I don't want the names translated but I wish you'd drop your crusade against English gamers.
I have my own kind of pride.
I have no idea if this has a similar descriptive meaning than Baggins, but I can say that the translation or transformation of the LotR names into German was very good. It wouldn't surprise me if Tolkien, as a professor for linguistic, maintained control over the issue.
Yes, he did, as far as I know.
I once read that he worked together with Margaret Carroux, the translator.
It was his idea, I think, to rename the English Elves into the German Elben", because the German version of Elves didn't transport the same meaning he wanted to have.
So he used a form of the German "Alp" and used it, if I remember correctly, used the old meaning of this word, and created the "Elb" with it.
I don't actually know in how far Margaret Carroux was involved in the renaming process, but the things I've read said that he indeed took control of it - he most certainly knew (I think) all european languages enough for this.
The problem is that you lose the meaning of descriptive names if you don't translate them. Most people in Germany wouldn't have the slightest idea what kind of country "The Shire" is. "Auenland" on the other hand sets the tone.
Another issue is that some words have different meanings in source and target language. The German "Elfe" (a female Elf) is associated with a little, flying, pixie-like lifeform as it can be seen for example in Spielberg's movie Hook. So the name was changed to Elb.
Exactly.
I prefer untranslated names in games, books and movies, because I am often switching the language (reading book 1 in English, reading book 2 in German, watch the movie to book 1 in German etc.)
Same here, although I've already sold all of my German-language versions of the Discworld novels (except two, I think, one of them is signed), and am concentrating of buying everything in English.
I've already decided that everything that's originally in English, I will read in English.
I did so for The Hobbit and LOTR as well, and a few others.
As a last note, my theory is that descriptive untranslated names just don't transport the intended meaning of their inventors.
My classic example is a Star Wars Star Destroyer name called "Intimidation".
You, as native English speakers and those who have learned the English language at one point, you are getting the "message" fully.
But not readers of other, non-English languages. For them, this name of a massive star ship, which type is called "Sternzerstörer" in German, is just a bunch of letters. Untranslated, descriptive names transport absolutely NO meaning at all.
So, the rather "hidden" meaning of this space ship, that it is a tool of intimidation to other planets itself, is completely hidden before the readers who do not understand this name, because they don't know the language it is written in.
Same goes for ALL languages of this world.
But - as I tried out Warcraft III a few days ago (finally bought it), the name of "Hellscream" is such an example. untranslated, this name shows the same amount of meaning as if this orc would've been named Baobab. Nothing at all.
The meaning comes only *then* to bear if the reader actually knows the language the descriptive name is written in.
My crusade, therefore is against
descriptive names - those which are clearly
intended to be so (descriptive).
My crusade is not against "normal" names. It is always against descriptiove names, which are set to be descriptive for the only reason that they shall transport an additional meaning with them - one, that stresses and emphasises the character or object which is named (so) descriptively.
Tolkien not only saw this, but he also extended it in so far, that he even wanted the descriptive names to be changed in other language editions of his books.
So, I think, it *can* be done. No problem. The positive point would be that the "hidden meaning" of a descriptive name would be transported into the other language. "Höllenschrei" catches the meaning for a German reader much, much better than "Hellscream", due to the abstraction layer that's between both languages.
