Note to French-speaking readers: If you find other mistranslations in the French version of the game, please feel free to add your part to this thread. (Same thing if you find mistakes in my own report.) I will try to keep this post up to date with any new finds/updates.
Now, an explanatory introduction as to why make an attempt at a comprehensive list of current mistranslations :
Given the sheer text size the game has (and, I suppose, the lack of in-game & historical contexts the translators must work with), it is normal to expect a few goofy mistakes here and there. The French localisation has carried a few of those for some time now, plus a few other mistranslations that are more critical in nature and actually are a hindrance to the game’s accessibility.
With a new patch coming soon, I thought it was due time all the community we could find, in the hope that someone may fix it before the game’s support ends once and for all. (I doubt there’s even half a day’s work even for an intern in all this. It’s a simple search-and-replace work in the game’s French localisation file (Except for the case of armor/resistance details formulas))
Where relevant, I added the string IDs to better reference the actual stringtables the game uses (although a simpler “search-and-replace” of the lines will work even better for most of what I found IMO).
I also had a pass over the Baltic Beta content, but this report taking so long to actually put together in a comprehensive and well-organised manner (I’ve been at it since the beginning of this week), the Beta is now over and the Beta forum is closed. I still included my notes in the hopes someone will correct it before its official release, because the French translation of the Baltic Beta content is worse than the rest of the game by a long mile. At the very least, it clearly was neither done nor proofread by a native speaker and it shows. (Most probably done by AI, I suppose).
I must stress this : some errors are simple mistakes that a native speaker can easily overlook or chuckle at ; others simply do not make any sense … There are also some inconsistencies with how the game’s terms were previously translated, which throws a bit of unnecessary confusion into the mix.
I am only one man though, and if I do find some measure of enjoyment in affairs pertaining to linguistics, I am by no means a professional translator.
GAME INFORMATION
- GAME BUILD v. 100.19.17293.0 P1 (also Batlic Beta Builds)
- GAME PLATFORM: Steam / Microsoft Store
- OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 10
FREQUENCY OF ISSUE
- 100% of the time / matches I play (ALWAYS)
REPRODUCTION STEPS
-
Launch the game in French.
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Read (duh ^^)
ISSUE EXPERIENCED. (with corrections & alternative propositions where applicable)
Hindu Villager (63145 & 63146 (scenario editor name))
Is translated as “Village Hindou” which means… “Hindu Settlement”! It should read “Villageois Hindou” instead. Already reported here by user SobeKKh)
Mexican Mint shipment name (112256)
Translated as “Menthe mexicaine”… which means “mexican mint” as in the plant/flavor. It should read “Monnaie Mexicaine” (or alternatively “Frappe de monnaie mexicaine”, or “Devise mexicaine”). (Probably a translation done without any added context to help choose the accurate French equivalent.)
Frontier Post Wagon (112692 and 112693 (scenario editor name))
Incorrectly translated as “chariot postal frontalier”, as in “postal service”, and not as in “forward base or station”. An equally literal yet less inaccurate translation would be “Chariot de poste frontalier”. I would personally advocate for “Chariot d’installation frontalière”. (A professional translator would perhaps craft an even more elegant translation.)
Post Wagon (several instances/uses)
Same as above, translated as “Chariot Postal”, which instead means “postal wagon” (as in postal service). A simple literal translation “Chariot de poste” works slightly better; but maintains some level of confusion with the “postal service” sense.
Every instance of “Hand cavalry armed with cold steel” (22947 65883 65891)
Incorrectly translated as “Cavalerie de mêlée armée d’acier à froid”… which is a non-existant expression in French! A correct translation/expression does exist though, and is “Cavalerie de mêlée équipée d’une arme blanche”, “arme blanche” being the French equivalent of “cold weapon” and “cold steel”. (Additionally, “acier à froid” relates more to terms from modern engineering akin to “cold-formed-steel” which is something entirely different; ^^)
Ordinance Pikeman, Ordinance Fusilier and Ordinance Besteiro (every instances)
(Respectively) incorrectly translated as “Ordonnance Piquier”, “Ordonnance Fusilier” and “Ordonnance Besteiro” which makes no sense in French. (Many, many instances for techs, names; shipments and descriptions.)
The actual traduction for “Ordinance [Unit]” is “[Unité] d’Ordonnance”, so they should read “Piquier d’Ordonnance” “Fusilier d’Ordonnance” and “Besteiro d’Ordonnance” (Plural for shipment names/descriptions: “Piquiers d’Ordonnance”, “Fusiliers d’Ordonnance”, “Besteiros d’Ordonnance”).
(See practical example (ironically) on the French wikipedia page about Portugal (search for “troupes d’ordonnances”) ).
War Wagon description (24080)
Translation originates from an apparent confusion over the actual meaning of “horse-drawn”. “tiré à cheval” should instead read “tiré par un cheval” (actual translation of “horse-drawn” ; “tiré à cheval” instead means “shot from horseback” or “pulled from horseback”, as in the one doing the pulling is someone riding the horse, not the horse itself.)
“Prussian Needle Gun” upgrade name (23831)
Should read “Fusils à aiguille prussiens” instead of “Fusil prusse à aguille” which contains several mistakes in so few words:
- country noun (Prussia) instead of the actual Demonym adjective (Prussian)
- improper word order
- (for some reason) singular instead of plural as in the original text, while using plural in French is actually correct here.
Prussian Needle Gun upgrade description (126743)
Tense error : past participle usage confused with actual past tense. Text should say “Attaque, points de vie et cadence de tir des bellicistes allemands considérablement augmentés.” (Instead of its current text which actually means “the attack […] has greatly increased”, as if the tech had already been completed.)
Also, it has one of the several instances of the incorrect translation of “skirmisher” as the made-up word “escarmoucheur” (see last entry of this list).
Every instance of the text “Fattening Food source”
(Many instances: certain livestock descriptions, livestock shipment descriptions, etc.)
Mistranslated as “Source de nourriture d’engraissement” which makes absolutely no sense in French. (Literally “Source of ‘Food of fattening’ “ !). A more informed translation could be “Source de nourriture qui s’engraisse”.
English is often elegantly concise, something French crumbles under most of the time with too literal translations (the bane of quality translations).
Advanced Estates shipment description (24664)
Inconsistent with the building name, and with the name of the associated wagon unit (i.e. estate & estate wagon respectively : “domaine”, “chariot de domaine”). Currently reads “Envoie un chariot de propriété” but should read “Envoie un chariot de domaine”. This correct translation (“chariot de domaine”) is even found in the details below the main text!
Several instances of Travois unit names (see details)
“[Building name] travois” incorrectly translated as “Travois du [building name]” several times, which is an incorrect syntax and should instead read “Travois de [building name]. Instances:
- Market Travois “Travois de marché” (125509, 125510),
- Dock Travois “Travois de port” (125511, 125512) Corral Travois “Travois de corral” (125515, 125516),
- Estate Travois “Travois de domaine” (125517, 125518).
The wagon versions are correctly translated, except for two instances (see next entry).
“Niger River” map, both long and short description (105031, 105032)
Incorrect translation of “Town Center wagon”. They should read “travois de centre-ville” instead of “travois du centre-ville”. (The actual wagon unit is properly translated.)
French/English mix-ups & other botched texts in Resitance modifying shipments/upgrades details
Several instances of the “description details” related to modifying armor/resistance types are botched and use a mix of inconsistent French and English, even incoherent/nonsensical sentences/word orders at times (line 101115 for example).
Example 1: Cult of Coatlicue (Aztec Shipment) : uses “Siege” in English, uses a nonsensical formulation, etc. See next example for more details.
Example 2: Somali Oryx Hide Shields (Somali Native tech description details). I tried to use color codes to link relevant remarks to the relevant texts in both English and French, but it is all so … complex with how it doesn’t work that it is hard to report everything clearly with due concision.
Unfortunatly it is a combination of how the formulas that build these sentences are built into the code + how the individual terms were translated (… for those that actually are translated). I have no idea how far this extends to other similar formulas used by the game. (But that’s kinda not my job.)
The concise simplicity English inherently possesses, allows for some clever “adaptative” formulations like resistance changes descriptions (Adds [number] to [resistance type] Armor). Sadly French is more “bulky” and cannot adapt to literal translations (cannot drop articles before nouns, non-proper nouns are gendered, etc.).
Then again, if at least, the terms related to the same concept were translated with the exact same expression every time it were used, it would already greatly relieve all current confusion.
Elegant sandals treasure needing plural (102110)
The treasure description is fine, but the text posted in chat when picking it up has a grammar error :
octroyer should instead be in plural form (its subject is “elegant sandals” and not “a pair of” like in the initial description. It should then read “a découvert d’élégantes sandales en cuir qui lui octroient” (instead of “octroie” as is currently the case).
Incorrect translations of “native settlement“ in map descriptions, called “colonies“ & “encampments“ (Every instance of map description with natives present)
Probably due to lack of context when translating.
Maps from the African DLC onward translate the “Settlements: [List of Natives present on the map]” part of any map description with the term “Colonies”, which literaly means “colony” (like the player’s settlement is called).
It is ONE of the possible translations for settlement. However it is, quite obviously, very contrary to their very nature to describe native settlements as “colonies”. (They literaly are the ones getting colonized ^^') Even the Royal Houses in Europe are called “colonies”. Like the Bourbon in France. 
Further, the initial translation for the term (from the Legacy game), is also wrong. Translated as “campement”, meaning “encampment”. However, it is completly inappropriate since most of these natives do not live in encampments (maya, zapotecs, quechua, jesuits, shaolin & sohei monks, bhakit, udasi, sufi…).
A simple fix would be to use a more neutral term like “Locaux” (as in “locals”, since “natives” do not really apply to Jesuits). Simple, straight to the point. (“Villages” (same as English) would’ve worked if not for the Asian temples, the Jesuit missions, and the Royal Houses (being manors/palaces), etc.).
Same as with the rest, a professional translator could perhaps get more elegant replacements.
And most important of all :
Indiscriminate and inconsistent usage of 3 different terms to translate the single “Skirmisher“ term
This one is so much more complex in its core issue and its possible resolutions (multiple possibilites, underlying linguistic subtelties, etc) that I felt it required an independant thread for itself.
Accessibility: confusing & inconsistent French translations for "Skirmisher"
And now the bigger Order Elephant in the room :
Baltic Beta Mistranslations & other errors
General Baltic Beta texts:
Further “Skirmisher” translation inconsistencies.
Every instance of the “Skirmisher” name has been translated as “Escarmoucheur” which is a “less apt” word to refer to the unit French. The actual current translation canon of the game would have it translated as “belliciste”, but it would better be entirely replaced by “Tirailleur”. See this previously mentioned thread.
All instances :
“Göinge Rifles” description (126955); “Ski troopers” upgrade description (130123) ; “Kozienice Rifles” description (130232 ; error appears twice in the same line) ; dane version of the “Snaplock” shipment description (130253) ; “Vistula Legion” description (130521) ; “Ducal Army” description (130525) ; “Kosciuszko Uprising” description (130523) ; “Order Elephant” unit description (130642) ; “Bolt-Action Rifles“ description (130983).
Native settlement displaying upgraded unit names & native units not updating their names when updated
Possibly a referencing error accross all languages. When upgrading a native unit, its settlement will update its name to the name of the upgraded unit, while the unit’s name doesn’t change. Seems not all natives are affected (Totenkopf Hussars from the Havoner Royal House were properly labeled as “Imperial”) but I didn’t get enough time to check every native.
Noticed this problem occur with Holcan Mayas, Zapotecs, House of Stuart.
An example here with Zapotecs:
Native settlement displayed the champion warrior name as its own, but the unit itself… doesn’t:
Polish misc.:
Faction description (130101): Currently says “Les folwarks peuvent entraîner des unités militaires et remplacer les moulins et enclos à bétail.” But the English text can be interpreted with to distinct tense/ conjugation of the verb “replace”, and the 2nd seems the better one: “Les folwarks peuvent entraîner des unités militaires et remplacent les moulins et enclos à bétail.”
(The former/current lets some confusion remain as to wether the Poles have access to Mills and Livestock pens in addition to Folwarks.)
Polish unit & building descriptions :
- The winged hussar’s description (122106) still states he is French instead of Polish (!). It is all the more strange that the English version clearly says “Polish”. (This issue dates back to the addition of the House of Vasa and has already been reported here by user Stark22e). See for yourselves :
English : Fast heavy Polish elite cavalryman with extra attack range and a powerful Winged lance charge.
French : Cavalier lourd d’élite français rapide qui possède une attaque à distance supplémentaire et une puissante charge de lancier ailé.
- Piechur (130171) and Retainer (130183) descriptions lack dots before the “Efficace” in uppercase. Compare with the original texts :
Piechur: Versatile Rifleman. Good against all infantry. / Fusilier polyvalent Efficace contre toutes les unités d’infanterie.
Retainer: Quick, Affordable Hand Cavalry. Good against other Cavalry. / Cavalerie de mêlée rapide et abordable Efficace contre les autres unités de cavalerie.
- Military Folwark : lacks a proper description text, and instead shows the description text for the military folwark upgrade displayed on the base folwark. (Also present in English.)
Polish Shipments :
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Rzeczpospolita description (130831). A too literal translation of the English syntax that makes no sense in French. “pour tous les 2 bâtiments” should instead read “pour chaque paire de bâtiments” (literally “for every pair of buildings”).
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4 pigs + 1 Homestead Wagon description. Same mistranslation of “Fattening food source” as reported in the main, non-Beta content, list.
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“Advanced Folwarks” description (130816) incorrectly translated. “+1 Homestead Wagon” should read “+1 chariot de fermage” and not “+1 chariot propriété”. Grammar error (missing the “de” of “chariot de [chariot type]”) + breaks consistency with all previous translations of “Homestead Wagon” (see the “Livre 1 chariot de fermage” just below that very sentence !).
Not to mention it additionally can be confused with the (also wrong) translation of “estate wagon” in this current version of the game. (Reported above in the main list of non-beta content).
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“Agrarian Reforms” description (130351) has the same issue as Advanced Folwarks, and reads “+1 chariot propriété” when it should read “+1 chariot de fermage”.
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Royal Union description (130280) needs a consistent use of plurals to have a correct syntax and grammar :
“Envoie 1 ambassade royale par laquelle la maison de Jagellon et Vasa octroie l’accès à certaines de ses unités et technologies.” should instead read :
“Envoie 1 ambassade royale par laquelle les maisons de Jagellon et Vasa octroient l’accès à certaines de leurs unités et technologies.”
(It is possible the original English text actually already has errors in it.) -
Kusznicy (130835) & Kosynierzy (130837) descriptions incorrectly translate “for every 3 buildings” as “pour chaque 3 bâtiments” which quite simply makes no sense in French. It should read “pour chaque groupe de 3 bâtiments”. Compare with the already existing translation of (by example) “Ritual Gladiators” shipment description, which correctly translates “Ships 1 Skull Knight for each 3 you have lost so far” as “Envoie 1 chevalier Crâne pour chaque groupe de 3 perdu jusqu’à présent”.
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“15 pigs + 1 Homestead Wagon” description. Same mistranslation of “Fattening food source” as reported in the main, non-Beta content, list.(Most likely sharing the same text line anyway.)
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Leiciai description (130300). Slight error : should read “l’amélioration de garde” and not “l’amélioration garde” (which also maintains consistency with how it was previously translated, for example with the Age IV politicians that allow guard upgrades at reduced costs for archaic units).
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Szlachta description (130390). The formulation is off and obtuse, regarding the cost of vassals. “Les vassaux possèdent désormais un coût en pièces plutôt qu’en bois”. This strange reformulation is all the more confusing since, for once, the literal translation of the English version is both correct and significantly more clear : “Les vassaux coûtent désormais des pièces plutôt que du bois.”
Polish Politicians :
- Logistician description (130775). Slight error : “spécialisations de folwark” and should instead read either “spécialisations du folkwark” or “spécialisations des folwarks”. Both of these can be considered correct (although the 2nd one seems to me the better of the 2).
Cossack Revolt :
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Revolt description (130401) : grammar error in “Les haïdamaks, qui peuvent descendre de cheval et contrer l’infanterie, remplace les arbalétriers et les vassaux.” verb should be plural and the sentence should read : “Les haïdamaks, qui peuvent descendre de cheval et contrer l’infanterie, remplacent les arbalétriers et les vassaux.”
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“Sich” noun incorrectly translated as “Sich” while the proper French translation is “Sitch”, but oher variants exist such as “setch” & “sietch” (see the French wiktionary Sitch article). “Zaporozhian Sich” shipment title is the only instance where it is written properly. (Fun fact: the “t” is necessary to keep the original “tsh” sound. Withouh it, “sich” would be read in French as “sish” is in English.)
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“Zaporozhian Sich” shipment description (130444). Incorrect translation of “garrison attack” as “garnison d’attaque” (meaning “Attack garrison”). It should instead read “attaque de garnison”.
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Cossack Tabor unit description (130422). The term “Cavalerie de chariot” should at least be called “Chariot de cavalerie”, but a less literal & more apt translation would be “chariot de combat” (“combat wagon”, avoids confusion with the german “war wagon”/”chariot de guerre”).
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Sich building: lacks a proper description text, and instead shows the description text for the sich upgrade displayed on the base folwark (same issue as military folwark) (+ Wrong noun translation, see above.)
Livonia Revolt :
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“Half-Brothers” (130483) shipment description. Inconsistency “infanterie à distance lourde” has previously always been translated in the order “infanterie lourde à distance”, which is also a (slightly) more appropriate formulation.
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“Riga Blackheads” (130494) shipment description. “chariot banque” is a too literal translation of “bank chariot” that makes no sense in French, and should read “chariot de banque” instead.
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“Knight Brother” unit description incorrectly states that the unit deals area damage with all attacks (it actually only does so with charged attacks). This errors also exists in the English version (and hence, probably in every other language).
Polish Duchy Revolt :
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Main description (130500). A too literal translation of the English version that is unclear as the French language doesn’t handle so much concision that well. It also seems the translation isn’t aware of the special meaning the “Guard” term has in this game’s context.
A better translation (based on the original text) could read “Votre armée est transforme en unités modernes européennes standards, améliorées en garde.” An actual professional translator could probably come up with a more elegant translation. -
“November Uprising” shipment title (126893) incorrectly and too literally translated as “Soulèvement de Novembre”. This historical event is actually called “Insurrection de Novembre” (proper noun). See for yourselves : Insurrection de Novembre — Wikipédia
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“Kosciuszko Uprising” shipment title (126891) also incorrectly and too literally translated as “Soulèvement de Kosciuszko”. This historical event is actually called “Insurrection de Kosciuszko” (proper noun). See for yourselves : Insurrection de Kościuszko — Wikipédia
Danish Misc.:
Several incorrect translations of the expression “Order [unit]”… that manage to be wrong twice, but each time in a different fashion. (Correct translation format is “[unité] de l’Ordre”.
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“Dannebrog Order” shipment description (130346) : should say “+4 Hospitaliers de l’Ordre” instead of “+4 ordre hospitalier” which is a word-for-word translation that simply does not work in French (and lacks plural).
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“Order Hospitaller” unit name (130347) : should say “Hospitalier de l’Ordre” instead of “Ordre Hospitalier” (same as above)
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“Order of the Elephant” shipment name (126936) should say “Ordre de l’Éléphant” instead of “Ordre d’Éléphant” (which is as incorrect as saying “Order of Elephant”)
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“Order of the Elephant” shipment description (130347): should say “+4 Éléphants de l’Ordre” instead of “+4 ordre de l’éléphant” which means… “+4 Order of the Elephant” (yes, without plural).
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“Order Elephant” unit name (130349): should say “Éléphant de l’Ordre” instead of “Ordre de l’Éléphant (same as above).
Faction description text (130100) is very… off. The meaning comes across alright, but all the formulation details are unnatural (probably because it is translated almost word-for-word which… well, doesn’t work). Here are some personal propositions for improvement (again, I am no professional translator though):
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“ne peuvent pas se révolter.” Tense error : should read “ne peut pas se révolter” to remain consistent with following singular-conjugated verb (“Starts”/”Commence”)
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“possédait la domination navale et le contrôle territorial, façonnant” could be more subtly translated as “utilisait son contrôle des mers et des territoires pour influencer”
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“dans l’Europe du Nord” slightly better formulation “en Europe du Nord” in this context
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“sa stature” is more aptly and directly translated as “son importance”
Danish Unit & Buildings:
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Round Church (130195). Same as “Zaporozhian Sich”, incorrectly translated “garrison attack” as “garnison d’attaque” (meaning "attack/offensive garrison), it should instead read “attaque de garnison”.
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Order Hospitaller, should be called “Hospitalier de l’Ordre” as reported in Misc. category
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Order Elephant, should be called “Éléphant de l’Ordre” as reported in Misc. category
Danish Shipments:
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4 pigs + 1 Homestead Wagon description. Same mistranslation of “Fattening food source” as reported in the non-Beta list.
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“Agrarian Reforms” description (130351) has the same issue as Advanced Folwarks, and reads “+1 chariot propriété” when it should read “+1 chariot de fermage”.
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Lockbow (title 130200 & description 130208) : the term used in French seems to be written more as “Arbalètes à verrou” rather than “Arbalètes à verrouillage”.
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Dannebrog Order description, as reported in Misc. category
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Elephant Order name & description, as reported in Misc. category
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Tin Soldiers : sufffers from the armor modifiers detail issues reported in the main non-beta list
New Natives
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“Qimmiit inuit” tech description (130818): should say “l’entraînement des huskies” instead of “l’entraînement husky” (correct syntax, in this context, requires article and plural)
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“Lowlander” (all instances: 130623 130624 130608 130608 & 130616) should simply read “Lowlander” in French as well and not “Habitant des plaines”. While factually correct for any other lowland region, in this very precise scottish context, it is a proper noun, and the French language also uses the English proper noun “Lowlander” to designate people from the scottish Lowlands, as it also does for “Highlands” and “Highlander” (which is itself rightfully translated as such in game). See for yourselves : Lowlander — Wiktionnaire, le dictionnaire libre
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“Lowland Dragoon” (all instances: 130621 130622 130607 130611 & 130615), same reason as just above, should read “Dragon des Lowlands” (lit. “Dragoon from the (i.e. Scottish) Lowlands”) and not “Dragon des Plaines”, which means… “Plains Dragoon” (!), completely losing the correct meaning.
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“Sámi of the Sea” tech description (130660): should read “+1 travois de port” instead of “+1 travois du port” (incorrect syntax in this context).
Prussia revolt:
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Main description (130952): a more context-informed translation of “Votre armée est améliorée pour des unités de garde européenne standard modernes.” would be “Votre armée est transforme en unités modernes européennes standards, améliorées en garde.” … At least change the “améliorée pour” to “améliorée en” which is the proper formulation.
(Funnily enough, the English text is the same for both Prussia and Duchy of Warsaw Revolts… but the French versions are translated differently twice, and twice in that strange, convoluted manner.) -
Barricade Wagon seems to use the same incorrectly translated description the Cossack Tabor has (130422), as reported in the Cossack Revolt section.
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“Freikorps” unit name should actually be different from the tech name (currently both use line ID 130972). This goes beyond French language actually. The military group (tech name), in German and French, has a specific name (Freikorps/Corps Franc) which are correctly used… but the individual member (unit name) goes by a different noun: German Freikorpsmann (plural Freikorpsmänner; literally Freikorpsman/Freikorpsmen), French Franc-Tireur (plural Francs-Tireurs, both words with s’s). See for yourselves: German wiktionary Freikorpsmann article, French wiktionary Franc-Tireur article, and CNTRL franc-tireur article (It is exactly like saying “Militia” instead of “Militiaman”, which the original game correctly differentiates.)
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“March Revolutionary” (130999) incorrectly translated as “Révolution de Mars” (… meaning “March Revolution” !). Should instead say “Révolutionnaire de Mars”. Other instances of the name are actually correctly translated.
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“Hinterlader” (130984) has been translated from German to French in the French version, but was in German in the English/original version. Wasn’t its point to always be in German regardless of language? (“Bundestag” was not translated to French for instance.)
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Same question as above for “Hambacher Fest” (131006)
I sincerely hope this can help and shape a better translation for the French localisation.
I would like to additionally thank the devs for their hard work.
