Re: [Enigma-devel] Re: English Translation

[Clifford J. Tasner]

Hello Andreas,

Earlier, Ronald sent me the de.po and fr.po files.  I am going  
through them right now.  Most of my changes are just a word here and  
there.  I am visiting a German friend later this afternoon and I'll  
show her a few of the texts that I want to be certain of any nuances  
in the meaning that elude me.  It is my intention to send you back a  
file of just the texts that I changed so you can determine whether or  
not these changes should be made.  Let me know if that would be  
satisfactory.

I am grateful to be participating in some small way.  I am not a  
programmer.  I'm just someone who has a passion for puzzles.  I  
continue to be astounded at some of the ingenious landscapes you've  
cooked up.

I'm curious about how many of you are musicians too.  I saw a recent  
documentary about crossword puzzles and they suggested that the  
people who are best at them are musicians.  I find I always need to  
keep challenging my brain to keep it sharp.  I also enjoy Sudoku.    
But I'm mad for Enigma.

I should have something back to you in the next day.  I'll take a  
look at the manual after that.

best,
Clifford




On Jan 20, 2007, at 11:55 AM, Andreas Lochmann wrote:

> Hi Clifford,
>
> I think, this is a great idea! In contrast to all other languages,
> most English parts are written by non-native speakers. (As a
> funny byproduct, I originally wrote my levels in English and
> later saw them translated back to German by Raoul ;-)
>
> There are lots of English texts accompanied with Enigma, like
> the manual and the reference manual, homepage etc. All of them
> could need their English polished by a native speaker. This
> accounts for the levels, too, as you already mentioned. For my
> part, I'd be very happy if you could correct the texts in my levels.
> However, I can't speak for the remaining authors.
>
> @Ronald: Are there some chances for an English-po?
>  What strategy would you suggest?
>
> Greets,
> Andreas
>
>
> Clifford J. Tasner wrote:
>
> > Andreas, Ronald & Company,
> >
> > I continue to enjoy your great accomplishment.  One small issue I   
> > have, and it doesn't lessen the fascination your puzzles hold for  
> > me,  is that occasionally, the translations of the text to English  
> > are  awkward and non-idiomatic.  For example, one level is  
> > entitled,  "Tripple Threat" - the word is actually spelled  
> > "Triple"-  now this  may have been intentional.  However, there  
> > are a number of messages  in "Aztec Temple" that are off the mark  
> > - the word  is "relic" not  "relict" and "impressive" not  
> > "impressing."   Also, some of the  sentences seem odd to a native  
> > English speaker.
> >
> > Perhaps this isn't a priority.  It certainly doesn't diminish how   
> > much fun Enigma holds.  However, if you are interested in some  
> > help,  I would be eager to review the various English texts in the  
> > game and  offer more accurate translations when you're getting  
> > ready for the  next version of Enigma.
> >
> > I'm a former Classics student with a background in Linguistics.    
> > Before I quit so that I could pursue my film career (I am a film   
> > composer), I taught English As A Second Language.  I do a great  
> > deal  of writing in English.  I regret that German is not yet  
> > among the  languages that I speak, but I have some German-speaking  
> > friends.  I  could certainly compare the authors' levels' texts in  
> > English and  German and make recommendations as to more  
> > appropriate English when  necessary.
> >
> > I don't wish to be presumptuous.  I just want to make a  
> > contribution  to something that I appreciate greatly.
> >
> > Let me know.
> >
> > Respectfully,
> >
> > Clifford J. Tasner
> > (aka Taztunes)