The Tolkien Translation Game!

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The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Alatar »

Ok, as promised, here we go. Original instructions copied from Jude's post on B77:

This is how to play - run your chosen quote through the translation party, and post the result. The person who can identify the original quote wins, and posts the next question.

If the result is so far from the original that you doubt anyone will get it, you can choose to post some of the intervening translations as well.
http://translationparty.com

I'll go first, with a very well known one:
What is given to us is required.
Last edited by Alatar on Fri Sep 18, 2015 3:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Primula Baggins
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Primula Baggins »

What's "the translation party," Alatar?
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Jude »

The translation party (at translationparty.com) takes a phrase you enter, and then translates it into Japanese, then back into English, and so on. When it reaches the same English translation twice in a row, it is considered to "reach equilibrium" and stops.

Often, the meaning of the phrase is so changed as to be almost unrecognizable - in those cases you need to look for a couple of key words.

Here's my guess for Alatar's quote: "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Alatar »

It's actually linked above, but its not obvious. I''ll edit.

Correct Jude, your go!
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by yovargas »

Not that I'll actually play this game (don't know Tolkien well enough) but just FYI - I tried several phrases on that site and keep getting the error "problem with Bing, probably over limit". Got it in Firefox and IE.
I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists


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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Jude »

I got that problem a few times last night - I just waited a few minutes and the problem went away. I think it just means the site is temporarily overloaded.

I love what the Translation Party made of my new quote:
Get the old Isle of Wight! disappears in the Sun!
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Alatar »

I think this is part of Bombadils song to banish the barrow wight but I don't know the actual lines.
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Jude »

You're correct:

"Get out, you old wight! Vanish in the sunlight!"

I love how it got changed into the Isle of Wight :D
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Alatar »

Here's a tricky one!

His face Black said good bye.
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

Having just reread Harry Potter, the capitalized B in Black immediately makes me think of Sirius Black, which is blocking my ability to think of anything else.

I don't think I will be very good at this game. But I'll keep trying!
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Primula Baggins »

Thanks for clarifying! Maybe I'll take a spin at it when I finish today's work. I think I've got a good one in mind.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Inanna »

Something about the dark lord...
'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Alatar »

Nope. This one is genuinely tricky. The word Black is not in the original quote, if that helps!
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Jude »

I notice that it's capitalized - did someone's personal name end up getting translated as Black?
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Inanna »

That's why I thought of the Dark Lord. Hmmm....
'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Alatar »

Nope. Its a quote, from Gimli I believe.
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Jude »

Dark is the water of Kheled-zâram?

Edit: hey mods! Another word you need to add to the word-correction list!
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

I don't know why you would say that! ;) (Seriously, I don't know how we missed that one.)

And if that is truly the answer then I don't think I will ever get any right in this game. That is a bridge too far for me.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Jude »

I don't think it's the answer, but it has "dark" in it, which may be where "Black" came from. Just a wild guess!
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Re: The Tolkien Translation Game!

Post by Alatar »

Close... Black is based on dark...


This one is particularly hard V. I'm sure you'd have no problem with some of the others.
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