Katawa Shoujo Forums

Scene 9 is now finished, and I have more notes for you.
1. Shizune offers to give Hisao a "handicap" in order to make the game easier for him, and he is offended. This is a beautiful part, there, because the word "handicap" also implies disability and crippleness, and thus ties into the entire theme of the game and of Hisao's unwillingness to accept his own condition. Tragically, I could not translate it to Hebrew...
2. I also couldn't find a good translation to the pun in "Pseudo Tea Cosy"(I just called the scene "Afternoon Tea"). I suck so much.
3. Lilly speaks like an old lady. This is good.
4. No, wait a minuet. She doesn't just speak like an old lady, she speaks like a medieval lady. This is a bit too extreme here. Speaking 19th century Hebrew may imply that she is old fashioned and well educated, but 14th century Hebrew just implies that she is completely out of touch with reality... Oh dear.
5. Though, her speech is described at one point as "Like that of a princess".
6. The (un)official Hebrew translation for "My, My": "Eli, Eli". It means "my god, my god", but don't worry, no religious connotations there. It's just what an old Hebrew lady would probably say when another old lady would say "my, my".
7. "Do you come here to drink tea often?", in Hebrew, sounds like Hisao is trying to hit on her using the cheapest, cheesiest pick up line imaginable.
8. "Track and field club" has been translated into the "athletics club", because... This is how they are called in Israel, I guess.(Actually, the entire concept of "clubs" doesn't really exist here, it's very complex and I won't explain but... there you have it)
9. I have managed to pull out a very nice pun out of the term "Club Scene", though.
10. The library is said to have an "old world air". This has been changed to "an ancient air", because "old world" would imply very strongly that it is somehow related to Europe.
11. Yuuko tries to calm Lilly down saying "I hit my head". In Hebrew, this expression could also mean "I was doing drugs" and also "I was having sex". Can you blame Lilly for looking concerned?
12. Rather than looking like she is about to disembowel herself(a form of suicide common in Japanese culture yet which has no good Hebrew translation) Yuuko is said to look like she is "about to fall on her own sword", a biblical expression that should be obvious enough to just about any Hebrew speaker.

Onwards, then.

8. Instead of "No strings attached", Shizune offers to play Risk with "No tricks, this time."

Not quite. "No strings attached" means something like "We're not playing FOR anything" or "just for fun". I don't know if you have something like that in Hebrew.

7. "Do you come here to drink tea often?", in Hebrew, sounds like Hisao is trying to hit on her using the cheapest, cheesiest pick up line imaginable.

It's not much better in english

8. "Track and field club" has been translated into the "athletics club", because... This is how they are called in Israel, I guess.

Same problem in the German translation. I translated it as "athletics-team".

10. The library is said to have an "old world air". This has been changed to "an ancient air", because "old world" would imply very strongly that it is somehow related to Europe.

It's very likely that this is exactly what it was supposed to imply. That really works only for americans, though, so I think you made a good call.

11. Yuuko tries to calm Lilly down saying "I hit my head". In Hebrew, this expression could also mean "I was doing drugs" and also "I was having sex". Can you blame Lilly for looking concerned?

Now THAT has to be some interesting etymology. What would be the literal meaning of that hebrew phrase in english?

Minister of Gloom wrote: 6. The (un)official Hebrew translation for "My, My": "Eli, Eli". It means "my god, my god", but don't worry, no religious connotations there. It's just what an old Hebrew lady would probably say when another old lady would say "my, my".

So, is "i" a suffix indicating possession? Or is it merely implied? I know "El" by itself means God.

*REMOVED*

I misread the post. My bad.

Depending on the context, he might've meant that as "we're not going to trick you into joining the Student Council if you lose or anything like that".

Not quite. "No strings attached" means something like "We're not playing FOR anything" or "just for fun". I don't know if you have something like that in Hebrew.

I know that, it's just that I don't know any good Hebrew equivalent except for just having her say "We are not playing for anything, it's just for fun", which is quite cumbersome. So I went for "No tricks" instead, even though it doesn't mean exactly the same thing...

Same problem in the German translation. I translated it as "athletics-team".

Oh, this is very good! I might make a use of that. Thank you.

Now THAT has to be some interesting etymology. What would be the literal meaning of that hebrew phrase in english?

Now, this is a very strange thing. I have no idea why the language evolved the way it did, it just did. But the fact is, that in modern Hebrew the verbs for "Hit" and "Fuck" are one and the same. Yes, that means that you can fuck a nail with a hammer and that when someone is acting very stuipedly you can call him a "hitting idiot".
It's very weird.
But anyway, when Yuuko says that she "hit her head", well, you know, it could also, technically, mean... Yeah, that's what it could mean, basically. And "fucked my head" is a slang expression which means "I got really drunk/high". So there you have it.

So, is "i" a suffix indicating possession? Or is it merely implied? I know "El" by itself means God.

Wow, you are actually right! Very good thinking, there. Yes, the suffix "i" means that something belongs to "me"(me being the speaker, of course). By the way, "Emi"? It means "My Mother".

Depending on the context, he might've meant that as "we're not going to trick you into joining the Student Council if you lose or anything like that".

That was more or less what I was trying to imply, yeah.

Minister of Gloom wrote:12. Rather than looking like she is about to disembowel herself(a form of suicide common in Japanese culture yet which has no good Hebrew translation) Yuuko is said to look like she is "about to fall on her own sword", a biblical expression that should be obvious enough to just about any Hebrew speaker.

I didn't get the reference, but I immediately thought "Marc Antony."

How did I miss this thread? I love languages and your description of Hebrew's workings is pretty fascinating. Keep up the good work, I'm going to be following this closely.

Another scene, more notes for you:
1. Hanako's beanbag has been changed into a pouffe, simply because there is a Hebrew translation for this one. I know that technically there is a difference, but I consider it a minor one.
2. I'm trying to find a better translation to the word "delinquent". The only one I can think about it "Avaryan", but it also actually means "criminal", and I think that's being a little harsh on poor Hanako.
3. Generally I have decided to embrace your method(thanks again!) of using a nod of the head to signify a "yeah" and an "excited nod" when Misha says "yup". This works very well as long as Lilly isn't involved... But it's very good overall so I think I'll keep using that.
4. Hanako "got this fit and ran off". I am trying to think of a better translation to "fit", because what I am using now sounds too much like a medical term. You know, like she had an Asthma attack or suddenly went violently crazy because of some brain fuck.

More scenes, notes, etc.

1. Instead of Kanji's story threatening to "Blow your mind", it threatens to "Knock you off your feet". Not exactly the same feeling, but close.
2. I have noticed "HebrewLilly" uses many expressions with "God" in them. Perhaps too many. I think I might have accidentally made her religious.

This is really interesting to read. I love languages...you have a great sense of humor too. Translate on, this is an entertaining thread. :3

Minister of Gloom wrote:2. I have noticed "HebrewLilly" uses many expressions with "God" in them. Perhaps too many. I think I might have accidentally made her religious.

Well, I have heard that Lilly is Catholic so it would make sense in that case.

However, Catholicism forbids the use of God's name in trivial matters. "2155 The holiness of the divine name demands that we neither use it for trivial matters [...] (http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s2c1a2.htm)

But, this is over thinking it.

Darroth wrote:

Minister of Gloom wrote:2. I have noticed "HebrewLilly" uses many expressions with "God" in them. Perhaps too many. I think I might have accidentally made her religious.

Well, I have heard that Lilly is Catholic so it would make sense in that case.

However, Catholicism forbids the use of God's name in trivial matters. "2155 The holiness of the divine name demands that we neither use it for trivial matters [...] (http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s2c1a2.htm)

But, this is over thinking it.

Maybe she's just not a very good Catholic, then
Either that, or I have to make some rewriting ><

I don't think Lilly is Catholic, at least not canonically. I think she went to a religious (implied Catholic) all girls school before attending Yamaku. That's where that came from, I'm pretty sure.

Scenes 13 and 14 done.

1. Short Sharp Shock=Nezek Namukh Nimratz: "Short, energetic nezek". Nezek means "damage", but it is also how concerned, old fashioned mothers call their child after they catch him breaking something important. "You are a nezek!"
2. As I have already said, "Emi" means "My Mother". I still giggle at that one. Even if they are pronounced a little differently, they are still spelled the same way.
3. "Solar Plexus" I have translated just as "lower back". Translating medical terms to Hebrew is difficult.
4.

"Whatever Emi is trying to say is cut by a horrified-
*NEXT BOX*
Eeep!"

Only that won't work in Hebrew, because in this language nouns come before adjectives(frankly, I think it makes more sense that way, but I am not exactly unbiased). That means that the "Eeep!" would have to come before the "horrified", and this would look really bad. So I think we'd just have to do without that part.
5. "I gotta go!" is the catchphrase of a character from a moderately famous(in Israel, of course) sitcom. He usually means well, but he's a complete Cloud Cuckoo Lander with the IQ of a peanut butter sandwich. I find the coincidence hilarious.
6. Turns out there aren't many expressions in Hebrew for describing great speed. Again and again I find myself having to compare Emi to a lightning bolt. She's like Emi Potter now.
7. "Meet Cute"=Meet the Cutie.

Also, I woke up not long ago and I remember quite vividly that my last dream ended with me getting an E-mail from Misha. In Hebrew. In which she said she said she liked this translation.
So I am going to take a long, long break now, before I continue writing. When your subconscious starts using a fictional character to contact you, you know you've been obsessing about a game a little bit too much.

Minister of Gloom wrote: Also, I woke up not long ago and I remember quite vividly that my last dream ended with me getting an E-mail from Misha. In Hebrew. In which she said she said she liked this translation.
So I am going to take a long, long break now, before I continue writing. When your subconscious starts using a fictional character to contact you, you know you've been obsessing about a game a little bit too much.

Nah..that's when the fun starts .