Talk:Rakuin no Monshou:Guidelines

About Ende

So, about Ende. I originally named it a 'principality' so it wouldn't be confused with a 'duchy' in medieval times, but it is ruled by an 大公 'archduke' and not a monarch; so it's actually a sorta dukedom (like real-life Luxembourg, which is not ruled by a prince as in Monaco or Liechtenstein, but a Grand Duke) - I think they're related to the Arion Kingdom's bloodline. So I will probably change the name, but I'm wondering what sounds better: 'Duchy', 'Dukedom' or 'Grand Duchy' - which is also the official name of Luxembourg; I'm leaning on 'Grand Duchy'. --Dohma (talk) 09:44, 29 August 2013 (CDT)

• My vote also goes for Grand Duchy. --Detalz (talk) 11:33, 31 August 2013 (CDT)

Military Ranks

Okay I'm not good with military ranks, and new ranks keep popping up but my dictionary calls almost all of them officers, sometimes with a adjective in front of it. Anyway, I decided to post them here for now and how I'm currently translating them, so that translators/editors can give their input. Maybe somebody knows a good English equivalent, so that we can determine an official translation. The list is probably not yet complete because I will have to track back and new ranks will undoubtedly pop up. --Dohma (talk) 11:57, 29 August 2013 (CDT)

• 将軍 - 100% sure 'shogun' is the highest rank and means 'general'; just added this to top the list. Rogue Saian is one of Mephius' 12 Generals. Oubary is also a general but I'm not sure if he's one of 'the twelve', as they seem to be special.

• 士官 - officer, but the term is used in combination; like 翼竜士官 'winged dragon officer' is a rank Rogue Saian also holds. Meaning he's both officer and general...

• 将校 - my dictionary: 'commissioned officer'; Japanese wikipedia says it's a rank higher than sublieutenant (so is it a lieutenant?), but it's no longer an official term

• 下士官 Lit. 'low officer'; dict.: 'non-commissioned officer'. In Edo-Japan this was a term for one who was enlisted as an officer, but not of noble birth.

• I have no qualms on the current translations for 将校 and 下士官. I still think Winged Dragon Officers are at the very least, worthy of the title of 'Commander' rather than Officer, as they are "capable of taking command of whole fleets." Regarding why Saian holds both titles, it could be possible that 将軍 denotes a rank only for controlling ground forces, while 翼竜士官 is a title denoting command of solely aerial forces. I'm also keeping a list of all the military ranks and will post them in the guidelines once I come across a few additional Garberan rankings(if they aren't already posted by then). --Detalz (talk) 11:33, 31 August 2013 (CDT)

• 武将 - this one just means '(military) commander', it's not really a title but a general term. A captain, general, officer - they're all commanders.

Here are some additional terms I've come across, though their meanings are straightforward enough: 十人長 - corporal (leads a squad of approximately 10 people) 百人長 - captain (approx. 100)

• Here's more light on the status of Winged Dragon Officers. There is schooling for them, so they could categorize as commissioned officers. This schooling seems to be highly geared towards the sons of nobles and military commanders(not too surprising). As for their rank, it's still pretty vague and can range, similar to the title of commander, but all Winged Dragon Officers leads units upwards of 100 people, so that means they all are capable of leading at least a small army. I get the feeling a commander might be more esteemed though, but I'm not too sure about this. Also, from what is written in chapter 2 of volume 2, it seems to imply that Oubary is in fact one of the twelve generals. --Detalz (talk) 16:34, 10 February 2014 (CST)

Names

I don't know where to put this so I'll just put it here, I'm positive Vileena's last name should be Auer and not Owell. --Kuratatsu (talk) 03:23, 26 December 2013 (CST)

• I don't doubt Auer is one possible naming for アウエル, and 'Auer' is in fact the closest approximation for its romanization. However, I'm sure there were several reasons why Dohma had chosen not to use it. For me, I see a confliction between the naming of the first and last names if 'Auer' were to be used instead. This might be a skewed view on my part, but 'Vileena' and 'Jeorg'(as first names) appear to be names that would be transcribed in Western Europe, while 'Auer' is more likely to be one transcribed in Eastern Europe(as a last name). There isn't a problem with 'Ainn', but the former two simply don't pair up right with 'Auer' in my mind. Likewise, I don't believe the author ever exacted on the origins for the choice of his naming, other than basing them on European names, and it is highly possible the author just slapped them together. For these reasons, I abide by Dohma's decision to write it as Owell. If you can find a source that might indicate otherwise, please link it and I'll fix the name accordingly. --Detalz (talk) 19:54, 27 December 2013 (CST)

Isn't Auer a German/Swedish surname? I don't really think that counts as Eastern Europe... Wait, or was it Auerstedt for the Swedish one? Anyway, I really don't think it's classified as Eastern European.

• Oh...woops. Also turns out German and English originated from the same roots. I was under the false impression German originated from the Norse language, but that was completely wrong. --Detalz (talk) 15:28, 28 December 2013 (CST)

I'm not sure if I'm replying in the correct way (sorry I don't use the wiki alot), well I don't think there's a official translation of her name like an image I can source if that's what you meant. It's just I can't find Owell anywhere as a surname whereas Auer is a real surname and completely fits the kata. There is Powell, Howell, Lowell, Orwell, the last of which is オーウェル which also brings me to the other point. There are exceptions like Gakusen Toshi but the ウエ should generally be　ウェ to read as "we", not always but I feel it's a point here. I'll also mention I completely respect all of you translators working on this ln so if you want to change a few characters' names I don't mind, I just wanted to point this out in case it was overlooked. Kuratatsu (talk) 14:18, 28 December 2013 (CST)

• I'm aware of it, but I much prefer it the way it is. When I read the name at first, I read it as Auwell instead of Auer(Awer), since I'm not exactly familiar with German names. If you pay attention to the accentuation of the "Au" it can be pronounced "O" as "Oz" is in British as opposed to the "Ah" sound that is made in American English. Also, I have little to no knowledge of the German royalty, so everything I'm translating is converted to British/American sayings(as it is in English). So rather than simply use a German name and have them adopt British mannerisms, keeping the name British-sounding might be better. Keep in mind this is a fictional setting, and its not as if the names reflect back to historical figures, so much more leeway can be used in adopting names for these characters. It's quite common for never heard of names to be created in works of fiction. And even in translations of famous pieces of literature, I'm sure there are variations in the naming of some characters as well. Feel free to bring more discussions for things you think might need more polishing. I'm just putting in my own two cents and I'm not trying to intimidate you or anything if it came out that way. --Detalz (talk) 15:28, 28 December 2013 (CST)
• I'd contest your suggestion that any of the characters in this novel were particularly more English than German, much less British (lol gladiators and dragon worship), but that would just be because I have a bad personality. 'Owell' hardly detracts from the story and even if it is a ridiculous non-existent surname, it actually feels normal when pitted up against most of the names in this novel. I'm rather thankful for your efforts, so please don't take this the wrong way.