[Abyss]

 Gorefest, on 08 June 2016 - 03:28 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 08 June 2016 - 03:20 PM, said:

There are French versions of the entire MBF. Find one and see how they do it.

Not sure if there actually are, you know. Only the first two books.

Thought there were, could be wrong.

[NefaraisBredd]

All that i can say is please take the time to read the series/books. I am also a student and a lover of excellent writing from 'the Epic of Gilgamesh' to 'The Malazan Book of the Fallen.' He (SE) belongs in the top 50 greatest writers of all time. Many would sneer at what i say because its the 'Fantasy' genre. Yet i firmly believe that he speaks to the history and depth of the human experience like very few have in our history.

[Egwene]

 SuperWho, on 08 June 2016 - 03:09 PM, said:

Another question for you guys : am I right in thinking that I should keep a basic translation for "weave" in French, like the verb we use to designate the making of clothing ? Because I came across this word quite a lot recently, and it's always somehow linked to sorcery. Here are some examples :

- Death-magic punched through the protective weave of chaotic sorcery like a spearpoint through chain armour, plunged into the man's chest.

- Paran was almost invisible within a writhing, shadow-woven Hound. Not a Soletaken - nota veering. These are two creatures - man and beast — woven together… somehow. And the power behind it— it's Shadow. Kurald Emurlahn.

- On the ramp, the first legion had reformed and were doggedly marching upward once more, three Seerdomin mages in the lead. Webs of sorcery wove protective cloaks about them.

I think there are different 'flavours' you could say to the words weave/webs etc. In some cases weaving as in yarn and netting, in others maybe more akin to spider webs.

[rhyspinot]

 SuperWho, on 15 February 2016 - 05:28 PM, said:

Hi there!

I started reading the Malazan Book of the Fallen not so long ago and I'm already addicted to it. I actually chose Memories of Ice for my master's dissertation subject. I began translating a passage of the book (oh yeah, one thing: I'm French and my work for university consists in translating a passage of Memories of Ice from English to French) and unfortunately, I don't have all the answers to my questions since I don't have time to read all the books before beginning my dissertation. That's why I figured I could use the help of die-hard fans

My immediate concern is about the phrase "Spirits below!"/"Gods below!", which is actually quite hard to translate. So my question is: does this refer to Gods from some kind of underworld? Because I've only heard about ascendants and High Houses up until now. Or is it just a plain figure of speech not referring to particular Gods being at a particular "location"?

Hi all, first time poster here. I just wanted to add that the "gods below" phrase, to me, is a very telling phrase. The connection to the pantheon of gods in Greek/Roman/Egyptian etc mythology is an important one. In those scenarios, the "gods below" would be correctly called Chthonic gods, as they derive from the ground. Think about the gods of death (Anubis/Osiris, Pluto, Hades) or those associated with the underworld such as Persephone/Demeter/Kore. I think that you could pretty much say that "gods below" is another reference to Hood and similar deities (perhaps D'rek, The Dying God, etc).

[Kanese S's]

 rhyspinot, on 28 June 2016 - 07:09 PM, said:

 SuperWho, on 15 February 2016 - 05:28 PM, said:

Hi there!

I started reading the Malazan Book of the Fallen not so long ago and I'm already addicted to it. I actually chose Memories of Ice for my master's dissertation subject. I began translating a passage of the book (oh yeah, one thing: I'm French and my work for university consists in translating a passage of Memories of Ice from English to French) and unfortunately, I don't have all the answers to my questions since I don't have time to read all the books before beginning my dissertation. That's why I figured I could use the help of die-hard fans

My immediate concern is about the phrase "Spirits below!"/"Gods below!", which is actually quite hard to translate. So my question is: does this refer to Gods from some kind of underworld? Because I've only heard about ascendants and High Houses up until now. Or is it just a plain figure of speech not referring to particular Gods being at a particular "location"?

Hi all, first time poster here. I just wanted to add that the "gods below" phrase, to me, is a very telling phrase. The connection to the pantheon of gods in Greek/Roman/Egyptian etc mythology is an important one. In those scenarios, the "gods below" would be correctly called Chthonic gods, as they derive from the ground. Think about the gods of death (Anubis/Osiris, Pluto, Hades) or those associated with the underworld such as Persephone/Demeter/Kore. I think that you could pretty much say that "gods below" is another reference to Hood and similar deities (perhaps D'rek, The Dying God, etc).

I think that's exactly what the phrase is getting at.

[SuperWho]

How interesting indeed ! Thanks for your reply. However I don't remember the spirits of the Barghast as having particular links with the underworld/death appart from the fact that they were actually buried under the ground. Could this fit?

[Geoffray]

Dans mon souvenir, ils ont une certaine interaction avec la terre ancestal de Barghast mais je peux me tromper (If y remember correctly, they do have a relation with the ancestral territory of the Barghast).

On the subject of the translation of the book in french, at the moment only the two first volume had been translated (and no new translation is planned at the moment).

This post has been edited by Geoffray: 06 July 2016 - 12:01 PM

[SuperWho]

Thanks for you answer ! I've put this matter aside for now to concentrate on other things, including name creation ! Concerning Twist of the Black Moranth, I remember that his actual name is to complicate for the Malazans to pronounce and that's why the soldiers gave him the name Twist. Problem is Twist means a load of things and there aren't many details about this character. Thus my question : do you think "Twist" is a reference to a character trait or to the fact that his actual name is kinda "twisted" or something else entirely ?

[SuperWho]

Hey guys, do you have any idea why the words created by Erikson don't ever take an -s at the plural form ? e.g. Moranth, bhederin, Tiste Andii...

[Lollerskatez]

 SuperWho, on 08 August 2016 - 03:01 PM, said:

Hey guys, do you have any idea why the words created by Erikson don't ever take an -s at the plural form ? e.g. Moranth, bhederin, Tiste Andii...

The singular and plural forms are the same. Why? In universe, who knows. Real reason is that "Moranths' or "bhederins" or "Tiste Andiis" doesn't look/sound good in English. Plus, "bhederin" and "Tiste Andii" resemble several English loanwords that are already plural, like "alumni" for "alumnus," and "seraphim" for "seraph."

[PLUGO]

 SuperWho, on 13 July 2016 - 08:26 AM, said:

Thanks for you answer ! I've put this matter aside for now to concentrate on other things, including name creation ! Concerning Twist of the Black Moranth, I remember that his actual name is to complicate for the Malazans to pronounce and that's why the soldiers gave him the name Twist. Problem is Twist means a load of things and there aren't many details about this character. Thus my question : do you think "Twist" is a reference to a character trait or to the fact that his actual name is kinda "twisted" or something else entirely ?

It seems the Malazan names are both descriptive and, I guess, Ironic. Fiddler carries a fiddle but doesn't really play. Mallet (a hammer) is a healer . . . but he's often described with a round face, Picker is introduced as always picking the right bet, but she also tends to "pick" at things, as in nit-picking or complaining.

So I would guess Twist's name could come from a simplification of his actual Moranth name as well as the fact that his real name is unpronounceable and his has a significant arm injury (as though someone tried to twist off his arm).

My 2¢.

Yes on the Chthonic Gods aspect, I also took the "GOD's BELOW" as an inversion of the tendency to place gods on a pedestal. On Wu it seems most people don't really see gods as above them, but more like dangerous forces that work unseen, like an under-tow on the shore.