Hi guys,


I'm a student of translation (English-Dutch) and I'm currently working on a translation of all the books in Skyrim. (Yes, helluva job and whatnot).

However, I have a problem right now. This is (most probably) something that only speakers of Dutch can help me with.


How would you translate "hold", as in "holds of Skyrim"

I'd go for "deelstaat" or "provincie", but that doesn't really have the same ring to it and it doesn't quite cover the meaning.

I didn't really know where to put it, so I put it here as this is probably the board with the most viewers.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Hit me up!


Thanks in advance,

Ithvan

I don't know Dutch, but some synonyms for 'hold' are 'citadel' or 'fort' or 'stronghold' or 'fort'. One of those may work in Dutch better than 'hold' which is usually a verb in English.

I've been able to find "http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heerlijkheid_(bestuursvorm)", but I'm afraid not many people will recognize the word as it also stands for tasty food. There's also "heerschap", but that's also an old formal word for a male person. Besides, it's a term attributed to Feodalism, and I'm not sure whether that'll suit the Norse setting. Unless you're translating "jarl" as "graaf"?

I'm Dutch (Belgian) and this is indeed not an easy question. In English the word has a lot of meanings. What do you think of; 'gewest', 'rijksgebied'? 'Deelstaat' and 'deelgebieden' isn't bad either, but I think 'province' is a more modern term... not sure.

The Dutch translations for 'stronghold' or 'fort' have more literal meanings; a castle of some sort. I can't think of any word that describes a fort and it's surrounding holdings... 'pacht' comes to mind, but that is more like land which is owned by the castle lord and worked on by the farmers. Not sure if that applies to Skyrim. Same for the word 'landerijen'.

Good luck with your project, it sounds like an enormous task! If you need more help, pm me.

Well I'm from Belgium, so I speak Dutch.
I'd say "deelstaat" is nice, but you could also take for example "regio". Just a quick suggestion. If I'd happen to come across other words I'll let you know

A Hold is probably closest in meaning to County, particularly in the old nobility way of view things. It was an area of land that a minor noble such as an Earl or a Duke or even a just a Knight would control.

I don't think there's a literal translation to Dutch, but I think "deelstaat" or "graafschap" comes close.

Provincies van Skyrim?

I myself would go with 'gewest' because 'deelstaat' and 'graafschap' both sound very official (deelstaat) and.. ehm.. medieval-noble-like (graafschap (which is the exact translation for county)) while the holds of Skyrim are less organized in their presentation... It's really not easy to translate it.. but of all the words I've seen here so far I would lean most towards "gewest"...


EDIT: Just noticed the "heerlijkheid" and "heerschap" suggestions. "heerlijkheid" I think I've only heard it like once or twice before this my entire lifetime, it's really an uncommon word nowadays... and well.. "heerschap" actually sounds pretty good.. If I were you I'd either go with "gewest" or "heerschap"

Gewest = regio

Das toch ongeveer hetzelfde he

I translated "feud", because hold has got too many meanings, with Google Translator in Dutch and it came out "vete".

Thought maybe it would be something simple - I was born in Rotterdam - but since I haven't spoken Dutch since 1961, that word is a bit too complicated for my limited knowledge.

Good luck.

E

"Gewest" would be appropriate as well and it most certainly sounds better then "heerschap" if you ask me. Good luck with translating. You'll need it

a "gewest" is more a govermental body while "regio"=region is mostly a geographical name..

After going through Wikipedia for around an hour, I've decided to go with 'kanton'. I don't really know why, I just like it the best.


No, I'm going to keep 'jarl' as I'm practically sure there is no Dutch equivalent that sounds just as cool.

Thanks for your suggestions!

Strange choice.. I'm Dutch but have -never- heard that word ever being used, not even in historybooks.. a well it is your choice...
Good luck anyway!

shouldn't it be ' een mark' meaning historical a certain region of a feudal state
just a idea
another option is 'graafschap' or county in english , since a county was usualy the largest and most comonadministrative center a a country or region

groetjes uit brussel vanuit het kantoor op een lange saaie brugdag

What about vorstendom?
'Kanton' makes me think of the Kantons van Zwitserland to be honest. =)

they not kingdoms in their own right
i think i stick with mine , since jarl or earl in english is a graaf in dutch , so graafschap is probably best translation

Hm...I see what you mean, when people hear vorstendom they probably think of Monaco, but what about hertogdom?

you could , but hertogdommen, or dutchy in english tended to be rather big in size historical and usualy contained several counties or even where semi independent only answering to the highest authority directly , you might want to google noble ranks but in dutch of course to see what the diefference is ,

Graafschap, Heerschap, Gewest.. or maybe the archa?stic " Provinci?n " as is the older grammar of Provincies.

De Provinci?n van Skyrim actually sounds pretty good IMO.

Besides that, each of these Provincien used to be controlled by a ruler, which would be the jarl in this case.

Would be the historical closest answer IMO.

Well, the German-speaking part of Belgium is commonly referred to as the 'Oostkantons', it's something you hear more in Belgium than in the Netherlands, I suppose.

Huh, that makes me rather think of the "Oostkantons" in Belgium, where people speak German. Aside from that, I've never heard someone use it, and I probably wouldn't even know what it is if I never learned about the Oostkantons. Strange choice, but it's all up to you of course.

Yup, also reminds me of the Oostkantons here in Belgium.

I do like Pronvinci?n van Skyrim.
It really sounds like something you could hear people say in "Middel-Nederlands".