{"id":11699,"date":"2019-05-16T07:00:55","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T07:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=11699"},"modified":"2019-05-15T21:46:30","modified_gmt":"2019-05-15T21:46:30","slug":"white-walkers-and-horcruxes-or-how-to-talk-about-fantasy-in-russian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/white-walkers-and-horcruxes-or-how-to-talk-about-fantasy-in-russian\/","title":{"rendered":"White Walkers and Horcruxes, or How to Talk About Fantasy in Russian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even if you are not a huge fan of the fantasy genre, it seems like these days you can barely avoid Game of Thrones <\/em>spoilers or Lord of the Rings<\/em> references. These genres and the associated subcultures have a following in Russian-speaking countries, too. This post will include some famous fantasy names\u2014in Russian!<\/p>\n

\"The

Photo by Andres Iga<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

\u0412\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0435\u043b\u0438\u0301\u043d \u043a\u043e\u043b\u0435\u0301\u0446\u2014Lord of the Rings<\/h2>\n

This fantasy epic by Tolkien is set in Middle-earth (\u0421\u0440\u0435\u0434\u0438\u0437\u0435\u0301\u043c\u044c\u0435<\/strong>) and definitely enjoys cult status among readers (\u0447\u0438\u0442\u0430\u0301\u0442\u0435\u043b\u0438<\/strong>) and reenactors (\u0440\u0435\u043a\u043e\u043d\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0443\u0301\u043a\u0442\u043e\u0440\u044b<\/strong>). Some names will vary depending on the translation. The title is “\u0412\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0435\u043b\u0438\u0301\u043d \u043a\u043e\u043b\u0435\u0301\u0446<\/strong>” (Lord of the Rings), and the constituent parts are usually translated as “\u0411\u0440\u0430\u0301\u0442\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e \u043a\u043e\u043b\u044c\u0446\u0430\u0301<\/strong>” (The Fellowship of the Ring), “\u0414\u0432\u0435 \u043a\u0440\u0435\u0301\u043f\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0438<\/strong>” (The Two Towers) \u0438 “\u0412\u043e\u0437\u0432\u0440\u0430\u0449\u0435\u0301\u043d\u0438\u0435 \u043a\u043e\u0440\u043e\u043b\u044f\u0301<\/strong>” (The Return of the King).<\/p>\n

The protagonist, Frodo Baggins, is usually called \u0424\u0440\u043e\u0301\u0434\u043e \u0411\u044d\u0301\u0433\u0433\u0438\u043d\u0441<\/strong> in Russians, although some translations make a play on the word “bag” and use \u0421\u0443\u0301\u043c\u043a\u0438\u043d\u0441<\/strong> or \u0422\u043e\u0301\u0440\u0431\u0438\u043d\u0441<\/strong> instead (from the Russian words \u0441\u0443\u0301\u043c\u043a\u0430<\/strong> and \u0442\u043e\u0301\u0440\u0431\u0430<\/strong>, referring to different types of bags). The One Ring is usually translated as \u043a\u043e\u043b\u044c\u0446\u043e\u0301 \u0432\u0441\u0435\u0432\u043b\u0430\u0301\u0441\u0442\u0438\u044f<\/strong> (“the ring of omnipotence”).<\/p>\n

\"rail

Photo by Bjorn Snelders<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

\u0413\u0430\u0301\u0440\u0440\u0438 \u041f\u043e\u0301\u0442\u0442\u0435\u0440\u2014Harry Potter<\/h2>\n

Like many people who came of age in the late 1990s and early 2000s, I remember watching the Harry Potter<\/em> films, which would come out every year or so (it wasn’t until later that I would read the books). Here, again, the translators had to make some interesting choices. For example, some names were left the same, like \u0425\u043e\u0301\u0433\u0432\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0441<\/strong> for Hogwarts, but two of the houses (called “\u0444\u0430\u043a\u0443\u043b\u044c\u0442\u0435\u0301\u0442\u044b<\/strong>“) got new names in Russian: Hufflepuff is \u041f\u0443\u0444\u0444\u0435\u043d\u0434\u0443\u0301\u0439<\/strong> (“\u0434\u0443\u0442\u044c<\/strong>” means to blow), and Ravenclaw is \u041a\u043e\u0433\u0442\u0435\u0432\u0440\u0430\u0301\u043d<\/strong> (“\u043a\u043e\u0301\u0433\u043e\u0442\u044c<\/strong>” = claw, “\u0432\u0440\u0430\u043d<\/strong>” = “\u0432\u043e\u0301\u0440\u043e\u043d<\/strong>” = raven).<\/p>\n

Other creative translations include \u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0301\u0436<\/strong> for horcrux (“\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442<\/strong>” = cross, “\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0436<\/strong>” = guard). The antagonist Voldemort is called \u0412\u043e\u043b\u0430\u0301\u043d-\u0434\u0435-\u041c\u043e\u0440\u0442<\/strong> to fit the anagram of this full name<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"The

Photo by Trevor Cole<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

\u0418\u0433\u0440\u0430\u0301 \u043f\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0301\u043b\u043e\u0432\u2014Game of Thrones<\/h2>\n

Finally, the Game of Thrones <\/em>book(s) and TV show are also well-known in Russia, to the point where I am getting spoilers both in English and Russian. \ud83d\ude42 The name includes the word “\u043f\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0301\u043b<\/strong>,” which refers to the throne not in the sense of a physical chair, but the authority to reign. The physical throne is \u0442\u0440\u043e\u043d<\/strong>, so the Iron Throne is \u0416\u0435\u043b\u0435\u0301\u0437\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u0442\u0440\u043e\u043d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As far as I can tell, Winterfell did not get the poetic treatment of Invernalia <\/em>(its Spanish name) and simply got transliterated as \u0412\u0438\u043d\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0444\u0435\u0301\u043b\u043b<\/strong>. However, other names were adapted, for instance:<\/p>\n