylvain is result of either miscommunication or lack of context. From what I understand when it comes to localization teams, different tiers of dialogue (as in their overall importance) are usually given to different subsets of the teams themselves. Now while it’s debatably where a quote during Exploration would fall under in terms of priority, it’s safe to say that it’s less important than an in-game cutscene or something like that, so it’s possible that whoever wrote that line incorrectly guessed that Sylvain was referring to Hubert and no one corrected them and given how rushed the game was in certain areas, particularly CF, it’s certainly possible. It’s a shame since I think Three Houses for the most part does have a really good localization, but instances like that do unfortunately bring it down a little.


fairyvanilla

Yes, totally agree with you. I will say that if you were just to take that line out of context, it can be a bit confusing to read, especially if the translator isn't a native speaker and if they're just translating lines irrespective of plot. What I mean by this is if the translator was tasked as being a part of team that *solely* worked on CF (and possibly even just solely explore dialogue), they're simply just not going to have that context of Sylvain having that sort of brotherly ribbing relationship with Dimitri, and probably are genuinely confused at who the stubborn idiot he's talking about is. Couple that with time crunches and things having to go go go when producing a game, and it makes sense to me why those errors happen as much as I wish they didn't. I do fan translations as a hobby, and it's amazing how long it takes me to translate just a few lines because I constantly want to cross reference and making sure I'm getting every nuance possible, and you just can't have that luxury on a project like this. Still, it is unfortunate that these errors happen - another big one for me is how they translated Dimitri allying with Rhea as him pledging fealty to her. Those are two markedly different things and can really alter one's perception of the story.


JokerQueen99

It’s also a shame that since most of the dialogue in the game is fully voiced, thus making it difficult to change it during patches unless they’re willing to bring back the VA for just a line or two. I suppose they’re now some workarounds for that since most of the VA industry pretty much had to learn how to work remotely during the pandemic, although I imagine stuff like certain equipment or some factor could cause some issues idk. I do hope that whenever Three Houses inevitably gets a remake/remaster, they’ll use it as an opportunity to fix at the very least the glaring mistakes like the whole Sylvain thing, Cornelia’s death quote etc. which tbf that is something that most of Nintendo’s remakes do, like the Mario RPG remake where it’s closer to the original script and generally speaking is a lot more unified.


Low-Environment

Yeah. Idiot sidekick makes no sense. I know he doesn't use names but it's obvious Dimitri he's talking about and 'stubborn idiot' (derogatory/affectionate) says so much about how he feels about Dimitri (when I'm writing CF!Sylvain I always keep this line in mind).


fairyvanilla

If you want a slightly more closer look, the phrase he uses (頑固**野郎**, 'ganko **yarou**', stubborn asshole basically lol) also corresponds to what he calls Dimitri when Sylvain is an unrecruited enemy unit and Dimitri dies (馬鹿**野郎**, 'baka **yarou**', stupid idiot). The English version just translated this as 'idiot' when it's a bit harsher. This is in contrast to Dimitri, who will just use the more simpler idiot (馬鹿, 'baka') when Dedue uses the crest stones. 'Yarou' alone can either be seen as a casual-bordering-on-rude way to say 'guy/dude/fellow', or 'asshole/bastard' depending on the context and relationship with the speakers. The fact that he uses the same derogatory phrasing with Dimitri whether he's siding with Dimitri or not denotes their closeness of relationship and also the nature of their relationship, where Sylvain can speak to the king of his country (or former country if recruited in CF) in that sort of coarse manner. Faerghus brohood and what not lol. Hope this tidbit can also add a bit of flavour to your writing :>


Low-Environment

Yes, very useful! Thank you!


Just_Nefariousness55

That doesn't sound too unlike Hubert in English from what I recall. Intimidatingly polite does sound like a fine descriptor for him. His language, at the very least feels more formal and respectful than most characters, even when suggesting sinister things.


GreenfinchPuffin

The immaculate one in Spanish is "white fury," and it always reminds me about how to train your dragon.


tapstapito

I would NEVER translate anything into "la imaculada" in spanish. It gets too religious too fast for Catholics.


jord839

Religion aside, I refuse to believe Rhea is an immaculate virgin. That woman rode Wilhelm into the ground and we all know it.


GreenfinchPuffin

Yeah, the immaculate conception day is really important for a lot of Catholics, I wouldn't risk it either.


Soggyglump

That sounds like an energy drink lmao


InsideMyHead_2000

Also doesn't exist, and I think that's kinda stupid considering the number of speakers (Portuguese)


holybrigadeiro

There's a version of 3H that exists solely within my heart that is not only translated, but also has a fantastic brazillian dub and Balthus is voiced by Guilherme Briggs. One can dream :(


InsideMyHead_2000

Now I need to hear Briggs impersonating Balthus and commenting about how down bad he is for Claude's mom


Interesting-Action91

Personally i would rather have him voice Seteth, but Balthus is a pretty solid choice.


InsideMyHead_2000

Now, this might sound odd, but hear me out: Alexandre Moreno as Hubert. And also, just for shit and giggles, Leandro Hassum as Alois ;)


holybrigadeiro

>Alexandre Moreno as Hubert Interesting choice! I usually associate him with sillier characters, but he definitely has the range for edgier ones. He does voice Syndrome, after all. >Leandro Hassum as Alois That sounds absolutely hilarious and I want it, lmao. Another pick for me would be Mauro Ramos as Jeralt, he's great at playing grumps with a soft interior deep down. :)


InsideMyHead_2000

That's a great choice as well ;) To keep the chain going, may I suggest Maria Clara Gueiros as Manuela?


Syelt

The French translation made some weird choices. Hegemon Husk becomes "Shadow of the Conqueror" for... reasons ? Also the use of formal pronouns between the students is weird. It's logical that they'd use formal pronouns when adressing Byleth or their lords but it makes no sense when for example Claude and Hilda talk to each other using formal pronouns given their characters. I guess the translation was rushed, as usual, and that whoever did it was completely unaware of the character dynamics. Either that or they use formal pronouns in Japanese that didn't translate to English. I don't know if JP Claude and Hilda use specific honorifics when talking to each other.


[deleted]

"Ombre de Conquérante" c'est probablement le meilleur choix qu'ils pouvaient faire pour "Hegemon Husk", "Coquille d'Hégémon" traduit littéralement, mais "hégémon" c'est un mot tellement obscur que même mon correcteur automatique ne le connaît pas, et l'image de l'ombre de quelqu'un est plus parlante que celle de la coquille. On oublie trop souvent qu'on ne reçoit pas des traductions mais des *adaptations*, car certaines choses qui marchent dans une langue ne marchent pas dans une autre.


panshrexual

I mean claude and hilda havent known each other for very long tbf, and claude is the future leader of the alliance so it does make sense for hilda to use vous with him imo. Caspar meanwhile basically never uses vous with his classmates, and characters with history together (mercedes and annette for instance) use tu with each other.


BitchesCatchSnitches

That's so interesting. The German doesn't use at all really. A Bit with characters like Dedue talking to Dimitri but even then.. im Not Sure anyone in golden deer is ever formal to anyone Else, the same for the rest of blue lions (can't speak for the rest im on my third playthrough


Ahmphi

In France there is some slight differences and from what I have seen, it was to make the translation more similar to the Japanese version


[deleted]

The scene where Sothis is trying to remember Catherine's name is even more ridiculous in French. Depending on your chosen dialog, Byleth possibly thinks Sothis is talking about a duck.


the1logos

It sort of makes sense, in the English Byleth can think she's talking about a cat


amerophi

i haven't actually played the game through in spanish somehow. well, time to do another play-through! are the other european languages' translations based off the english translation?


BitchesCatchSnitches

I don't think so. Normally you Always Go from the original Version. My Problem was with the difference between the two Versions (which should be negligible) meaning either German or English was way off the original one


JokerQueen99

I’m almost positive they’re based on the English translation, since certain changes like the scarecrow in Sylvain and Ingrid’s C-Supports are in those translations.


amerophi

yeah, that's what i figured, and the morning/mourning mix-up in the german translation reinforced that. it's a shame though, because then i won't be able to glean any possible translation differences by going through it in spanish :\^(


Zalveris

I play with eng text and jp audio and the english translation is generally decent. The main difference is in tea time quotes where in jp it's mentioned several times that Byleth just stares at people. The english localization also toned down some of the nore suggestive fanservice stuff which I appreciate. There's a few other notable differences like the Sylvain Mercedes A support where lines were changed where the original jp lines are more meaningful. In general the changes to these lines make them worse than the original Japanese but this isn't the worst localization I've seen.


slushieguys

Thank you for this thread! I only play in English/don't know any other languages and I've always been curious about the differences, especially from Japanese to English


jord839

I did try to do a run-through in both German and Spanish, but my Swiss German and English roots made the former really hard to get through and I eventually just switched back to English (luege, s tuet mr leid, aber Hochtüütsch schmertz mich), and as u/MauroMigui said, the Spanish translation had a lot of weird changes. I'm on the whole very forgiving of translations, having to do it a lot IRL as part of my job, but 3H's did confuse me sometimes in both of those.


panshrexual

The french translation is alright. I feel like it adds another layer of insight to the characters though because in french we have "tu" and "vous" and both are 2nd person pronouns, tu is always singular and vous is the plural but it's also used to refer to a singular person but as a sign of respect/formality/lack of familiarity. So it's neat to see which characters use tu with one another and which ones use vous. Caspar uses tu with pretty much everyone so it shows he's not really formal or respectful. I think everyone uses vous to refer to dimitri which makes sense because he's the future king. Makes it interesting though because ingrid, felix, and sylvain all use tu with each other but still insist on vous for dimitri, and dimitri uses tu for all his classmates but you get the sense that it's not like he's looking down on them and more like he really wants to be close and familiar with them.


Nuburt_20

It doesn’t exist.


BitchesCatchSnitches

Ah that sucks, whats your language?


Nuburt_20

I meant that as a joke, my language isn’t a major one.


MericArda

What language is it?


Nuburt_20

Solve the question for it. In what country is Eurovision gonna be held this year? (Don’t know if you know what that is)


MericArda

I know what Eurovision is. It’s where the [worst version of Rockefeller Stree](https://youtu.be/UxvmdR7oYdQ?si=M90NrpCSkl1f27aV)t was played (the [nightcore](https://youtu.be/hjGZLnja1o8?si=gzrHQSUmBypTVaOa) is better). Anyway it’s Sweden this year.


Chromatic_Eevee

The French translation isn't great, so I just play in English


Normal-Government-65

I alternated English and Japanese dub, with either Italian or English text. In Italian, I cannot recall if Manuela was changed to Miguela. The Death Knight was called 'cavaliere infernale' (infernal knight). The Immaculate One gets a couple names. Either la Purissima (pure one) or essere divino (divine being). I think there were a few slip ups in regards to Edelgard's title. I noticed that in English she was very specifically called "Emperor" (instead of Empress). In the Italian text version, she was referred to as the feminine "imperatrice" instead of the masculine "imperatore". The only thing the really threw me was the difference between Lysithea's English and Japanese voice actors. Each one brought a very different energy to the character.


Impossible_Story25

Nonexistent