What language is "original" in the Witcher 3

[Deemonef]

But, nothings perfect! Although...from a purely technical standpoint (Elder Blood, pure Source, and all)...Ciri can do, quite literally, whatever she bloody wants.

Ciri nearly died cause of a infected wound on her cheek and a fever. A potion which turns her blood into poison will kill her immediatly, like any other human
But the point here is not about, what can Ciri do and what not. It's about that this is a mistranslation from the original language to another one.
You have one sentence in polish, and in other languages the same sentence have a different plot.

 

[Riven-Twain]

For example: There is one dialogue from Ciri where she says, she drank the potion black blood. This was a firey debatte in the community, because Ciri cannot survive this. And then I played the game in polish, and there is never any mention about the potion in the dialogue. And this is not the only mistake.

Intriguing oversight. I came across this line recently. Sure enough, Black Blood. Out of curiosity, I checked the German (my second language), and, again, 'Black Blood', although the German translation occasionally differs from the English in other respects (sometimes a bit clearer, I think). Rather curious that the REDs would allow Ciri to risk such a perilous potion.

 

[Deemonef]

Intriguing oversight. I came across this line recently. Sure enough, Black Blood. Out of curiosity, I checked the German (my second language), and, again, 'Black Blood', although the German translation occasionally differs from the English in other respects (sometimes a bit clearer, I think). Rather curious that the REDs would allow Ciri to risk such a perilous potion.

Yeah it is mean from the Germans, Englishmen etc. to risk Ciri's life with such a dangerous potion. The Polish people are way nicer to her
I also played it first in german, then polish and much later in english, forcuriosity, too
As we see, it was translated from Polish to english and you see (for this sentence) serious differences, and then translated to german, and again some changes

 

[SigilFey]

Ciri neraly died cause of a infected wound on her cheek and a fever. A potion which turns her blood into poison will kill her immediatly, like any other human But the point here is not about, what can Ciri do and what not. It's about that this is a mistranslation from the original language to another one. You have one sentence in polish, and in other languages the same sentence have a different plot.

Just being facetious. I was just reading up on the larger debate. You're right, it's got to be a goof. In hindsight, though, it might have been a really cool moment to have actually worked that into the story to show how much control of her power Ciri had gained over time. Actually showing her grabbing the potion from Geralt and taking a swig...then transmuting it (or whatever witcher metabolisms do) while everyone looks on stunned.

On the other hand, that's sort of the problem with deus ex machina abilities like Elder Blood. Characters need to be vulnerable in order to be meaningful. Introduce a new strength, and I need to find a new flaw. At least it occurs at the tail-end of the games!

 

[Deemonef]

Just being facetious. I was just reading up on the larger debate. You're right, it's got to be a goof. In hindsight, though, it might have been a really cool moment to have actually worked that into the story to show how much control of her power Ciri had gained over time. Actually showing her grabbing the potion from Geralt and taking a swig...then transmuting it (or whatever witcher metabolisms do) while everyone looks on stunned.

On the other hand, that's sort of the problem with deus ex machina abilities like Elder Blood. Characters need to be vulnerable in order to be meaningful. Introduce a new strength, and I need to find a new flaw. At least it occurs at the tail-end of the games!

Funny thing about the whole thing is. Ciri is too mighty if you really look at her powers. Jump from one spot to another without time loss. Jump in time, a bit in the future or the past. This is sooo damn deus ex, you have to wonder why she have such problems in the game... and speaking of that: Why do she need a witcher potion anyway for a fight with a Garkain?
Just jump with your power when it attacks and finish it...
No wonder why Ciri never really fought again in the books after she mastered her power. Would be borning if she ends every enemy withing a blink of an eye

 

[SigilFey]

Funny thing about the whole thing is. Ciri is too mighty if you really look at her powers. Jump from one spot to another without time loss. Jump in time, a bit in the future or the past. This is sooo damn deus ex, you have to wonder why she have such problems in the game... and speaking of that: Why do she need a witcher potion anyway for a fight with a Garkain?
Just jump with your power when it attacks and finish it...
No wonder why Ciri never really fought again in the books after she mastered her power. Would be borning if she ends every enemy withing a blink of an eye

I've not read all of the novels, but I got the gist that while the Elder Blood itself was basically godlike power, it was something that could easily create unintentional cataclysm. So, metaphorically, the stronger a person became in the power itself, the more likely they could destroy their whole reality with an absent thought.

And then there's the concept of the White Frost, which, in my interpretation, I take to be a similar device to "The Nothing" in The Neverending Story, or "Humanity" in Dark Souls: a sort of inevitable end, an unmaking of all things which must exist. Because: if I start with an everlasting cycle, an eternity -- inherently, a ring -- and add linear time / existence to it, then for a line to exist on a ring, I must create both a starting point and an ending point. That's a nice paradox and foil for Ciri's power. She needs to figure out a way to stop the White Frost without unmaking it, because if she does, it means nothing ever started either. Suddenly...all the power in the world...doesn't really help. With that sort of threat hanging over her, it's pretty okay to give her all sorts of amazing abilities...since they will ultimately matter for nothing. I now would not want to be in her shoes.

 

[Deemonef]

I've not read all of the novels, but I got the gist that while the Elder Blood itself was basically godlike power, it was something that could easily create unintentional cataclysm. So, metaphorically, the stronger a person became in the power itself, the more likely they could destroy their whole reality with an absent thought.

And then there's the concept of the White Frost, which, in my interpretation, I take to be a similar device to "The Nothing" in The Neverending Story, or "Humanity" in Dark Souls: a sort of inevitable end, an unmaking of all things which must exist. Because: if I start with an everlasting cycle, an eternity -- inherently, a ring -- and add linear time / existence to it, then for a line to exist on a ring, I must create both a starting point and an ending point. That's a nice paradox and foil for Ciri's power. She needs to figure out a way to stop the White Frost without unmaking it, because if she does, it means nothing ever started either. Suddenly...all the power in the world...doesn't really help. With that sort of threat hanging over her, it's pretty okay to give her all sorts of amazing abilities...since they will ultimately matter for nothing. I now would not want to be in her shoes.

Wel... this is...deep XD
Well... don't know for the game, but in the novels there is nothing like, that her powers could destroy reality. These are just her powers she can use whenever she want... unless a person like Viglefortz is able to stop her with an evil aura from doing it

The idea of the white frost in the game is a thing I really, really don't like. I know you should not compare books and games all the time. But I loved the White Frost from the books way more, than the White Frost of the games. This magical orb which can "attack" other dimensions is... I have to say over the top. And that Ciri is here to destroy it is also a bit to much, and seems like a forces "happy ending" that this never will happen in "Geralt's World".
Ciri's destiny in books and games are also different, and the thing that she have to stop/can stop the White Frost in the game is... well; I said it a minute ago
But this is just a personal opinon of me

 

[SisterSkaoi]

I'm curious to know, given the studio is in Poland, was the voice acting originally recorded as English or Polish? Which one is the dub?

 

[SigilFey]

Neither. The script is written simultaneously in Polish and English, then most of the other languages are translated off of one or the other from there.

 

[sv3672]

There was a thread about this a while ago here, where developers explained the writing and translation process.

 

[Deemonef]

Mh, I really think that the script was written in polish and after that translated into english and other languages.
This is the only porrible reason how translation errers can happen, as we have in the game.

 

[Sunsibar]

@SisterSkaoi

Thread merged together with similar one.

 

[0xc0defeed]

@SisterSkaoi

Thread merged together with similar one.

where is this thread merged to?

Also, how do the translators know so many English colloquialisms and idioms? Are the translators the kind of people who live both lives in America and in Poland? Or does CD Projekt Red have consultants for some of the deeper idioms/nuances of English?

 

[Draconifors]

where is this thread merged to?

Nowhere. Another thread was merged into this one, hence the @ to let the other thread's OP know.

Also, how do the translators know so many English colloquialisms and idioms? Are the translators the kind of people who live both lives in America and in Poland? Or does CD Projekt Red have consultants for some of the deeper idioms/nuances of English?

It's not like all CDPR employees are Polish. Far from it. I'd wager they have native English speakers, and native speakers of various other languages as well.

 

[0xc0defeed]

Nowhere. Another thread was merged into this one, hence the @ to let the other thread's OP know.


It's not like all CDPR employees are Polish. Far from it. I'd wager they have native English speakers, and native speakers of various other languages as well.

Clearly tho, some have to be completely 100% bilingual to translate idioms and colloquialisms so well that the dialogue seems natural and normal in English (and presumably in Polish). Polish is a very hard language for a native English speaker to learn. Who might such completely bilingual people be?

 

[Draconifors]

Clearly tho, some have to be completely 100% bilingual to translate idioms and colloquialisms so well that the dialogue seems natural and normal in English (and presumably in Polish). Polish is a very hard language for a native English speaker to learn.

One word: teams.
You're over-exaggerating, anyway. There are plenty of English natives who speak Polish.

Plus, translating idioms so that the translation still sounds natural does not require being bilingual. Fluent, yes, but not bilingual.

 

[0xc0defeed]

There are plenty of English natives who speak Polish.

Do a lot of them work at CDPR? Do most of them come from US/Canada or UK/IR? I mean there are small enclaves out here of Polish speakers, but not many.

 

[pajimoc567]

Neither. The script is written simultaneously in Polish and English, then most of the other languages are translated off of one or the other from there.

I don't catch it)
A CDPR team member stated clearly (in two posts) that the text is written in Polish first (not speaking about debug versions). And then it is adapted and translated into other languages. So that the English version is not written, but translated/adapted (!) from Polish version.
Why are you continuing to say that several versions are written simultaneously?)) Is there some information that we do not know?)

P.S. It would be a little bit strange. It's like two different authors would write one book (or movie script) in different languages at the same time.
Translation process - yes, can be done simultaneously. But creating the original content.. It is done in one language. Cause you have to have a single point of reference. Otherwise it will be two completely different stories. Like compositions at school. All about the same but all are completely different.

 

[SigilFey]

I don't catch it)
A CDPR team member stated clearly (in two posts) that the text is written in Polish first (not speaking about debug versions). And then it is adapted and translated into other languages. So that the English version is not written, but translated/adapted (!) from Polish version.
Why are you continuing to say that several versions are written simultaneously?)) Is there some information that we do not know?)

P.S. It would be a little bit strange. It's like two different authors would write one book (or movie script) in different languages at the same time.
Translation process - yes, can be done simultaneously. But creating the original content.. It is done in one language. Cause you have to have a single point of reference. Otherwise it will be two completely different stories. Like compositions at school. All about the same but all are completely different.

The video in which the actual writers explain the approach is right here, in this thread.

You can jump to around 3:20 to get right into the part about simultaneously developing the script for multiple languages at once. The reason I say Polish and English is because the script needs to start somewhere. I would bet most scenes in the game will be written in one of these two languages first, then other writers for other localizations will build off of that. Or, do you think that they have an individual writer for every language sitting at the same table at the same time to write every scene, for the first time, side-by-side?

What they clearly explain is that they don't have translators "follow the script" word for word. Every translation is free to adapt names, turns of phrase, etc. to make it as natural-sounding in that language as possible. This is very time-consuming, and it's why a lot of other studios won't bother with it. They'll just hand over a script and have their writers directly translate it. This is much faster, but it will result in translations that can be jarring or awkward-sounding in other languages. (A good example of this is one of the very first translations of The Witcher novels in English. The authors directly translated Ciri's description as Geralt's "Surprise Child". Quite a goofy sounding phrase. Later, a more thorough translation would replace this with "Unexpected Child", which definitely flows and creates a much better tone.)

EDIT: I'm not trying to argue they don't write in Polish first. I'm trying to say that there is obviously a foundational language, but it doesn't dictate what the other translations will be. (I don't remember every last post that was made. It's been years since this conversation happened.)