Well raven is corbin and attic is grenier, a balcony is balcon or galerie, so I would think that it would depend on what you think loft means. Personally I'd translate it as "Grenier des corbeaux" or "Attic of the Ravens" but then again my French skills are pretty rusty, I haven't spoken it a lot in a long time.
The various free translators online all produced something along those lines, but I was wondering if there was an "official" translation of the module released and if so, did they keep the name or was it too translated?
A raven loft must be a special building for the keeping of ravens, like a pigeon loft, but a little darker. The French for a pigeon loft is pigeonnier, and for a dovecote colombier. I suggest that a raven loft might be a corbusier ;-), but apparently the French would just call it an enclos.
"Soupente des grands-corbeaux" sounds good to me, and I am Canadian. Remember, English has germanic roots, so can make a compound name like "Ravenloft" easily. French sounds more authentic with the "A of B - A de B" pattern.
If I have my ornithology corrent, a 'corbin' is a small bird called a 'chough' in English, a 'corbeau' is just a plain old crow, but a raven is a 'grand-corbeau'. Also, the 'grand' and 'soupente' both sound ominous, as if the ravens are giant and about to swoop down on you!
Ravenloft first product to be translated into French was AD&D TSR module I6, IIRC it was in 1989. Subsequent Ravenloft products for AD&D 2d edition in French were all translated with Ravenloft as campaign world name. Perhaps for two reasons : Ravenloft was one of the most appreciated module for AD&D 1st edition, the name was known to every serious AD&D player then and I think it's really not easy to find a good translation. At the opposite, when the first Forgotten Realms product was translated into French in 1987, it was translated into "Les Royaumes Oubliés" as it was an easy translation. Ravenloft in French should give a strange thing, probably the important renown of the Ravenloft name after I6 publication is to my opinion the first explanation of a lack of translation for "Ravenloft".
Corbeaugrenier, or so the internet tells me.
ReplyDeleteLa Ravenloft, if old Looney Tunes can be trusted.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know "Corbin" must mean "raven" because of the "Bec de corbin." EGG and his polearm nomenclature.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWell raven is corbin and attic is grenier, a balcony is balcon or galerie, so I would think that it would depend on what you think loft means. Personally I'd translate it as "Grenier des corbeaux" or "Attic of the Ravens" but then again my French skills are pretty rusty, I haven't spoken it a lot in a long time.
ReplyDeleteThe various free translators online all produced something along those lines, but I was wondering if there was an "official" translation of the module released and if so, did they keep the name or was it too translated?
ReplyDeleteNevermind. I see that according to the Acaeum, it kept the title in the French version.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.acaeum.com/ddindexes/modpages/foreign/i6for.html
A raven loft must be a special building for the keeping of ravens, like a pigeon loft, but a little darker. The French for a pigeon loft is pigeonnier, and for a dovecote colombier. I suggest that a raven loft might be a corbusier ;-), but apparently the French would just call it an enclos.
ReplyDeleteWord verification : escher
Actually, it would be corbeaunier, but that apparently sounds very strange.
ReplyDelete"Soupente des grands-corbeaux" sounds good to me, and I am Canadian. Remember, English has germanic roots, so can make a compound name like "Ravenloft" easily. French sounds more authentic with the "A of B - A de B" pattern.
ReplyDeleteIf I have my ornithology corrent, a 'corbin' is a small bird called a 'chough' in English, a 'corbeau' is just a plain old crow, but a raven is a 'grand-corbeau'. Also, the 'grand' and 'soupente' both sound ominous, as if the ravens are giant and about to swoop down on you!
J'espere que ca vous aide.
This really has nothing to do with your question, but I began thinking in the wrong direction, and had an epiphany.
ReplyDeleteOne could call a Bat Loft a Bat Attic, which could be shortened to:
Battic
And there was much rejoicing.
- Ark
I guess 'corbeaux' is related to the Scots 'corby'?
ReplyDeleteRavenloft first product to be translated into French was AD&D TSR module I6, IIRC it was in 1989. Subsequent Ravenloft products for AD&D 2d edition in French were all translated with Ravenloft as campaign world name. Perhaps for two reasons : Ravenloft was one of the most appreciated module for AD&D 1st edition, the name was known to every serious AD&D player then and I think it's really not easy to find a good translation. At the opposite, when the first Forgotten Realms product was translated into French in 1987, it was translated into "Les Royaumes Oubliés" as it was an easy translation. Ravenloft in French should give a strange thing, probably the important renown of the Ravenloft name after I6 publication is to my opinion the first explanation of a lack of translation for "Ravenloft".
ReplyDeleteA French AD&D player