LOTR in Other Languages

[Jonathan]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by congressmn
[B]

Originally posted by FrodoFriend
ok the hungarian one beats it all.

Yeah I think so too! The Hungarian version rules

[Shadowfax]

Originally posted by Jonathan
Into how many languages has LotR been translated?

Norweigan, Swedish, French, Dutch, Hungarian, I think that's all so far, so 5 languages! Wow, this is really interesting.

[congressmn]

Originally posted by Shadowfax
Norweigan, Swedish, French, Dutch, Hungarian, I think that's all so far, so 5 languages! Wow, this is really interesting.

nopes i think u r incorrect there:
you missed german.

[Shadowfax]

Originally posted by congressmn
nopes i think u r incorrect there:
you missed german.

Where's the German one? Who posted it?

[Gwaimir Windgem]

If you mean how many languages total, I think it's like 26 or something.

[Shadowfax]

Oh, silly me; I get it now. I thought he meant on this thread. So yeah, I have no idea how many languages the book has been translated into. It would be cool to find out though.

[Jonathan]

I don't know about the other languages into which Tolkien's books have been translated, but in the Swedish translation many of the English names have been changed, especially names that has to do with the hobbits.
I'm going to list some of the English hobbit names and their Swedish counterparts (though I will leave out those names that are the same in both languages). I don't know if anyone is interested, but at least I'll get an overview of the names when I read LotR in English for the first time.

• English ---------------------------> Swedish
• Bilbo Baggins -------------------> Bilbo Bagger
• Frodo Baggins ------------------> Frodo Bagger
  
• Samwise 'Sam' Gamgee ------> Samuel 'Sam' Gamgi
• Hamfast 'Gaffer' Gamgee -----> Hamfast 'Gubbtjyven' Gamgee
• Rose Cotton --------------------> Rosa Kattun
• Fairbairn -------------------------> Fagerkind
  
• Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck-> Meriadoc 'Merry' Vinbock
• Sackville-Baggins --------------> Säcksta-Bagger
• Bag End -------------------------> Baggershus
• Hobbiton ------------------------> Hobsala
• The Shire ------------------------> Fylke
• Crickhollow ----------------------> Kricke Gryt
  
  Some ents too:
• Treebeard -----------------------> Lavskägge
• Quickbeam ----------------------> Snabba SolstrÃ¥len

(The list might be updated if I feel like adding more names)

If there are other 'Mooters who have read Tolkiens books in languages in which the names have been changed or altered, feel free to post the names here.

[Elf Girl]

Heheheh! Gubbtjyven!

[Laurus Nobilis]

I have the Spanish books, and according to them, Tolkien himself wrote a "Guide to the names in LotR" so that the names that have a meaning could be translated. I think that's a really good thing, or else we'd be missing a lot of stuff!

Let's see what I remember from the Spanish translation:

Baggins --- Bolsón
Samwise Gamgee --- Samssagaz Gamyi (last name changed because of the pronounciation)
Gaffer Gamgee --- TÃ*o Gamyi
Rose Cotton --- Rosita Coto
Bag End --- Bolsón Cerrado
The Shire --- La Comarca
Sackville-Baggins --- Sacovilla-Bolsón
Brandybuck --- Brandigamo
Took --- Tuk (again, because of pronounciation)
Crickhollow --- Cricava
Strider --- Trancos
Shadowfax --- SombragrÃ*s
Wormtongue --- Lengua de Serpiente
Dunharrow --- El Sagrario
Entmoot --- Cámara de los Ents
Treebeard --- Bárbol

I'll add more if I remember any.

[Jonathan]

Brandybuck --- Brandigamo

Brandigamo sounds much like Brandagamba. According to Tolkien, Merry's 'real' name was Kalimac Brandagamba, a name that was anglicised to better fit in the books.

Treebeard --- Bárbol

Haha, the Spanish words for 'beard' (barba) and 'tree' (árbol) have been merged into Bárbol

[Shadowfax]

Ooh! I found a site that has it written in 24 languages! It's located here

[Orion]

Lots of names are different also in Finnish translation, here´s some:

Bilbo Baggins - Bilbo Reppuli ("bag" means "reppu" in Finnish)
Samwise Gamgee - Samvais Gamgi
Hamfast 'Gaffer' Gamgee - Hamfast ´Ukko` Gamgi
Rose Cotton - Ruusa ...
Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck - Merri Rankkibuk (that´s my fave; "rankki" is an old word for booze)
Bag End - Repunpää
Hobbiton - Hobittila
The Shire - Kontu
Crickhollow - Krikkolo
Pippin Took - Pippin Tuk
Strider - Konkari
Legolas Greenleaf - Legolas Viherlehti
Treebeard - Puuparta
Quickbeam - Äkkipää

[Orion]

Here´s also the finnish version:

Kolme sormusta haltiakuninkaille alla auringon,
seitsemän kääpiöruhtinaille kivisaleissaan,
yhdeksän ihmisille jotka vie tuoni armoton,
yksi Mustalle Ruhtinaalle valtaistuimellaan
maassa Mordorin joka varjojen saartama on.
Yksi sormus löytää heidät, se yksi heitä hallitsee,
se yksi heidät yöhön syöksee ja pimeyteen kahlitsee
maassa Mordorin joka varjojen saartama on.

Three rings for the elven kings under the sun,
seven for the dwarf lords in their halls of stone,
nine to men who will be taken by the merciless death,
one for the Black Lord in his throne
in the land of Mordor, surrounded by shadows.
One ring finds them, the one rules them,
the one sends them to the night and chains to the darkness
in the land of Mordor, surrounded by the shadows.

That sounds so clumsy when I translated it into englsih, it sounds much more beautiful in finnish.

[Shadowfax]

Wow, thankyou for the Finnish version, Orion! That's very interesting.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

I saw the Portuguese one, and I thought I'd try my hand at translating it.

Três anéis para os Reis Elfos debaixo do céu,
Sete para os Senhores dos Anões nos seus palácios de pedra,
Nove para os Homens Mortais condenados a morrer,
Um para o Senhor das Trevas no seu negro trono
Na Terra de Mordor onde moram as Sombras.
Um anel para a todos dominar, um anel para os encontrar,
Um anel para a todos prender e nas trevas os reter
Na Terra de Mordor onde moram as Sombras.


Three Rings for the Elfin Kings underneath the sky,
Seven for the Lords of Dwarves in their palaces of stone,
Nine for the Mortal Humens condemned to die,
One for the Lord of Darkness on his black throne
In the Land of Mordor where dwell the Shadows.
Um ring to dominate all, one ring to find them,
One Ring to catch them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where dwell the Shadows.

I'm not really fluent in Portuguese, so I'm not sure about it.

I'll try to Brazilian as well:

Três anéis para os Reis- Elfos sob este céu,
Sete para os Senhores- Anões em seus rochosos corredores,
Nove para Homens Mortais, fadados ao eterno sono,
Um para o Senhor do Escuro em seu escuro trono
Na Terra de Mordor onde as Sombras se deitam.
Um anel para a todos governar, Um anel para encontrá-los,
Um anel para a todos trazer e na escuridão aprisioná-los
Na Terra de Mordor onde as sombras se deitam.


Three rings for the Elf-Kings beneath the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-Lords in their rocky halls,
Nine for Mortal Humans, fated to sleep eternal,
One for the Lord of Darkness in his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie.
One ring to govern them all, One ring to find them,
One ring to take them all and in the darkness imprison them,
In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie.

Again, I'm not fluent in Portuguese, so input from native speakers would be appreciated.

[Lanelf]

My friend was reading LOTR in French, and I recall her laughing for days over this. I forget the French for it, but the English translation:
"The next four lines are so dirty I cannot read them" - Gandalf.
Gandalf! I didn't know you read those kinds of books!
Lanelf.

[Linaewen]

Originally posted by Lanelf
My friend was reading LOTR in French, and I recall her laughing for days over this. I forget the French for it, but the English translation:
"The next four lines are so dirty I cannot read them" - Gandalf.
Gandalf! I didn't know you read those kinds of books!
Lanelf.

LOL. Ah, but it says they're so dirty, he cannot read them. He looked away from the naughty parts. Good Gandalf!

[azalea]

What were the dwarves doing down there?

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Originally posted by Lanelf
My friend was reading LOTR in French, and I recall her laughing for days over this. I forget the French for it, but the English translation:
"The next four lines are so dirty I cannot read them" - Gandalf.
Gandalf! I didn't know you read those kinds of books!
Lanelf.

Now we know why the Dwarves didn't marry. Their wives would have killed them for writing that!

[Nimphredil]

Here's the Estonian version

Kolm Sõrmust haldjahõimul sinitaeva all,
Seitse päkapikkudel maa külmis kivikambreis,
Üheksale ülemaks on sureliku vald,
Üks kuulub Isandale, kelle võim on kangeim
Maal, mil nimeks Mordor, musta Varju all,
Üks Sõrmus juhib neid, Üks leiab üles,
Üks Sõrmus toob nad kokku pimeduse süles
Maal, mil nimeks Mordor, musta Varju all.

Three rings for the elven tribe under the blue sky
Seven for the dwarves in the cold chambers of stone
For the nine is superior the moral hold /or The mortal hold is superior for the nine (hope this sentence makes any sense at all)
One belongs to the Lord, whose power is the strongest (actually rigid is more specific, but i don't know the superlative (most rigid, rigidest both are quite veird)
In the land which is called Mordor under the black Shadow
One Ring controls them, One finds them (i'm not sure is it controls or guids, we have the same word for it in Estonian)
One Ring brings them together in the darkness (actually the direct form of it would be in the lap of the darkness)
In the land which is called Mordor under the black Shadow

Well it's great if you understand any of my translation.