We are still in the early stages of this translation/localization. That means we would like feedback and ideas from all of you as we go forward.
That being said, the poll I have with this thread is to establish a direction in the translation of names. I was thinking in this game to use the original Japanese names for the characters and the towns (some towns' names are actually longer, for example, Arima is actually Arimahya, Oputa is Oputano, etc.) For the basic techniques, use PSO spellings for the known ones, and then use the best Japanese romanization.
I have also been having some fun looking at item names. Remember Shune Boots? Well, their full name is Shunera boots. Shunera is the full name of the Ner technique for speed, and these boots give a speed boost. Garda Boots are actually Guard Boots. There are some that I would like some help on:
- 1. "Hirza Boots": (Ha-i-ru-za-mu) ; on this site it is listed as Hailsome, which is a scottish term meaning 'healthy.' I have also seen that the German Heilsam (changed: thanks, skymandr, for the correct German spelling ) means the same thing. There are more examples of things looking more like German in the katakana form (it is used for any foreign word, after all). Which spelling should I use?
2. "Nish": (Hah-nisshu) ; on this site it is listed as Harnish, which has no meaning in English. However, the German word "Harnisch" is equivalent to Armor or Harness. Which is better, Harnisch, Harnish, or Harness?
3. "Fiblira": (Fu-i-bu-ri-ra) ; this has always ranked up with Nish as a WTF item name for me. I am thinking it is actually a composite term of some sort. A fibula is a type of brooch used in ancient times. Reversing the -la and -ra, which are indistinguishable in Japanese, gives fibrilla, which is a term for a bunch of fibrils, or tiny fibers. I have seen this term used in some textiles, but is mainly a biological term; cellulose in plants and muscle fibers in animals can use it. I don't know if I should just keep PS3's precedent or what...but the idea of a woman's armor that resembles muscle fibers that form around the body sounds pretty sci-fi and cool.
EDIT: I found the descriptions for the "fiblira" items...they are described as dresses made from fibers of the type of material. So, I think they meant fibrilla...however, this is singular for one strand, the plural form (and the likelihood that an article of clothing would be made from a bunch of fibrilla) is actually fibrillae. In the kana they may have been referring to the type of fiber strand; I may keep the singular form and keep the corresponding description in singular (i.e., the plain fibrilla would have an approximate description of "A dress made from a silk fiber." )
4. "Fiber": (Gu-ra-su) ; the game's kana is referring to Glass, but as this site shows, it is evident that the idea is that it was supposed to be Fiberglass/Glassfibre...it's a fun thing to note that the word got split up and used differently. I don't think they had the space to write it out; one of the G2-only items uses an abbreviation for this purpose. With Tryphon's tools, we can use either Fiberglass or Glassfibre in its entirety...which one would you like to see?
5. "Kinds" /Kain ; Based on the German-sounding words I've come across, I wonder if this is supposed to be spelled more like "Keinz." I believe there is a character in the Black Butler series with the same kana spelling that is named Keinz.
EDIT2: 6. There is a weapon called a scale that only Kinds and Huey can use. Their animations look like they are using dai-kunai...the item description states that they are rod-like weapons that were originally tools. Suddenly, the image of Kinda and Huey beating the daylights out of Biomonsters with huge metal rulers enters my head...
We are a pretty diverse forum, so I think anybody's ideas about how to proceed with these examples will be helpful. Thanks in advance, everyone!
