Jotari creates his own translations for untranslated Fire Emblem names

[Jotari]

I play Fire Emblem. I am also a casual student of Japanese. But, more importantly, I am a contrarian. So when I see a bunch of characters on a wiki with names not officially sanctioned by Nintendo, then I question their accuracy. By large I prefer the names used on the .org wiki (aka the good wiki with more precise chapter information and where you can copy images from), but I don't agree with all the translations they use. Here is a selection of my own translation for Fire Emblem names, a prediction perhaps, for when or if any of these names are translated (and you'd be surprised, the number of Fire Emblem characters without English names slowly dwindles each year as Heroes releases Lost Lore and new characters who make off the cuff references)

Fire up is Eldigan's wife, Grainne

(hey look, I found modern art of her, she's the one on the right, also, baby Ares, adorable)

This is the one that irks me the most, because it's an Irish name and people are butchering the spelling. And by butchering the spelling, I mean they're spelling it phonetically using the English alphabet. But given how authentic Fire Emblem has treated it's non English European names, I am absolutely sue that if this character ever gets localized, she will be known as Grainne.

Next is a pair of character, Yoder and Slayde

Yoder is the boss of Khadein in Mystery of the Emblem Book 2 and Slayde is the guy who chases you in Chapter 6 of Genealogy.  These guys I find particularly funny. If you look on either wiki or the fan translations you will find them listed as Yodel and Slayder. Now, these are perfectly valid translation of their Japanese names, Yoderu and Sureida. The thing is, Fire Emblem has already localizied these names, as they are identical to the Binding Blade priest and the SoV boss. We used to even call the Binding Blade priest Yodel before he was localized as Yoder. I think if these characters are localized, the team will localize them in the same manner and give them the same name as the other characters. Granted, we have an example of them not doing this, Corrin and Kamui have the same name in Japanese, but I think that case is a bit different as Corrin is a protagonist and a more prominent character. All four of these guys are pretty minor, even Yoder as a playable character isn't the most famous. So maintaining consistency is my expected result with these two guys.

Now, I am certainly not the only one to have suggested the above names for these characters, let's go a bit more into the weeds and go with my more original and out there translations. Starting with this guy.

Geir

Throughout the entire Fire Emblem community he is now known as either Guile or Gail. He's a somewhat infaous Mystery of the Emblem boss due his non standard character design which makes him memorable in a game with not many memorable chapter bosses (at least in the remake, in the original he looked generic). In Japanese his name is Ga-i-ru. So it might seem like I'm jumping a bit by going from Gairu to Geir, wouldn't Japanese ue the Ge sound instead of the Ga sound? Well, no, because Geir is pronounced Gair. It's a Nordic name and that's precisely why I am certain it was the intended name for this character, because he's a Viking. Of course there going to use a Nordic or Scandinavian name for the guy they have literally made a Viking, and aside from the added vowel sounded at the end, the name is pronounced practically identically in Japanese and Norwegian, at least from what I can hear while watching hit Norwegian show Lilliehammer. If the translators know what they're doing, then this character will absolutely be Geir.

Musa

This particular Zane face is the one that attacks in you Chapter 9, the mage knight with Forseti holy blood that reinforces from the north. Practically every English language source on him calls him Musar. Probably because of the vowel extender on his name in Japanese ムーサー (Muusaa), and, indeed often if Japense wants to render an 'r' sound at the end of a word they will just extend the vowel (like Elevator->Erebeta), but in this case I don't actually see the need to. And the main reason for that is the character of Muhammad, whom you fight in the previous chapter. Musa is the Arabic name for Moses, so Muhammad, which has always stuck out as a really bizarre name in Jugdral, would seem less random if we had another Arabic name alongside it (of course, Isaac already exists as a country in Jugdral, so we just need to find an Ibrahim too).

Now, we're staying in Jugdral as we talk about Dumas

So, yeah, I think you have no idea who this guy is. That's because he's an arena enemy. Which means, no one but me cares about his name because he's not even a character. But, his name is kind of interesting. He is alternately called Duma or Doma by the various Genealogy translations over the years. If that looks familiar and you're seeing a connection to the final boss of Gaiden then you are actually completely off because the names aren't the same in Japanese, despite the Gaiden boss also being called both Duma and Doma over the years. The truth is, in Japanese, the final boss of Gaiden actually is called Doma, which they localized as Duma. Whie this guy's name in Japanese is Duma. So, why have I added an S on to the end? Why to make him a reference to famed French author Alexandre Dumas. Which, in French is pronounced Du-mah. But, this isn't  just me referencing for the sake or referencing, like above, I think this is what the original authors were going for, as a number of Arena enemies are named after classic authors. We have a Chekov, a Tolstoy and a Nietzche, possibly among others. I actually did a deep dive on Arena names a while back, which you can see the beginning of here. So there are some other self translations I've given them, but this is the one I found most interesting/was most certain of.

Rummel and Goebel

Back in Archanea I'm going to talk about this pair as my second last prediction. On the wiki you will find these two refered to as Lumel and Gouber. I have chosen to render them as Rummel and Goebel (and both of them are featured in my fan game Pyrathi Warlords, go play it now, aha, bet you weren't expecting that self promotion this deep into the thread, though Gouber won't be called Goebel into it until I next have cause to update the game). The reason why is because Kaga seemed to call a lot of his characters after famous Nazis, and, while I don't think these names are fully intended to be Rommel or Goebbels, I think the names are trending in that direction more so than Lumel and Gouber, which barely sound like names to begin with. Gouber in particular sounds like some kind of Sesame Street antagonist. If not for the Nazi thing, I would probably actually call Lumel Romero, as his name sounds a lot like that too. But Romero doesn't sound like it really fits in with the Archanean names despite Archanea being Rome inspired and Romero being a Latin derived name.

Anyway my last character to talk about is this guy

The character infamous for being cut from Shadows of Valentia. Which means, unlike all these other character, he might genuinely never get a localized name. Our only chance is if they translate Gaiden like they did Shadow Dragon NES, and it seems like they are in no hurry to do that. Anyway, he is alternatively called Shizas and Seasaz by the community, or some variant thereof. His name is very close to the Archanean character Ceasar, who is Shi-za rendered in Japanese, while this guy is Shi-za-su, in other words, the exact same name only with an extra syllable. So where does that leave us? Well Ceasaru doesn't really sound like a name, but given that connection I want to kind of stay on the Caesar idea. So, this is less a prediction nor is it a proclamation of accuracy, more of a case of what I would call him if I were given the task to officially localize his name. I'll continue to call him Shizas or Seasaz online just so people know what I'm talking about, but to me, I think the best name to give him would be Caesarion, the name of Julius Caesar's son by Cleopatra. It is clearly not what the original Japanese name was going for, but I'm not sure if there is a way to make the original Japanese name sound good and like an actual name in English, but this contains the idea of the name if not the phonics. And now you see how when people get full of themselves and start naming things they think is better than intended we eventually end up replacing Belf with Virgil (anyone else remember that controversy?)

Well, I hope you enjoyed the trip through my deranged mind and the kind of things I put my mental faculties and this precious time on planet Earth to because thinking about obscure Fire Emblem stuff like this genuinely makes me happy. Also I am absolutely 100% correct about Grainne and Geir and if IS or Nintendo use any other name for those characters then they are the ones in the wrong.

[lenticular]

1 hour ago, Jotari said:

This particular Zane face is the one that attacks in you Chapter 9, the mage knight with Forseti holy blood that reinforces from the north. Practically every English language source on him calls him Musar. Probably because of the vowel extender on his name in Japanese ムーサー (Muusaa), and, indeed often if Japense wants to render an 'r' sound at the end of a word they will just extend the vowel (like Elevator->Erebeta), but in this case I don't actually see the need to. And the main reason for that is the character of Muhammad, whom you fight in the previous chapter. Musa is the Arabic name for Moses, so Muhammad, which has always stuck out as a really bizarre name in Jugdral, would seem less random if we had another Arabic name alongside it (of course, Isaac already exists as a country in Jugdral, so we just need to find an Ibrahim too).

I have a hard time believing that modern-day Nintendo of America would go ahead with having the player kill Muhammad and Moses. That just feels like it would be asking for trouble. So if we do get a Genealogy remake, my money would be on these getting more significant changes during localisation rather than just a direct, faithful translation.

2 hours ago, Jotari said:

Rummel and Goebel

And similarly here.

[Saint Rubenio]

I mean, personally, I find it really amusing that there's a bossman in FE who looks like Jesus Christ and is called Goober.

[Jotari]

8 hours ago, lenticular said:

I have a hard time believing that modern-day Nintendo of America would go ahead with having the player kill Muhammad and Moses. That just feels like it would be asking for trouble. So if we do get a Genealogy remake, my money would be on these getting more significant changes during localisation rather than just a direct, faithful translation.

That is something to consider too. They might choose something wildly different for any of these characters just because they can. I'm still a bit baffled they changed Macbeth->Iago, as if one Shakespearean name to another Shakespearean name was a necessary alternation (I mean, sure, Iago is more of a villain between those two characters, but now they've gone and wasted the best Shakespeare villain name on a middle manager antagonist).

[Acacia Sgt]

We have Macbeth at home: 

Anyway, while I do see them changing Muhammad, I feel it quite unnecessary. The name itself isn't that special, in the sense of being taboo to name someone that. There's millions of Muhammad's around the world, after all. I guess it's a contrast to how, say, the name Jesus is treated. Well, unless you live in a Spanish or Portuguese(?) speaking country (not coincidentally, perhaps, considering for how long the Arabs held Iberia). But then, as a Hispanic, maybe that's why I have that view too.

[lenticular]

19 minutes ago, Jotari said:

That is something to consider too. They might choose something wildly different for any of these characters just because they can. I'm still a bit baffled they changed Macbeth->Iago, as if one Shakespearean name to another Shakespearean name was a necessary alternation (I mean, sure, Iago is more of a villain between those two characters, but now they've gone and wasted the best Shakespeare villain name on a middle manager antagonist).

I always imagine that Iago is named for the parrot in Disney's Aladdin. He makes more sense to me that way.

3 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Anyway, while I do see them changing Muhammad, I feel it quite unnecessary. The name itself isn't that special, in the sense of being taboo to name someone that. There's millions of Muhammad's around the world, after all. I guess it's a contrast to how, say, the name Jesus is treated. Well, unless you live in a Spanish or Portuguese(?) speaking country (not coincidentally, perhaps, considering for how long the Arabs held Iberia). But then, as a Hispanic, maybe that's why I have that view too.

To clarify, I'm not necessarily saying that I think that they should change it, merely that I think that they will. Personally, I don't care either way. I don't think the name should be taboo, but I also don't think that changing stuff in localisation should be taboo either, so I'd be happy either way. But I do think that NoA tend to be cautious bordering on paranoid when it comes to anything that has even the slightest hint of potential for controversy, especially for anything connected to real-world religion.

[Acacia Sgt]

1 minute ago, lenticular said:

I always imagine that Iago is named for the parrot in Disney's Aladdin. He makes more sense to me that way.

Certainly also made me think of that Iago too, first time I saw his name. XD

1 minute ago, lenticular said:

To clarify, I'm not necessarily saying that I think that they should change it, merely that I think that they will. Personally, I don't care either way. I don't think the name should be taboo, but I also don't think that changing stuff in localisation should be taboo either, so I'd be happy either way. But I do think that NoA tend to be cautious bordering on paranoid when it comes to anything that has even the slightest hint of potential for controversy, especially for anything connected to real-world religion.

Oh, for sure, I also agree on that.

[Pengaius]

On 11/24/2024 at 1:34 PM, Jotari said:

This is the one that irks me the most, because it's an Irish name and people are butchering the spelling. And by butchering the spelling, I mean they're spelling it phonetically using the English alphabet.

Beo Sword moment.

It's the life sword, it's the goddamned Life Sword.

Gráinne with the the fada trust.

[Jotari]

48 minutes ago, Pengaius said:

Beo Sword moment.

It's the life sword, it's the goddamned Life Sword.

Gráinne with the the fada trust.

Considering they've given us names like  Læraðr, I'm sure they will be diligent with the fada, but learning how to do it on my keyboard is beyond my effort threshold.

[Pengaius]

8 hours ago, Jotari said:

Considering they've given us names like  Læraðr, I'm sure they will be diligent with the fada, but learning how to do it on my keyboard is beyond my effort threshold.

Literally just press alt grmr

[Jotari]

52 minutes ago, Pengaius said:

Literally just press alt grmr

Can't find it. Too many Arabic keys.

[Acacia Sgt]

I just use the Old Reliable: Ctrl+C Ctrl+V.