Dreadful Denizens of the Deep
| Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China) | ||
| 低地深处的可怕动物 Dìdǐ shēnchù de kěpà dòngwù |
低地
dìdǐ = 'bottom of the earth'. 深处 shēnchù = 'deep place'. 的 de = connecting particle 可怕 kěpà = 'terrible'. 动物 dòngwù = 'animal'. |
Terrible animals of the depths of the bottom of the earth |
| Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan) | ||
| 海洋中的可怕居民 Hǎiyáng-zhōng de kěpà jūmín |
海洋中
hǎiyáng-zhōng = 'in the ocean'. 的 de = connecting particle 可怕 kěpà = 'terrible, frightful'. 居民 jūmín = 'resident, inhabitant, denizen'. |
Terrible inhabitants of the oceans |
| Japanese | ||
| 深い水底の不可解な住人 Fukai minasoko no fukakai na jūmin |
深い
fukai = 'deep'. 水底 minasoko = 'bottom of the water'. の no = connecting particle 不可解な fukakai na = 'mysterious'. 住人 jūmin = 'resident, inhabitant'. |
Mysterious inhabitants of the deep water bottom |
| Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology) | ||
| Những Cư Dân Khủng Khiếp Dưới Đáy Sâu | những = plural marker cư dân (居民) = 'resident, inhabitant, denizen'. khủng khiếp (恐怯) = 'terrible, frightful'. dưới = 'under, down in, down at'. đáy = 'bottom'. sâu = 'deep'. |
Terrible inhabitants of the deep bottom |
| Mongolian (new) | ||
| Тэнгисийн гүн дэх аймшигтай амьтад Tengisiin gün dekh aimshigtai am'tad |
Terrible Animals in the Depths of the Sea | |
'Denizens of the Deep':
'Denizens' and 'deep' present slight problems here.
'Denizen' generally means 'inhabitant, resident', but in phrases like 'denizens of the forest' or 'denizens of the air' it refers to the animals or birds that live in these places. Three of the translators go with the meaning 'inhabitant'; the Mainland Chinese translator uses the word 'animal'.
'The deep' is a conventional phrase referring to the oceans in general, carrying associations of dark depths. The Taiwanese translation, 'in the oceans', is mundane but accurate. The Japanese version captures the meaning of deep ocean bottoms. The Vietnamese translations uses an expression directly referring to the depths. The Mainland translation mistakenly translates 'the deep' as 'depths of the earth'.
'Dreadful':
'Dreadful' is rendered correctly in the Chinese, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese versions with words meaning 'terrible'. The Japanese translator has substituted 'mysterious' for 'terrible'.
Note that the Vietnamese word khủng khiếp 'terrible, frightful' would be 恐怯 if written in Chinese characters. This is another case, however, where Chinese elements have been used to create a purely Vietnamese word. 恐怯 does not occur in Chinese.
Category: Magical Creatures
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