• 6Jan 12

  Skyrim's Arrow in the Knee Translated

  So one of the great things about working for a software company is that sometimes we can get our staff to put together something rather geeky and fun...
  
  Feel free to share this out with your friends, and we hope you enjoy it.
  
  Our original article: http://www.transparent.com/language-news/2012/01/06/arrow-in-the-knee-translated/. This link will likely be updated with more languages as they come in from our blog staff.
  
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  One of the latest memes on the internet sprouted from one of the most popular video game releases of 2011; The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. A casual comment spoken by various town guards is, " I used to be an adventurer like you, but then I took an arrow in the knee." It comes up frequently enough, and is quirky enough, that it caught on as a meme. In the past two months, endless spin-offs and remixes of the phrase have surfaced.

  Earlier this week, a blogger on Tech in Asia posted an article about the use of the phrase by Chinese speakers on the internet, and how that culture has adapted the meme to their own current events. As a language learning company, our ears perked up at this concept. Maybe the complaint that the meme is being overused would disappear if it were… in German? Russian?

  When you're learning a language, having fun with it is a big step in the right direction. And so here we present some additional translations from our language team for when you take an arrow in the knee. We've included both the original sentence, and a handy fill in the blank version for whatever it isyouused to do.

  1. I used to be _______________ like you, but then I took an arrow in the knee.

  2. The original: "I used to be an adventurer like you, but then I took an arrow in the knee."

  French

  The first one is a bit difficult because "J'étais ________" is only correct if the next word describes the actual person. (Ex: I was an adventurer or I was short or I was happy.) However, if you want to say "I used to play" (so, in this case describing a habitual past action), the verb must actually be conjugated in the imperfect. Ex: Je jouais =I used to play. Here is a direct translation:

  1. J'étais ________comme vous ,mais puis j'ai pris une flèche au genou.

  2. J'étais un aventurier, mais puis j'ai pris une flèche au genou.

  Here are two examples:

  I used to bake my own pies, but then I took an arrow in the knee.

  Je faisais mes propres tartes mais, puis j'ai pris une flèche au genou.

  Or, you could express it like this:

  Je faisais moi-même des tartes mais, puis j'ai pris une flèche au genou

  (In either case, gender or speaker doesn't matter because it's the action.)

  I used to be a language learner like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee.

  J'étais étudiant de langues mais, puis j'ai pris une flèche au genou

  In this case, gender does matter because it's describing the person. In the example, it's masculine. If feminine, it would look like this: J'étais étudiante

  And, if you want to really designate that the "used to" was in the past, one might add the word "autre fois" (In the past).

  Portuguese

  1. Eu era ______ igual a você, mas daí eu levei uma flechada no joelho.

  2. Eu era aventureiro igual a você, mas daí eu levei uma flechada no joelho.

  Spanish

  1. Yo era ______________ como tú, pero me hirieron con una flecha en la rodilla.

  2. Yo era un aventurero como tú, pero me hirieron con una flecha en la rodilla.

  
  

  Danish

  1. Jeg var engang _________ som du, men så fik jeg en pil i knæet.

  2. Jeg var engang en eventyrer som du, men så fik jeg en pil i knæet.

  The translations are not literal, but adapted to a wording that sounds more Danish. (Jeg plejede at…, I used to…, is more used with active verbs, like "I used to swim each Friday".)

  Russian

  This meme is doing fairly well on the Russian Internet. The full sentence is:

  for a male:Я тоже раньше был искателем приключений, как и ты, но потом получил стрелу в колено.

  for a female:Я тоже раньше была искательницей приключений, как и ты, но потом получила стрелу в колено.

  The translation of the phrase "I used to be___________ like you, but then I took an arrow in the knee" is "Я тоже был/была _________________ как и ты, но потом получил/получила стрелу в колено". (I provided both male/female versions for the verbs)

  The Russian meme also has such versions asЯ тоже хотел/хотела…. (I also wanted), including this hilarious one -http://demotivation.me/vfw2rbpab5c7pic.html(I wanted to be a liberal president, but then I took an arrow in the knee)

  Swedish

  1. Jag brukade vara……….som du, men sen blev jag skjuten i knäet. (but got shot in the knee)

  2. Jag brukade vara äventyrlig som du, men sen blev jag skjuten i knäet.

  Irish

  1. Bhínn i mo ______________ mar thusa ach ansin bhuail saighead mé sa ghlúin.

  2. (adventurer: eachtránaí)Bhínn i m'eachtránaí mar thusa ach ansin bhuail saighead mé sa ghlúin

  There's a contraction now, "i'm" instead of "i mo," because of the two vowels. There are actually about half a dozen ways to say this, but I think this pattern is the most straightforward.

  German

  1. Früher war ich ______________________ wie du, aber dann schoss ich einen Pfeil ins Knie.

  2. Früher war ich ein Abenteurer wie du, aber dann schoss ich einen Pfeil ins Knie.

  Note: In German we say "einen Pfeil schießen" (to shoot an arrow). This, again, expresses who is the agent/doer of the action, which is not the case in this situation.

  So, when the speaker 'shot himself in his knee' say "aber dann schoss ich mir einen Pfeil ins Knie". When someone else 'shot an arrow in the speaker's knee', say: "aber dann schoss man mir einen Pfeil ins Knie" (like above). When you do not want to stress whom the speaker 'shot in the knee', say: "aber dann schoss ich einen Pfeil ins Knie" (also the same like above).

  Polish

  1. Byłem (male)/Byłam (female) __________ jak ty, ale potem dostałem(m)/dostałam(f)strzałkę w kolano.

  2. Byłem (male)/Byłam (female)poszukiwaczem przygód,ale potem ostałem(m)/dostałam(f)strzałkę w kolano.

  Now you can tell all your Danish friends about your extreme archery misfortunes. We'll add new translations as we get them. Happy language learning!

  • Posted Jan 6, 2012 11:49 am GMT
  • Category: Editorial
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• 2Dec 11

  This blogs for you axelat0r!

  You can ignore the random blog post you see here.... just helping someone out to see something...

  • Posted Dec 2, 2011 3:27 pm GMT
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• 26Oct 11

  10 Spookiest game Villains/Enemies of all time

  So here is a quick list of my top 10 spookiest game villains/enemies. This list is really in no order but if I had to pick the creatures or villain that had spooked me most of the years this would be it.

  This will of course contain some spoilers, so beware!

  Alma Wade (F.E.A.R)

  

  Nothing to me is more creepy than a little evil girl with supernatural powers who likes to jump out and go boo at random moments. I have to say the best scare she gave me was in the first game when I was went into a cube with a blinking phone (which didn't work) upon turning around she immediately jumped at me and screamed.

  -------------------------------------------------------------

  The Hunter (Dead Space)

  

  What is worse than a creature you can't really kill! It adds a level of scariness and tenseness to any situation, and none did this better than dead space with the hunter. De-limb it and run for your life… rinse and repeat. Least you stop it in the first game, in Dead Space 2 you just get to run and pray!

  -------------------------------------------------------------

  Barbara Jagger (Alan Wake)

  

  She is more the subtle villain of my list. The women without a heart who died drowning in the lake you see in the start of the game. She is often seen and heard in some of the more spooky scenes of this amazing game.

  -------------------------------------------------------------

  Satan (Resistance 3)

  

  What do you do when a giant/massive creature is trying to eat you and destroy the tunnels around you? Shoot it, run, shoot it some more, and keep running! This massive rather scary boss gave me a run for my money in this year's hit sequel.

  -------------------------------------------------------------

  Dark Ones (Metro 2033)

  

  Are they your enemies? Yes? No? I am not sure I can truly answer this, but good lord they scared the crap out of me. Attack and vanish in mists, make you see some really crazy things which just added to the tenseness of this dark and spooky title.

  -------------------------------------------------------------

  Feral ghoul reaver/Glowing ones (Fallout 3)

  

  Sometimes an enemy doesn't have to do anything but go rarw and run at you out of nowhere… And Fallout 3 excels in that! So many times have I listened to my radiation meter ticking in a dark destroyed building to only have these ghouls charge out to kill me! Ahhhhhhhhhh…..

  -------------------------------------------------------------

  The Collectors (Mass Effect 2)

  

  Though they might not be the scariest villain every, they do have some of the most memorable creepy moments in the Mass Effect series wondering there ship and station. None more so than watching your crew members get melted down into liquid to help build a human-form reaper. Piles of bodies, and the voice of the controlling reaper adds to this atmosphere.

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  The Pfhor (Marathon)

  

  I remember playing the old Marathon series back when it was new. Nothing ever scared me more than the noises these creatures would make as they charged at you from who knows where. Playing this game late at night for long hours was one of the first games ever to cause me to jump out of my seat!

  -------------------------------------------------------------

  Houdini Splicer (Bioshock)

  

  Poof! Shadow on a wall…. Poof! Shadow on the wall…. What is going on! Ahhh its behind me! That about sums up the Houdini splicer in bioshock… These villains brought some of the few times that I ever jumped in this series.

  -------------------------------------------------------------

  Gears of War (Berserker)

  

  One of my favorite spooky moments were any fights involving a BERSEKER! Nothing in that game brought terror to your group more than hearing Marcus yelling that word. More so since without the hammer of dawn all you could do is run and pray.

  Simple list, simple pleasures! That's all for my top 10!

  
  Thanks for reading,
  Justin

  • Posted Oct 26, 2011 4:40 pm GMT
  • Category: Editorial
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