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A community for the dragon language of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Thuum.org

A community for the dragon language of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Question Board


Andramda
July 10, 2017

can i get assistance translating psalms 23 into thuum?

this is what i have so far

Original

Psalm 23 (KJV)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

 

Altered for translation

Song 23 (KJV)
The Lord is my defender; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green fields: he guides me to the beach of still rivers. He restores my soul: he guidess me on the paths of holiness for his glory. Even if I travel through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are here (with) me; your sword and your guidance strengthens me. You make a house before me in the presence of mine foes: you consecrate my head with holiness; there is no end to my blessings. Truly goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life: and I will rest in the house of the Lord for ever.

 

Translation

Lovaas 23 KJV

Faal Thur los dii kaal; Zu’u fent ni laan. Rok drun Zu’u praal tum ko graag frod: Rok jun Zu’u us fin klo se mulhaan fath. Rok vokrii ziil: Rok jun Zu’u nau fin miiraad do revak fah ok moro. Orin fod Zu’u wundun zeim fin lumnaar do fin vokun do dinok, Zu’u fen faas nid vokul fah hi los het Zu’u; Hin zahki ahrk hin jun suleykaar Zu’u. Hi zorox aan hofkah us Zu’u ko fin qalos do xxx paal: Hi revak klovi naal revak; kogaani los unslaad. Vahzah, kun ahrk aaz fent yah Zu’u pah fin sul do laasi: ahrk Zu’u fen praal ko fin hofkah se faal Thur mahfaeraak.


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3


paarthurnax
Administrator
July 11, 2017

I think you're definitely on the right track here. Your process looks well thought out, and you have a good understanding of how to adapt what you want to translate. My answer here is largely suggestion, so feel free to compare it to the work you've done and see what you think fits best.

Faal Jun los aaki; zu'u fent ni bahlok. Rok bolaav praali ko faad hofkah; Rok aaki wah votahrodiis okaaz; Rok vokrii dii sil; Rok kinboki zeim vennesevahzen amative ok moro. Orin nu ol zu'u wundun fin lumnaar se vokunsedinok, zu'u fen faas ni vokul; fah Hin qalos los het; Hin tuz ahrk hin du'ul drun dremi. Hi wahlaan hofkah fah sili ko suleyksejun se paali; Hi bolaav hin moro wah frul sleni; kogaani bo unslaad; Vahzah, zu’u fent siiv kul ahrk aaz pah sulleselaasi; ahrk zu’u fent praan ko hin Hofkahsejun mahfaeraak.

“The King is my guide; I shall not hunger; He grants my seat in warm halls; He is my guide to un-treacherous seas; He restores my soul; He is my leader through winds of truth towards his glory. Even now as I travel the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Your presence is here. Your blade and your crown bring my peace. You raise a hall for my soul in the realm of my foes; You grant your glory to my ephemeral flesh; my blessings flow ceaselessly; Truly, I shall find good and mercy all the days of my life; and I shall rest in your Palace (in the Hall of the Lord/King) forever.”

The shepherd-sheep metaphor can’t be preserved in the dragon language, so in my adaptation I approached it from a king-servant angle; instead of leading us to green pastures, He’s giving us a seat in a warm hall.

There are a lot of different ways to translate the biblical “Lord” (this word alone could warrant a discussion thread), and I think all of them have some degree of viability. Thur definitely works—it implies God’s rule is right by nature, that there is nothing over Him. I opted to use jun to further strengthen the king-servant angle. It also takes advantage of the other meaning of jun as a “guiding light,” since this passage is more about how God guides the narrator in particular, and not about his lordship over other things (where thur might fit better).

Another thing I did in the adaptation was mix formal and conversational grammar—all references to God (You/Your/His) use an explicit pronoun, while references to the narrator (my) use the possessive suffix -i. What this does is elevate God as the subject, but also illustrates the relationship between God and the narrator in a personal light, that the narrator would use this kind of personal grammar when talking to God.

With all that subjective stuff out of the way, here are a few tips to help you out with the dragon language, specifically:

  • Unlike English “I”, zu’u isn’t always capitalized in transliterations.
  • Articles like fin and aan are often cut. In my translation, the only article that’s used is faal, the formal “the”.
  • Not necessarily something that’s incorrect, but using more compound words can help lend you more of the dragon language’s style. For example, you could say sulleselaasi instead of sul do laasi for “days of my life.” You don’t want to overuse this, but compound words in the right places can lend more weight and importance to a passage you want to highlight.

2


Frinmulaar
July 11, 2017

Your attempt shows rather a good grasp of draconic. Some points:

1) The definite article 'fin' is exceedingly rare. When in doubt, drop it.
2) zu'u capitalizes exactly like any other non-name word.
3) Here 'want' has an obsolete denotation 'be lacking' which laan does not share. Cancel out the negatives instead.
4) Long chains of ... do ... do ... usually become compounds ... do ...se...
5) Kaal connotes subservience to the protected. Vahlok 'guardian' has a similar but weaker connotation and thus fits the monotheistic God somewhat better.

For comparison, here is how I might do the translation (still sentence for sentence). Punctuation preserved.

Faal Thur los dii vahlok, zu'u piraak pah lanaan. Rok ofan praani nau graag pindaar: rok aak zu'u wah brit rath. Rok mul sili: rok aak ko vensekul naal ok moro. Ond, fod zu'u rovaan vul lumnaarsedinok, zu'u faas nid vokul: fah zu'u ahst hi, zahkriil ahrk mulaagiil dii spaan. Hi wahl kipraan fah zu'u us dii hokoron, hi nonvul klovi voth revakiil; kogaani los unslaad. Vahzah tol kul ahrk aaz fen grind pah suli, ahrk zu'u fen praan ko hofkahsethur mahfaeraak.


0


Andramda
July 16, 2017

Thank you, both Paarthurnax and Frinmulaar.I greatly appreciate your insights and assistance. I really like how Paarthurnax perseved the meaning in the passage, through his use of changing the context to the that of Skyrim instead of the sheaperd context that is within the Bible. I also, like how it flows when translated back into english. very poetic. 

Kogaan

Ps. thank you for all advice and assistance helping me grow in the language.