Questions tagged [translation]
For questions about how to translate words or phrases into or out of a conlang
19
questions
5
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3
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Should I include a glossary with english translations in my fantasy novel?
I am writing a fantasy novel and I have created a few languages for it, these being Twergit (pronounced /'twer-git/ - I don't know IPA so I'm using Merriam-Webster pronunciation symbols, a guide can ...
- 51
5
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1
answer
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How to translate to Black Speech this sentence "Eye of the Sauron is always watching"?
How to translate to Black Speech phrase "Eye of the Sauron is always watching"? or more simply: "Sauron is always watching", or even more simply "Sauron is watching".
and ...
- 153
7
votes
3
answers
316
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Where do you start when you try to translate from an unknown artificial language?
The question is sparked in part by an article about Phyrexian language on Polygon.
Imagine you have a text written in a language that nobody knows. You might have some loose idea what the text is ...
- 259
2
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0
answers
45
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How would different species (e.g. human + hypothetical alien) create a language dictionary/ translation guide?
So I’m working on a species (called Xohamyan if your curious) in a sci-fi universe. They possess three tones (high, medium, and low) and a variety of ways to use them. As the written language is ...
5
votes
2
answers
103
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How do I change the word order of this complex sentence?
I have an English sentence that I need to switch the word order of so I can translate it into my conlang smoothly, but the sentence is pretty complex and I’m not sure how to go about it. The sentence ...
- 53
2
votes
1
answer
79
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Finding Sentence Structure in VSO
I'm making a Conlang, and this conlang uses a Verb-Subject-Object Sentence Structure. I'm trying to convert part of the poem "The New Colossus" into the Conlang, but I'm stuck trying to ...
- 121
7
votes
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220
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Is this translation of "May we drink from the empty skulls of our enemies" correct?
I'm trying to translate this sentence:
"May we drink from the empty skulls of our enemies"
to tlhIngan-Hol / Klingon, this will be used as a toast at a friends' wedding (of all things). ...
- 241
4
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2
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Is there a word for "skull" in Klingon?
Exactly what it says on the can - I'm looking for a word in tlhingan-Hol (Klingon) for "skull".
Fallback: In case there isn't a canon word, I'm defaulting to using "head bone" as a replacement. I ...
- 241
4
votes
1
answer
123
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How to translate the word "lost"/"loss" into Klingon?
Say for instance I want to say something like, "I'm looking for bears and the lost sheep." I would think that would be to use the genitive case, making something like:
mIl'oDmey chIlpu'ghach ...
- 193
11
votes
4
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436
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Sciences in toki pona
I managed to translate a lot of things but I'm stuck on a word.
How to say "physics" (knowledge of the nature) in toki pona? A proposition for "nature" would also be appreciated.
...
user966
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answers
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What is the meaning of this Toki Pona sentence?
I found a sentence written in order to prove that Toki Pona is a complete language. As far as I know it is a foolish nominal sentence.
What is the English translation?
pona sona pi (wawa pi ma ...
user966
2
votes
1
answer
69
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How to link extraterrestrial animal names from other language with terrestrial languages? [closed]
As title states; how to name extraterrestrial fauna/flora to human languages, would reffering to animals similar to cows as to cows and to plant that bears round red fruits as to apple be linguisticly ...
11
votes
3
answers
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How does one express "want to want" in toki pona?
For example, "I do not want to want opium"
For example, this doesn't work, it is a yes-no question!
mi wile ala wile e ijo nasa
Do I want a drug?
? Do I want not-want a drug?
The ...
- 1,721
-1
votes
1
answer
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Self-reflexive verbs and pronouns in Vulcan language [closed]
I'm stumped - I'm sorta confused getting the proper phrasing svi'Vuhlkansu because the English grammar seems self-referencing for me to get the order right. The quote is:
"The one self-knowledge ...
3
votes
0
answers
76
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Have there been any known instances of conlang-to-conlang translation? [closed]
This would include a text written in one conlang and translated straight into another (without being translated to a natural language in between) or, even better, a dictionary meant to translate from ...
- 1,365
23
votes
3
answers
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Why is the Lord's Prayer so common as a translation?
I'm an amateur conlanger, but I've seen multiple instances of people using the Lord's Prayer as a test or a way of showing off a translation of their conlang. I've even done it a couple times myself. ...
- 1,365
12
votes
2
answers
563
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What are the main limitations of Lojban?
Suppose we want to translate the whole of Wikipedia from English into Lojban, what are the main known big limitations or concerns we should be aware of? In other words, does Lojban as a language have ...
- 1,487
6
votes
1
answer
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Saying "hello" in khuzdul
Khuzdul, Tolkien's mysterious dwarvish language, is limited in vocabulary (we don't know most of the words) and I can't find hello anywhere. Some notes:
According to this, "good" is "gamut" and "day" ...
- 759
5
votes
1
answer
247
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Are words for "machine" and the like in Tolkien present in Elvish/Westron?
Tolkien was very much known to be a bit of a Luddite - no fan of technology; Treebeard says in reference to Saruman
He is plotting to become a Power. He has a mind of metal and wheels; and he does ...
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