!Dark Souls 2 & 3 translation stuff readme.md

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Dark Souls 2 translation stuff.txt

Source: http://pastebin.com/gy6v34YE by HccvJPE8Dk

FIRST OF ALL
I'm NOT setting out to make better translations here.. I'm CLARIFYING the meanings and nuances behind the original text. If you say "but the official translations sounds better" you're a dumbfuck missing the fucking point. If you say "but you can interpret the official translation to mean the same thing" you're again missing the fucking point. If they mean the same thing that's confirmation. If it's not then well there's something wrong with the official translation. Either way I'm not fucking setting out to make a better translation. I'm just clarifying stuff. I'm explaining what things mean. I'm NOT looking for the right wording to convey nuances. That's not my fucking job, that's the actual translators' job. I'm just EXPLAINING what the nuances mean. 

NOTE: If you plan on saying something objectively inanely stupid (further note: You might think you're being clever. You're not.) then read the afterword at the bottom of the doc before doing so.

Edit: Also it's been brought to my attention that some asshole chucklefucks on Fextralife are claiming credit for this (http://fextralife.com/forums/t38768/vaatividyas-dark-souls-2-lore--found-in-translation-video/). I don't go to that site and they can go fuck themselves.

==========================================================================================

DARK SOULS 2 TRANSLATION ISSUES

==========================================================================================

-

*THE OLD IRON KING

Iron King Hammer item description, English:
    "Great hammer forged from the soul of the Old Iron King.
    The tip is formed of molten rock.
    The corpse of the Old Iron King became the vessel that bred Ichorous Earth. The heavy rock tip is formed of cooled magma, with a still-smoldering core."  

Japanese:
    鉄の古王のソウルから生み出された大槌
    先端の岩は熔けた土が凝縮されたものである
    熔けた土となった何かは
    鉄の古王の亡骸を憑代にその身を得た
    土は冷えて固まり、硬い巨石となったいまも
    その内に熱を帯びている

    A great hammer born from the soul of the Old Iron King.
    The rock at the end is the condensed form of molten earth.
    The thing that became molten earth gained a body by possessing the corpse of the Old Iron King.
    Though the earth has now turned to cold, hard rock, it still hides heat within it.

1) The English version implies there's some sort of being named "Ichorous Earth". There's no such implication in the Japanese version; "Molten earth" is a description.
2) The hammer isn't forged (implying actually made) from the soul but born (implying supernatural shit) from it.
3) The use of "molten earth" in the two spots suggests that the boss you fought was ITSELF transformed into the fucking weapon.
4) The last line in English just says it's magma with a hot core, while the Japanese version implies, once again, supernatural shit.


Shalquoir (whose name in Japanese is closer to "Shalagore", incidentally) dialogue:
English:
    It reminds me of someone who lived long ago. A vainglorious liar who ended up hurling himself into the flames. Now he's Ichorous Earth, if I'm not mistaken."
Japanese:
    そういえば、昔もそんなのがいたわ。見栄っ張りの嘘つきで、最後は自分を火の中に放り込んだ。確かそうね、今は“熔けた土”になってるはずよ。
    There was once a man just like that. A show-off and a liar, in the end he threw himself into the flames. Now he's become... what, was it, ah yes, "molten earth".  


Crown of the Iron King (item)
English:
    The King sunk below the scorching iron, met the one whose name must never be repeated, and became Ichorous Earth. 
Japanese:
    王は鉄に沈んだ後、名を禁じられた者と出会い、溶けた土となった
    After he sank into the iron, the king met one whose name is forbidden, and became molten earth. 


Old king's soul.
English:
    Soul of the ineffable.
Japanese:
    名を禁じられた者のソウル
    Soul of one whose name is forbidden.


Note that in Japanese, both "the ineffable" and "the one whose name must never be repeated" are actually the same phrase,  名を禁じられた者. Obvious Voldemort jokes aside, while "ineffable" suggests that the name must not be repeated because it's too great for human lips (also see: Life of Brian), "名を禁じられた者" could also suggest that it's the king himself (and in the cases of the other souls the dragon, and the witch, and that other one) who did something wrong and that his name was stricken from history as a result. 

-

*BOSS NAMES

The literal translations are to clarify what the original text was, not suggestions for alternate translations (every time I do something like this some retard starts yelling "hurrr but duh english names is better ur translations a shit". Way to miss the entire fucking point.

English name/Japanese name/Literal translation/English name translated back to Japanese/Notes (if any) 

The Last Giant 	最後の巨人 	The Last Giant 	
	
The Pursuer 	呪縛者 	Cursed One 	追跡者 	
"Jubaku" implies being enthralled or controlled, anyway binded in some way, by the curse. 者 indicates that it is in fact a person and not an empty suit of armour or something like the Empty Guardians/Ruin Sentinels. 

Dragonrider 	竜騎兵 	Dragonrider 	
	
Old Dragonslayer 	古い竜狩り 	Old Dragonslayer 	
	
Flexile Sentry 	流罪の執行者 	Executor of Exile 	柔軟たる衛兵 	T
his guy isn't a guard, he's the guy in charge of sending hollows into exile. Due to how close "flexile" and "exile" are, the former could be a typo or spellcheck error.

Ruin Sentinels 	虚ろの衛兵 	Empty Guardians 	廃墟の衛兵 	
Empty because they're empty suits of armour. The actual word used is closer to "hollow" but I refrained from translating it to that because of the use of the word in the English version (in Japanese the "hollows" are actually 亡者/mouja, which are the wandering lost spirits of the dead in Buddhism)

The Lost Sinner 	忘れられた罪人 	The Forgotten Sinner 	失われし罪人 	
People keep speculating about what "Lost" means, coming up with ridiculous explanations. It means forgotten. That's it.

Belfry Gargoyles 	鐘守のガーゴイル 	Bell Guardian Gargoyles 	鐘楼のガーゴイル 	

Skeleton Lords 	スケルトンの王 	Skeleton Kings 	
	
Executioner's Chariot 	刑吏のチャリオット 	Executioner's Chariot 	
	Could also be "Executioner Chariot" which would mean the chariot itself is the executioner.

Covetous Demon 	貪りデーモン 	Gluttonous Demon 	強欲なデーモン 	
Covetous implies just wanting something, while the nuance of "musabori" is gobbling stuff down like a pig.

Mytha, the Baneful Queen 	毒の妃ミダ 	Queen of Poison Mida 	災いの女王ミサ 	
That's pronounced "Me-dah". Which is nothing like Mytha.

Smelter Demon 	熔鉄デーモン 	Molten Steel Demon 	製錬のデーモン 	

Old Iron King 	鉄の古王 	Old King of Iron 	古鉄王 	Some people say he's the [king] of [old iron]. 
Nope. He's the [old king] of [iron]. Also "old" isn't old as in aged, but old as in "ancient".

Scorpioness Najka 	蠍のナジカ 	Nazika the Scorpion 	雌蠍のナジカ 	

Royal Rat Authority 	ネズミの王の試練 	The Rat King's Test 	ネズミの王位官憲 	
Because the thing is a test. From the rat king. What the hell is a rat authority?

Royal Rat Vanguard 	ネズミの王の尖兵 	Rat King's Vanguard 	
	
Prowling Magus & Congregation 	彷徨い術士と信心者たち 	Wandering Magus and Followers 	
	"Jutsushi" (translated to Magus) has a slight cult-ish nuance to it. Don't have any suggestions for a better translation.

The Duke's Dear Freja 	公のフレイディア 	The Duke's Freydia 	公爵の愛しいフレイヤ 	

The Rotten 	腐れ 	Rot 	腐った者 	

Looking Glass Knight 	鏡の騎士 	Mirror Knight 	姿見の騎士 	

Velstadt, the Royal Aegis 	王盾ヴェルスタッド 	King's Shield Velstadt 	
	Just want to say that I really like "Royal Aegis".

Vendrick 	ヴァンクラッド 	Vanclad 	ヴェンドリック 	Name is totally different for some reason. Similar case with Benhart whose name in Japanese is more like "Banholt/Vanholt".

Darklurker 	闇潜み 	Lurker in the Dark 	
	
Demon of Song 	唄うデーモン 	Singing Demon 	歌のデーモン 	

Guardian Dragon 	護り竜 	Guardian Dragon 	
	
Ancient Dragon 	古の竜 	Ancient Dragon 	
	
Giant Lord 	巨人の王 	Giant King 	
	
Throne Defender 	玉座の守護者 	Defender of the Throne 	
	
Throne Watcher 	玉座の監視者 	Watcher over the Throne 
Not part of the name but FYI there are no indications to the watcher's gender anywhere in the game (i.e. in the watcher gear item descriptions)	
	
Nashandra 	デュナシャンドラ 	Dunashandra 	ナシャンドラ 	
There's an entire syllable missing from her name for no apparent reason. Inconsequential but it's really jarring for someone playing the game in Japanese; Since it's just a missing syllable and not the name completely different like Vendrick/Vanclad, I kept getting the feeling that my ears were missing a syllable over and over again.

Elana, the Squalid Queen 	穢れのエレナ 	Elena of the Filth 	卑しき女王エラーナ 	
"Kegare" (which I translated to "filth") has some special connotations in Japanese (Shintoism); It's not just a physical thing like dirt, but can also be used to refer to a stain on the reputation or even soul. It's a much more fundamental thing than just being dirty. EDIT (Dec 2014): So apparently there's an English wikipedia article on kegare, fancy that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kegare Not all that informative but better than nothing I guess.

Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon 	眠り竜シン 	Sleeping Dragon Sin 	
	Sin/Sinh/Shin/Shinh whatever

Fume Knight 	煙の騎士 	Knight of Smoke 	
	
Sir Alonne 	騎士アーロン 	Knight Arlon 	
	"Alonne" emphasises pronunciation on the "lonne" bit while the Japanese version has emphasis on the "Ah" bit (Are-lon). アーロン could also be "Aaron" but that's a pretty terrible name to use in Dark Souls. Might as well rename Vendrick/Vanclad to Robert or something. Also, it's worth noting that the naming scheme follows Artorius' in Dark Souls 1 (Kishi=Knight Whatever). All instances of this have kishi changed to "Sir" which makes far more sense in the English language. I'm not entirely sure on this, but AFAIK Japanese commonly substitutes instances of knights being addressed as Sir Whatever to Kishi Whatever because there's no real equivalent of Sir in Japanese.

Nadalia, Bride of Ash 	煤のナドラ 	Nadra of the Soot 	灰の花嫁ナダリア 	
Not a boss but I figured I'd include her here.
She's also referred to as the "Bride of Soot" (煤の花嫁) in the description for her soul.
I personally like the name change because of, you know, the ash all over the place, but at the same time soot is black which is more in line with the whole child of darkness thing. (All the references to ash in this context like in the Ashen Idols are also soot in the Japanese version FYI)

-

*WRITHING RUINS

Freja/Freydia's soul, English:
    Soul of the Duke's loyal Freja, the Writhing Ruin's Keeper. The Writhing Ruin is an ancient thing whose shadow remains cast over the land. Tseldora is a place burdened by terrible misdeeds, and those who remained there were transformed beyond recognition.
Japanese:
    這う蟲の番人である公のフレイディアのソウル
    這う蟲とはこの地に業を振りまく古きものである
    ジェルドラは業の宿る地とも呼ばれ、
    そこに留まるものたちは異形へと姿を変えたという
    The soul of the guardian of the crawling mushi* (see below), the Duke's Freydia. The crawling mushi is an ancient thing that spread its sins over this land. Geldra is said to be a land where these sins lie, and all who stay in this place are transformed into grotesque monsters.

Okay, this bit's pretty hard to translate. First things first- "Tseldora" is "Geldra" (or Geldora/Jeldra/Jeldora) in Japanese. It's possible that the translator was working off a faulty script or something because it's clear that they thought it was ツェルドラ when it's actually ジェルドラ.

The "writhing ruin" is originally a "crawling mushi"; Both are vague descriptions and don't really matter, so the change is inconsequential. It should be noted that while frequently mistranslated to "insect" or "bug", in archaic Japanese "mushi" can refer any sort of animal, and while this is not usually the case in modern Japanese, it is in fact left over in the term 爬虫類/hachuurui (reptile). So this may or may not be suggesting that the thing we're talking about is a reptile. Also, lizards are reptiles. And dragons are sort of lizards. Just saying.

What I translated to "sins", and the official English translation describes as "a shadow cast over the land" and "misdeeds" is "gou", a word hard to translate to English. It's the Buddhist concept of karma, but also carries similar nuances to what "sins" does in English. I actually think the English version of the game does a really good job of rewriting the text so that it's completely different yet carries the same nuances here; There are a lot of bad translations in this game yet also a bunch of good ones; Looking in the credits reveals that there were five English script writers and three translation companies working on it so that probably explains the differences in the level of quality.

Shalquoir/Shalagore's line on this topic in English version is:

    Men develop the most peculiar fascinations. Sometimes their fascinations seem to take control. Till there's very little man left. Hee hee hee… Oh, it's like that awful traitor long ago. He coveted what he did not have, and it drove him mad. What a curious conundrum. Hee hee hee… The Writhing Ruin keeps searching as we speak. Searching for its heart's desire. 

And the Japanese text:

    人間って、変なものを好きになるわよね、何かに憑りつかれたみたいに
    それとも、憑りついてるのかしら　フフフッ
    あの、醜い裏切り者もそうだったわ
    他人のものが欲しくて欲しくて、しょうがなくて…
    滑稽なこと　フフフッ
    あの“這う蟲”は、今も探してるの。自分が欲しいものをね 

    Humans really do grow to like weird things, almost as if they're possessed. Or are they the ones doing the possessing? (Chuckle)
    That pathetic traitor was just the same. He wanted things that belonged to others so very, very hard... Truly hilarious (chuckle). That crawling mushi is searching, even now, for what he wants.

Clarifications first: "Possess" in both cases is as in a ghost possessing a person, not as in taking possession of something. Also my translation and the official one both use "he" but the original text has no reference to gender.

Biggest differences: The English translation has mention of "what he did not have" and "drove him mad" but that's not in the Japanese text. 

The English version clearly wants the players to think of Seath from Dark Souls 1, and while the general consensus among Japanese fans is that the "crawling mushi" is referring to him, the correlation is a lot less clear than in the English version. It has been pointed out though that he betrayed the dragons, so Shalagore calling him a traitor (especially with the nuances in her dialogue which has her seem to particularly hate him) doesn't seem to make sense. Unless cats are actually dragons.

-

*THE GIANTS

Giant Lord's soul
English:
    Soul of the Giant Lord, who once conquered Drangleic.
    The Giants landed on the northern shores, and set siege to King Vendrick's castle to claim an invaluable prize. 
Japanese:
    かつてドラングレイグを滅ぼした 巨人の王のソウル 　
    北の彼方から現れた巨人は ヴァンクラッドの居城を目指していた
    そこにあるものだけが目的であるかのように
    The soul of the king of the giants, who laid waste to Drangleig long ago.
    The giants, who came from the far north, sought out Vanclad's castle, as if their objective was solely what was there.

So yeah, he didn't "conquer" Drangleig. The giants didn't just land on the north shores, their home was to the north in the first place.

The "Giant's Kinship", English:
    Each king has his rightful throne.
    And when he sits upon it, he sees what he chooses to see.
    Or perhaps, it is the throne, which shows the king only what he wants. 

The Resonance with the Giants, Japanese:
    王たる者には、相応しい玉座がある
    そこから見えるものがなんであるのかは
    その座に相応しい者にしかわからない 　
    あるいは玉座とは、そこに座した者が望むものをみせるのだろうか
    There is a throne fitting for each king.
    The view from the throne is known only to the one who sits upon it.
    Or does the throne show he who sits upon it what they want to see?


I've seen people draw some pretty ridiculous conclusions from the use of the word "kinship", saying it makes the player an honorary giant or have giant blood or whatever the hell but that's a load of bullshit. The word is "resonance". That's it. 
I've also seen the "he sees what he chooses to see" interpreted as the throne of want being a magic device that lets the user remake the world as he sees fit. Once again, not in the original text.

-

*THE PURSUER

Ring of Blades description, English:
    The Ring of Blades is modeled after the mad knight of Alken's weapon of choice. Increases physical attack. The kingdoms of Alken and Venn long ago flourished on these very grounds. They were both founded by the same man, but were reduced to rivarly and spite.

 Blade Ring description, Japanese:
    アーケンの狂戦士として伝えられる
    アドガルズの得物を模した力の指輪
    装備者の物理攻撃力を高める
    かつてこの地にあったふたつの国、
    アーケンとヴェインは、その祖を同じくしながらも
    激しく憎しみあう関係にあった
    A ring of power modelled after the weapon of Adgars, known as the Mad Warrior of Arken. Increases the equipper's physical attack power. Two countries, Arken and Vane, once existed on these lands. Though they shared the same origins, they despised each other greatly.

  The countries aren't referred to as kingdoms and Adgars isn't referred to as a knight (also, I translated kyousenshi to "mad warrior" but in fantasy stuff it typically means "berserker"). Also the English version drops Adgars' name for some reason. The English versions of the names are also, as is common in this game, completely different from what the Japanese version seems to be trying to convey. And it's blade, singular; The ring is modelled after Adgars' sword. And because he isn't named in the English version people says Velstadt/Raim/Orstein/whoever are the mad knight of Alken NO IT'S SOME GUY NAMED ADGARS SO SHUT UP.

The Pursuer's soul, English:
    Soul of the Pursuer, who lurks in Drangleic. The Pursuer, who seeks the bearer of the sign, will not rest until his target is slain.

 The Cursed One's soul, Japanese:
    ドラングレイグの地を放浪する
    呪縛者のソウル
    刻印を持つ者を狩る名を与えられた呪縛者は
    今もその役目を果たし続ける
    The soul of a/the Cursed One who wanders the land of Drangleig.
    The Cursed One, who was ordered to hunt those who bear the mark, even now carries out his mission. 

  In Japanese it's unclear if the Cursed One is an individual or one of a group. Likewise, some details are gone- He isn't looking for the bearers of the mark of his own accord, but because he was ordered to do so. Once again, the sort of curse implied by "jubaku" is the sort that enthralls or binds a person, so it's possible that said curse is what drives him to go around hunting cursed undead. 

Pursuer's Ultra Greatsword, English:
    Ultra greatsword of the Pursuer. Known as the mightiest of the straight swords, it demands great strength and dexterity of its wielder. The Pursuer hunts down those branded by the curse, as if each Undead soul that he claims will atone one of his sins.

 Cursed One's Ultra Greatsword, Japanese:
    呪縛者の特大剣 直剣の中では最大級の威力を持ち その分、高い筋力と技量を要求される 　 呪縛者は刻印を持つ不死を屠り続けている 自らの負った罪を購うかのように
    Ultra greatsword of a/the Cursed One.
    Though it is a straight sword with top-level power, wielding it requires high strength and dexterity.
    The Cursed Ones(s) continuously hunt and kill the undead who bear the mark, as if to  atone for his/their own sins.

 Not much of a difference, aside from a bit of flourish. I really don't like the translation of tokudaiken to "ultra greatsword" (ULTRA? Seriously?) but can't think of anything better, myself. It's not said to be the "mightiest", just that it's among the best. The stuff about each undead soul is completely missing in the Japanese text.

Pursuer's Greatshield, English:
    Greatshield of the Pursuer.
    For those who can handle the weight of this
    shield, it offers resistance to curses.
    The Pursuer hunts down those branded by
    the curse, as if each Undead soul that he
    claims will atone one of his sins.

 Cursed One's Great Shield, English:
    呪縛者の大盾 その重量故に扱う者を選ぶ 呪いに対する耐性がある 　 呪縛者は刻印を持つ不死を屠り続けている 自らの負った罪を購うかのように
    Great Shield of a/the Cursed One.
    Few can wield it due to its weight.
    Has resistance to curses.
    The Cursed Ones(s) continuously hunt and kill the undead who bear the mark, as if to  atone for his/their own sins.

 So yeah, that's the Pursuer/Cursed One's stuff. I realise I may sound a bit of a dick saying this, but to be honest, the vibe I get off these translations (especially bits like "as if each Undead soul that he claims will atone one of his sins") is that they were done by somebody who wants to be a writer but doesn't have the talent to do so, and instead gets their kicks from rewriting stuff they're supposed to be translating. While I don't like that sort of stuff myself, many people do (remember how popular stuff translated by Working Designs were?) so eh.  But yeah, due to the nature of Japanese (don't ask me to explain, I'm not a linguist and don't know how to describe language shit), it's unclear if "Cursed One" is the title of an individual or a group, while the English version makes it clear that he's one guy. Also, the translation of the soul leaves out a very important detail- That he or they aren't doing this of their own accord, but because they were ordered to do so. That and they themselves are cursed in some way. 

-

*WITHOUT TRULY KNOWING WHY

I've seen people read in a lot into the Emerald Herald (Japanese: "Pilgrim clad in green" ) line "without truly knowing why". I just got the king's ring and in this case, at least, in Japanese it's "whether you wish it or not" (can't recall what the other instances of it were but they were probably the same).

-

*THE ANCIENT DRAGON

Shalquoir's dialogue on the ancient dragon, English:
    You'll find a great creature far to the east.
    A colossal thing, with the strength to match its size.
    Or something playing the part at least

Shalagore's dialogue on the ancient dragon, Japanese:

    東の果てに、そいつはいるわ
    大きな大きな者、そしてそれに相応しい強い力を持つ者
    それのまがい物がね
    It's there, far to the east.
    A big, big thing, with the power to match its size.
    Or at least an imitation of it.
    Open the door, and venture past, and you'll smell even better.

It's somewhat clear in English, but even clearer in Japanese; A magaimono is an imitation, a knockoff, a phony... whatever it is, it's not the real deal. So yeah, that ancient dragon isn't the real thing.

-

Edit: Cleared the Crown of the Old Iron King.

*BEWITCHED ALONNE SWORD

"Bewitched Alonne Sword"? What the fuck is going on with the grammar here? It seems like the item name was translated by someone who had no idea that Alonne/Arlon is supposed to be the character who owns the sword (judging from what I've heard of how game translation works, though, that was probably the case).

So yeah, it's supposed to be Alonne's Bewitched Sword. And I thought I'd elaborate on the "Bewitched Sword" bit a bit more because it doesn't really convey the nuances the Japanese word, youtou has.

The you (妖) in youtou (妖刀) is the same as in youkai or ayakashi (tou is simply katana which probably doesn't need explanation), and carries the nuances of "mysterious", "seductive" "creepy", "secretive" and "suspicious", amongst others. While "bewitched" does manage to convey some of the nuances, it may also be interpreted to simply mean a sword enchanted with magic, which isn't quite the case. Youtou is also occasionally translated to "cursed sword" which is also slightly wrong. In Japanese fiction, a youtou is typically a sword that (as according to Shintoistic beliefs) has gained sentience and a life of its own (possibly from being used to kill many people) and now seeks blood of its own accord, maybe even possessing its wielder and driving them to madness or death only to seek out a new owner to take control of. Youtou are said to have a mysterious, seductive quality to them, with regular people suddenly being driven to kill to take possession of one (the implication being that the sword itself has bewitched them). In many cases a warrior who is skilled enough will be able to remain in control of himself even while wielding a youtou, and this makes him even stronger because the sword's inherent magic makes it an extremely formidable weapon. In real life, there was said to be a single sword created by the swordsmith Muramasa that sought out and killed friends and family of Tokugawa Ieyasu, including his father, grandfather and nephew, known as the Youtou Muramasa. This is all folklore, of course, and a youtou may very well just be a regular sword to which people decided to attach a big scary backstory (kind of like the Hope Diamond).

So yeah, Alonne/Arlon using a youtou is a much bigger detail than what the English version conveys. This is unfortunately not a translation issue but a cultural one, as it requires one to be familiar with the concept of youtou. Anyway, the implications boil down to that he's either being possessed by a cursed sentient sword, or he's so skilled that he can wield a cursed sentient sword without being controlled by it. Or maybe it's just a way of saying that it's a really fancy sword. Either way, it's not implied to be enchanted, and "Alonne Sword" isn't its name; It's his sword, and it's a youtou.

-

Edit: There's a lot of speculation over the name of the last batch of DLC, specifically the use of the word ivory. People are talking about its relation to bone and mammoths and whatever.

*THE IVORY KING

In Japanese it's "white".

白王の冠 Crown of the White King.

Of course it could turn out to be about bones and elephants and whatever, but according to the Japanese text, at least, "ivory" is a fancy way of saying white. That's it. 

-

Edit: Place names. Once again, the literal translations are only there to clarify what the intent behind the names are, and are NOT suggestions for alternate translations.

*PLACE NAMES

English name/Japanese name/Literal translation/Japanese translation of English name/Notes (if any)

Things Betwixt 	隙間の洞 	The Grotto In Between 	狭間にあるもの 	

Majula 	マデューラ 	Madula 	マジューラ 	

Forest of Fallen Giants 	朽ちた巨人の森 	Forest of Fallen Giants 		

Heide's Tower of Flame 	ハイデ大火塔 	Great Flame-Tower of Heide 	ハイデの火の塔 	

Cathedral of Blue 	青聖堂 	The Blue Cathedral 	青の聖堂 	

No-man's Wharf 	隠れ港 	Hidden Port 	所有者なき港 	

The Lost Bastille 	忘却の牢 	The Forgotten Prison 	失われし牢獄 	

Belfry Luna 	月の鐘楼 	Belltower of the Moon 		

Sinner's Rise 	罪人の塔 	Sinner's Tower 		

Huntsman's Copse 	狩猟の森 	Hunting Woods 	狩人の森 	

Undead Purgatory 	不死刑場 	Undead Execution Grounds 		
Leaving 不死 as "undead" but the Japanese word is actually what is usually used to mean "immortal" and literally means "undying".

Harvest Valley 	溜りの谷 	Pooling Valley 	収穫の谷 	
"Harvest" is a complete and clear mistranslation; "溜り" means "to gather" but can NOT mean "harvest". The nuance of the word is that of liquid gathering into pools. This is obviously referring to the poison pooling in the valley. 

Earthen Peak 	土の塔 	Tower of Dirt 	土の頂（いただき） 	
Dirt/clay/earth/mud/whatever
Iron Keep 	熔鉄城 	Smelten Castle 		
Funny how the same word is translated into different ways. 熔鉄 is the same word as used in the Smelter/Smelten Demon's name.

Belfry Sol 	陽の鐘楼 	Belltower of the Sun 		

Shaded Woods 	虚ろの影の森 	Forest of Empty Shadows 	影の森 	

Doors of Pharros 	ファロスの扉道 	Door-Road of Pharros 	ファロスの扉 
Brightstone Cove Tseldora 	輝石街ジェルドラ 	Town of Brightstone, Jeldra 	明石の小湾ツェルドーラ 	
輝石 (literally "shining stone") actually means pyroxene in real life, but this is clearly not the case here so I left it as "Brightstone".
The name of the town was translated by someone who read it wrong; They clearly mistook it for ツェルドラ ("tserudora") when it's actually ジェルドラ ("jerudora").
There are many possible ways of transliterating the name, including: Jeldra, Jeldora, Geldra, Geldora.

Lord's Private Chamber 	ジェルドラ公の隠し部屋 	Duke Jeldra's hidden room 	王の個室 	For some reason even though "公" in all other cases is always translated to "duke", in this one case it's "lord" instead.
Also, in other cases in the game, "lord" is the translation for "王" ("king", as in the skeleton kings or giant king), which adds to the confusion.

Grave of Saints 	聖人墓所 	Saint's Grave 	聖人たちの墓所 	The Japanese name does not distinguish if "saint" is singular or plural.

The Gutter 	クズ底 	At the bottom of the rubbish 	どん底 
One of the few GOOD translations in the game; The Japanese name is just a description, while the English name is a single word that combines both important bits (bottom + lots of rubbish) from the Japanese name.

Black Gulch 	黒渓谷 	Black Gorge 	黒峡谷 	

Shrine of Winter 	冬の社 	Shrine of Winter 	
	
Drangleic Castle 	王城ドラングレイグ 	Drangleig Castle 	ドラングレイク城 	

King's Passage 	王の回廊 	King's Corridor 	王の回廊 	
(Completely subjective but I like the alliteration in "King's Corridor" more)

Shrine of Amana 	アマナの祭壇 	Altar of Amana 	アマナの社 	
"Shrine" is used in the English version for both the Shrine of Winter and Shrine of Amana, which some interpret to mean there's some sort of connection, but they're completely different words in Japanese.

Undead Crypt 	不死廟 	Undead Mausoleum 	不死廟 	See Undead Purgatory notes on "undead".

Throne of Want 	渇望の玉座 	Throne of Desire 	欲の玉座 	
渇望 is literally "a thirsting desire".			

Aldia's Keep 	アン・ディールの館 	Mansion of An-Dil 	アルディアの城 	
"Aldia" is originally "An-Dil" (which sounds completely unlike any other name heard in the game even though the guy was Vendrick/Vanclad's brother, which is possibly the reason for it being changed)
Also, in the Japanese version, language used in the area name as well as in item descriptions show that "An-Dil" is for some reason used both as the name of the person as well as that of the building itself.

Dragon Aerie 	護り竜の巣 	Guardian Dragons' Nest 	竜の高巣 	

Dragon Shrine 	祭祀場 	Ritual Site 	竜の社 	
Again with the word "shrine" being recycled for a totally different word.

Dark Chasm of Old 	古き闇の穴 	Hole of the Old Dark/Old Hole of Dark 	古の暗き裂け目 	
It isn't a dark chasm that's old, it's a chasm OF OLD DARKNESS. 

Memory of Jeigh/Orro/Vamar 	巨人オジェイ・ロー・ワムダの記憶 	Memory of the Giant Ojeigh/Rouh/Wamda 	巨人ジェイ・オロー・ヴァマールの記憶 	
Name changes, plus the Japanese text makes it clear that they're giants (as if it isn't obvious from the context, but I've seen some people actually speculate about this so you never know with some people)

Shulva, Sanctum City 	聖壁の都サルヴァ 	City of the Holy Wall, Salva 	聖域の都シャルヴァ 	

Dragon's Sanctum 	竜の聖壁 	Holy Wall of the Dragon 	竜の聖域 	

Dragon's Rest 	眠り竜の褥 	Sleeping Dragon's Resting Place 	竜の褥 	

Cave of the Dead 	死者の洞 	Grotto of the Dead 	死者の洞窟 	

Brume Tower 	黒霧の塔 	Tower of Black Fog 	霧の塔 	

Iron Passage 	鉄の回廊 	Iron Corridor 		

Memory of the Old Iron King 	鉄の古王の記憶 	Memory of the Old King of Iron

-

*DEMONS

Edit: Got this question from someone:

    I was wondering if you had played DaS1, in DaS1 there is a very specific definition of Demons, a being born from chaos, this seems to go against the Covetous Demon and the Demon of Song in DaS2 which seem to have no link to any form of Chaos. So in short i wanted to ask you if Covetous and the Demon of songs names were in somehow different to the ones from DaS or even just the smelter demon, which actually seems to have links to chaos.

 My answer:

I haven't played Dark Souls 1 yet, but the three demons in 2 all use the same word for demon (デーモン which is just English demon/daemon rendered in katakana).
The names are Covetous demon: 貪りデーモン Singing demon: 唄うデーモン Smelter demon: 熔鉄デーモン
Checking out the Japanese wiki for DS1 says that the bed of chaos does in fact use the same word when saying that it's the "mother of demons".
http://seesaawiki.jp/project_dark/d/%BA%AE%C6%D9%A4%CE%C9%C4%BE%B2

    デーモンの母たる、混沌の苗床

FYI the use of the same word is clearly intentional as it isn't something commonly used in Japanese, and especially stands out in Dark Souls where it's clear that the writing typically tries to avoid using katakana words aside from for names and such.

However, it should be noted that the Titanite Demons from Dark Souls 1 which are seemingly completely unrelated to chaos also use this same word (楔のデーモン). The Crow Demons also from DS1 though are NOT referred to as demons in Japanese (ベルカの鴉人, "the crow-people of Velka").

-

*SORCERIES, PYROMANCIES AND HEXES

Edit: Just figured I'd say something about sorceries, pyromancies and hexes.

Miracles in Japanese are "kiseki" (奇跡), which is pretty straightforward. They're miracles, as in stuff gods make happen, simple enough.

Sorceries are "majutsu" (魔術)- Magic. Magic as used in fantasy is usually "mahou" (魔法), though, and "majutsu" has a darker occult nuance to it- Aleister Crowley, for example, would be referred to as a practitioner of majutsu, and not mahou. An English word with a closer nuance to the Japanese terminology used would be "witchcraft"- Though this of course doesn't match the lore of Dark Souls, where majutsu was made by a dragon and witches use jujutsu (see below). If you consider the background story, sorcery's a decent enough translation.

Pyromancies are "jujutsu" (呪術), which carries a more primal, shamanistic nuance to it. Jujutsu is the kind of stuff practiced by fortune tellers and old ladies who live in the middle of swamps. The English term clearly draws inspiration from how most jujutsu spells revolve around fire, but as there are a few that are completely unrelated to fire (poison and acid) it's not perfect. "Hex" would actually be a better translation for jujutsu than for anjutsu.

Finally, hexes are originally "anjutsu" (闇術). This is a pretty bad translation. This explanation will be a bit longer than the previous ones. First of all, "jutsu" (術) which is also used in the two terms above means "technique" or "skill". Ma(魔)-jutsu(術) is the skill of using magic (魔) while ju(呪)-jutsu(術) is the skill of using shamanistic magic (呪). Ninjutsu (忍術) is the skill of shinobi/ninja (忍), Ansatsujutsu (暗殺術) is the skill of assassination (暗殺), and so on. So, an-jutsu (闇術) is the skill of "an"(闇), which is an alternate reading of "yami" (闇), which means "darkness". This is what I don't like about the translation- The term "dark" pretty obviously has a very large signifincace in Dark Souls, and the English translation just decides to drop how anjutsu's name outright says that it's about using the dark. Basically, the name "anjutsu" suggests that it's a sort of magic that manipulates souls, humanity, and darkness. That's why there are spells that use up souls to cast. You can of course infer to all this from spell descriptions and people like Felkin and Grandal blabbing on about darkness all the time, but still, "hex" is pretty bad.

-

*THE DRAGON ACOLYTES

Edit: Dragon acolyte stuff.

Dragon Acolyte Mask, English
Mask worn by acolytes of Aldia.
Several of the greatest minds converged in Aldia
to weave strange new rituals, but rumors suggest
that during the course of their work their thoughts
were not their own.
The nebulous face of the mask is designed
to deflect the ire of the ritual sacrifice

Mask of a Student of the Dragon, Japanese
アン・ディールの学徒の仮面
アン・ディールには多く知恵者が集い、
様々な秘儀が生み出された
それが彼らの本意だったのかはわからないが
その禍々しい面は、秘儀のために屠ったものの
呪詛を逸らすためのものである 
Mask of a student of An-Dil.
Many intelligent people gathered at An-dil, and created many new [spells](see explanation), but it is unknown if this was intentional.
This fearsome mask is said to deflect the curses from those killed for their spells.

First of all, "acolyte" has a religious ring to it, while in Japanese it's clear that they're STUDENTS, not some weird cult.
Likewise, the English version goes on about rituals and ritual sacrifice, but both are "higi" in Japanese, and "higi" is also used in Japanese fiction to refer to magic, specifically powerful, mostly unknown, possibly forbidden kinds.
So basically they're MAD SCIENTISTS, not crazy cultists.
Also, there is speculation that "greatest minds converged in Aldia" means that the guy merged other people's consciousnesses into his own (people point to Navlaan as proof of this) but nope, Aldia/Al-Din refers to the place, and the "greatest minds" is referring to these guys you're killing.
"It is unknown if this was intentional" is slightly ambiguous- It could be referring to the creation of new spells (them making new discoveries was an accident and they were trying to do something else), or it could be referring to them coming to Al-Din in the first place (they were kidnapped).


Dragon Sage Hood 
Hood worn by the Archmaster of Aldia.

Hood of a Student of the Dragon, Japanese
竜の学徒のフード
アン・ディールの学師のフード
位のひと際高い者が身に着けていたもの
Hood of a teacher of An-Dil.
It seems to have been worn by someone of a high rank.

Once again with the cult bullshit. The "archmaster" is a teacher of An-Dil (the place, not the guy). Also "the Archmaster" suggests that he was one guy, while the Japanese is ambiguous.
And finally, while the guy is a teacher of An-Dil, he's still a STUDENT of the dragon.



Dragon Acolyte Robe 
This white robe is designed to bear the brunt
of the ritual sacrifice's gushing blood.

Dragon Acolyte Gloves 
These white gloves are designed to bear the
brunt of the ritual sacrifice's gushing blood.

Dragon Acolyte Boots 
These practical boots are designed to prevent the
acolyte from slipping on the blood of the sacrifice.

All of these references to ritual sacrifice are "秘儀のために屠ったもの" "those killed for the higi/spells".


-

*MAJESTIC GREATSWORD

Majestic Greatsword, English
An ancient greatsword of unknown origin. This sword was passed down through generations, until it reached Gordin, wandering knight of Forossa, and was lost upon his death. Uncannily, every last one of the prominent swordsmen who inherited this weapon was left-handed.

Glorious Greatsword, Japanese (majestic is fine but I feel that it's a bit off because people might think majestic = majesty = royalty. Also I like alliteration)
由来の知れぬ古い大剣 数多の所有者を経てフォローザの放浪騎士ゴルディンに渡ったが彼の死を境に途絶えた 使い手は皆、名を馳せた騎士となったが彼らは左利きの剣士であったという
An ancient greatsword of unknown origin. This sword was passed down through many people until it reached the wandering knight of Forosa, Gordin, and was lost upon his death. It is said that all of its user became famous knights, and were left-handed swordsmen.

-

*Regular enemy names

English name 	Japanese name 	Literal translation 	Notes/備考

Foreign Wanderer 	異国の放浪者 	Wanderer from a foreign land 		

Ogre 	オーガ 	Ogre 		
Prowler Hound 	彷徨い犬 	Wandering dog 	
	
Falconer 	大鷹の戦士 	Falcon Warrior 		

Skeleton 	スケルトン 	Skeleton 	
	
Undead Devourer 	不死喰い 	Undead-eater 	
	
Flame Lizard 	炎トカゲ 	Flame lizard 		

Heide Knight 	ハイデの騎士 	Knight of Heide 	
	
Hollow Infantry 	亡者下級兵 	Hollow low-ranking soldier 	
	
Hollow Royal Soldier 	亡者王国兵 	Hollow royal soldier 		

Ironclad Soldier 	重鉄兵 	Heavy iron soldier 	
	
Old Knight 	古騎士 	Ancient knight 		

Darkdweller 	暗闇亡者 	Dark hollow 		

Hollow Varangian 	蛮族亡者 	Barbarian hollow 	
	
Stray Hound 	野犬 	Wild dog 	
	
Nimble Shadow 	異形の影 	Eldritch shadow 		
"Igyou" (which I translated to "twisted" until someone reminded me that the word "eldritch" exists) means something extremely out of the ordinary (in a bad way). 
It's a bit hard to define but tl;dr it's a word frequently used to describe Lovecraftian horrors in Japanese.

Gaoler 	獄吏 	Jailer 		

Royal Swordsman 	王国剣士 	Royal swordsman 		

Rupturing Hollow 	破裂亡者 	Bursting hollow 		

Bell Keeper 	鐘守 	Bell guardian 		

Undead Aberration 	異形の不死 	Twisted undead 		
See notes for "igyou" (eldritch shadow).

Prisoned Sinner 	牢の罪人 	Sinner of the prison 		

Abandoned Hollow 	棄てられた亡者 	Abandoned hollow 		
"Abandoned" as in "discarded"

Executioner 	刑吏 	Executioner 		

Hollow Mage 	亡者魔術師 	Hollow sorceror 		
Same word as used in the starting class (majutsushi).

Hollow Rogue 	賊の亡者 	Hollow bandit 		

Poison Moth 	毒蛾 	Poison moth 		

Undead Huntsman 	不死狩り 	Undead-hunter 
As in hunter of undead, not a hunter who is undead. And to every single dumbfuck who comes up to me and says "hurrr but undead hunter can mean hunter who is undead!!!!11": fushigari CANNOT IN ANY FUCKING CIRCUMSTANCES MEAN "HUNTER WHO IS UNDEAD" YOU BRAINLESS STUPID FUCKS HOW MANY FUCKING TIMES DO I HAVE TO FUCKING SAY THIS FUCK OFF AND JUST FUCKING DIE YOU STUPID FUCKS
	
Undead Laborer 	囚人亡者 	Hollow prisoner 		

Banedigger 	毒堀り 	Poison excavator 		
Literally "person who digs up poison".

Hammersmith 	槌背負い 	Hammer-bearer 		
Literally "person who carries hammer on back".

Desert Sorceress 	砂の魔術師 	Sand sorceress 		
Grave Warden 	墓守 	Grave warden 		

Masked Manikin 	仮面の傀儡 	Masked puppet 	
	
Poison Brumer 	毒角蟲 	Poison bug 		

Entity of Avarice 	貪欲者 	Greedy one 		

Hunting Rat 	犬ネズミ 	Dog-rat 		
Rat in the Grave of Saints.
Name seems to have been swapped with that of the "mongrel rat" from the Doors of Pharros.

Swollen Mongrel 	膨張犬 	Bloated dog 		

Cragslipper 	黒喰い 	Black eater 		

Darksucker 	穴蟲 	Hole bug 		

Great Giant Warrior 	巨人兵 	Giant soldier 		

Basilisk 	バジリスク 	Basilisk 		

Forrest Grotesque 	森の異形 	Eldritch thing of the forest 		
"Igyou", see previous notes.

Lion Clan Warrior 	獅子族の戦士 	Lion warrior 		
"Lion" here is defined as a sort of species or race.
"Clan" is a common mistranslation of "zoku" due to real world connotations, but in fantasy it's commonly used to refer to races/species and such.
(e.g. "Shin-zoku" is "the race of gods", "ryuu-zoku" is "the race of dragons", "kyojin-zoku" is "the race of giants")

Roaming Soul 	徘徊霊 	Wandering spirit 		

Gyrm Warrior 	ゲルムの戦士 	Gyrm Warrior 		

Gyrm Worker 	ゲルムの民 	(One of) the Gyrmic People 		
Something-no-tami is a romantic way to refer to the people of a certain race.
Because Japanese does not have to specify if something is singular or plural it can be used to refer to a single member as well.
Real world example: Japanese translations of the bible refer to the Jews as "Yudaya no tami" ("the Jewish people").
Anyway they're not workers but regular people.

Mongrel Rat 	狩猟ネズミ 	Hunting rat 		
Rat in the Doors of Pharros. Name seems to have been swapped with that of the hunting rat found in the grave of saints.

Hollow Primal Knight 	獣人騎士 	Beastman Knight 	
	
Ducal Spider 	公の蜘蛛 	Duke's spider 		

Grand Tusk 	牙獣 	Fanged beast 		

Hollow Peasant  	農夫亡者 	Hollow farmer 	
	
Tseldoran Settler 	ジェルドラの民 	(One of the) people of Geldora 		
The guy in the duke's chamber.
Geldra/Geldora/Jeldra/Jeldora whatever.

Spider Drone 	寄生蜘蛛 	Parasite spider 	
	
Alonne Knight 	アーロン騎士 	Arlon Knight 		

Alonne Knight Captain 	アーロン騎士長 	Arlon Knight Captain 	
	
Stone Soldier 	石像騎士 	Stone statue knight	
	
Syan Soldier 	ザインの兵 	Zyne Soldier 		
Pronounced like "sign" but with a Z.

Aldia Warlock 	彷徨い術師 	Prowling Magus 		
Same name as the boss.
Amana Aberration 	アマナの異形 	Eldritch thing of Amana 		
Igyou of Amana. See previous notes.

Amana Priestess 	アマナの巫女 	Amana shrine maiden 		
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miko

Archdrake Pilgrim 	古竜院の巡礼 	Pilgrim from the Ancient Dragon('s/s') Institution 		
Most instances of "archdrake" are translations of 古竜院.
The 古竜院/Ancient Dragon (or Ancient Dragon's or Ancient Dragons') Institution is some sort of organization that seems to both academic and religious overtones (院 is ambiguous as to what kind of institution it is so I'm leaving it at that), and judging from the name has links to an ancient dragon or the ancient dragons, but I haven't looked into the other stuff yet so I'm leaving it at that for now.

Leydia Pyromancer 	レディアの呪術師 	Ledia Jujutsushi 		
A jujutsushi is a practitioner of jujutsu, which is translated to "pyromancy". See previous post for notes on jujutsu.

Leydia Witch 	レディアの魔女 	Ledia Witch 	
	
Undead Crypt Knight 	不死廟の騎士 	Knight of the Undead Crypt 		
Not a crypt knight who's undead, but a knight of the undead crypt.

Wall Spectre 	壁憑き 	Wall-haunter 		

Dragon Acolyte 	竜の学徒 	Student of the Dragon 	
	
Dragon 	護り竜 	Guardian Dragon 		
Same name as the boss.
Dark Priestess 	亡者司祭 	Hollow priest(ess) 		
(No gender distinction)

Dragon Knight 	黒竜の騎士 	Black dragon knight \	
Drakekeeper 	竜の番兵 	Dragon guardians 		
"Drakekeepers" suggest that they're people who take care of the drakes in the aerie, while the original name suggest that they're, duh, the ancient dragon's bodyguards.

Witchtree 	妖木 	Living tree 		
妖/you is the same word as used in Arlon's youtou (see stuff on Arlon's sword in previous post).
The nuance is that it's an ancient tree that has gained sentience and now has supernatural powers and whatever. 
Basically just a tree monster.

Dark spirit  	闇霊 	Dark spirit 
All the non-red phantoms (including those in the dark chasm) do not have names.
"Chip Off the Ol' Rock" and such do not exist in the Japanese version- They are nameless.		
NPC red phantoms DO have names. See below.

-

*Red phantom/dark spirit names. 

As the names (but not titles) are written phonetically, there are multiple ways of romanizing them: For example, aside from the official translation's "Rhoy" and my "Roy", that same guy's name could also be: Lhoy/Llhoy/Loi/Roi/Royh/Loyh/See what I mean? I'm just going with what comes natural to me. If the name is COMPLETELY different though there's an asterisk in the note field.

English name 	Japanese name 	Literal translation 	Notes/備考
Vorgol the Sinner 	罪人フォーゲル 	Vogel the Sinner 		
*
(German pronunciation so it's "foh-gel" with a hard G)

Merciless Roenna 	無慈悲なリュース 	Luse the Merciless 		
*

Bowman Guthry 	射手のガイラム 	Gyram the Marksman 		
*

Rhoy the Explorer 	探索者ロイ 	Roy the Explorer 	
	
Melinda the Butcher 	肉断ちのマリダ 	Marida the Meat-cleaver 		
*

Nameless Usurper 	無名の簒奪者 	Nameless Usurper 
		
Peculiar Kindalur 	奇妙なキンドロ 	Kindro the Odd 		
*

Aslatiel of Mirrah 	ミラのアズラティエル 	Azratiel of Mirrah 
		
Dragonfang Villard 	竜の牙ウィアード 	Weird the Dragonfang 		
Yes that's a guy whose name is "Weird" or at least something close to it. Weerd? Wierd? Wiyered?
Anyway if you pronounce "V" as a W like reverse-German and the "ll" as a Y like Spanish then yes, it's Villard.

Royal Sorcerer Navlaan 	宮廷術師ナヴァーラン 	Court Magician Navaaran 		
*
Note that he is markedly NOT a sorceror (majutsushi) but a "jutsushi" (see my previous post on sorceries/pyromancies/hexes), and WHAT jutsu he uses isn't specified.
He could be a practictioner of any of the types of magic, or all of them, or maybe even an entirely different kind.


Edit: Ruin sentinel stuff

Ruin sentinel soul, English:
>Soul of the Ruin Sentinel, a creation of the Jailer.

Empty guardian soul, Japanese:
> 牢主の被造物である虚ろの衛兵のソウル

>Soul of an Empty Guardian, a creation of the master of the prison

(Considering how there are multiple jailers, and how they're just random mooks, I think it's safe to assume that the master of the prison is someone above them.)


Edit: Nashandra

王妃デュナシャンドラ
Queen Dunashandra

"Queen" is typically 女王/joou. While a joou can be taken as a queen regnant, while an 王妃/ouhi however is clearly distinguished as a queen consort.

I'm not bothering to take a look at the English version this time so as to keep it from influencing what I see in the original text.

Dunashandra's dialogue, first time you meet her:

"You have done well in overcoming many trials to come here, cursed undead.
I am Dunashandra, queen of Drangleig.
A king is one who bears the [karma]*1 of souls.
The former king of this country, whose name was Vanclad.
He gained power and became a king of man, and in order to fight the coming cursed ones...
He sought more power and tried many things.
But in the end, he never reached the [Throne]*2."

*"Inga", like "gou" (see the previous stuff on the Withering Ruin/Crawling Mushi), is a Buddhist concept that has become a regular Japanese word.
It can also be interpreted as something like "cause and effect". Either way it's really vague here.

*Throne here has quotation marks around it in Japanese which means it's something special, hence why I capitalised the word. 


Second time you talk to her:
"Go to Vanclad."


Third time:
"We do not need two kings."


After getting the king's ring:
"Drangleig has been destroyed, here and now."


After getting the king's ring 2:
"Undead, seek the Throne.
Follow the [proof of the king]* and do what you have to do."

*Can't think of anything better for 王の証 = something that proves that a king is a king.


After getting the core of ashen mist:
"Undead. What did you hear from that dragon?
It is a false thing. A false god.
Do not let it fool you."

After getting the core 2:
"Head towards the forest.
Where [that horrible giant sleeps]*."

*With this wording it's vague if she's saying where "that horrible giant" sleeps (implying she's referring to a single giant) or "that horrible place where the giants sleep".


Final battle:
"Undead. 
You who have passed the trials.
Now you become one with the darkness..."




古の竜
Ancient dragon

Dialogue:
"That which was stagnant has started to move... It moves again...

For as long as to seek is to live... There is no escape...

But, that is why... They seek the answer hidden in the mist."

*Japanese does not need to specify a subject, and the ancient dragon certainly doesn't. It's thus unclear if he's talking about the player character, or maybe Dunashandra, or even living beings in general. ("They" isn't in the original text)


-

BONFIRE NAMES

English name 	Japanese name 	Literal translation  	Notes


Fire Keepers' Dwelling 	火守女たちの住処 	Home of the Fire Keepers 	

The Japanese word for "fire keepers", 火守女, specifically indicates that they are women.


The Far Fire 	果ての篝火 	The bonfire at the end 	 
	
The end as in "the ends of the earth".


The Crestfallen's Retreat 	心折れた者の逃げ場所 	失望した者たち隠れ場所 	The place those whose spirits have been broken ran to 	


Cardinal Tower 	主塔 	Main tower 		


Soldier's Rest 	兵の避難所 	Soldiers' emergency shelter 	 	


The Place Unbeknownst 	誰も知らない場所 	A place nobody knows of 	
 	

Heide's Ruin 	ハイデの廃墟 	Ruins of Heide 	ハイデの滅び 	


Tower of Flame 	大火塔 	Great Flame Tower 		


The Blue Cathedral 	青聖堂 	Blue Cathedral 		


Unseen Path to Heide 	ハイデへの隠れ道 	Hidden path to Heide 		


Exile Holding Cells 	流刑者の牢 	Exile Holding Cells 		


McDuff's Workshop 	マックダフの作業場 	McDuff's Workshop 		


Servants' Quarters 	従者の間 	Servants' Quarters 		


Straid's Cell 	ストレイドの牢 	Straid's Cell 		

ストレイド/"Strayed" is the name of the default AC in Armored Core: For Answer, also by From.


The Tower Apart 	離れの塔 	Annex tower 	

離れ does mean "away" or "apart" but in architecture it refers to a building separate from the main one.


Upper Ramparts 	城壁屋上 	Rampart roof 		


The Saltfort 	塩の塔 	Tower of salt 		


Undead Refuge 	不死の隠れ処 	Undead hiding place 

		
Bridge Approach 	橋のたもと 	The foot of the bridge 	

	
Undead Lockaway 	不死牢 	Undead cell 		


Undead Purgatory 	不死刑場 	Undead execution ground 		


Poison Pool 	毒溜り 	Poison Pool 		


The Mines 	採掘場 	Mine 		


Lower Earthen Peak 	土の塔・下層 	Tower of Dirt: Lower levels 	

	
Central Earthen Peak 	土の塔・中層 	Tower of Dirt: Middle levels 	

	
Upper Earthen Peak 	土の塔・上層 	Tower of Dirt: Upper levels 		


Threshold Bridge 	入口の橋 	Entrance bridge 		


Ironheart Hall 	鉄の炉の棟 	Iron furnance [hall] 	 	

(A 棟 is actually a single building in itself but I can't think of an appropriate word so I'm leaving it as "hall" for now.
If this were a contemporary setting I'd go with "block", but that's obviously not right here.)


Eygil's Idol 	エギルの鉄像 	Egil's Iron Statue 	エイギルの神像 	
It's pronounced "Eh-gill" (gill as in fish gills).

Belfry Sol 	陽の鐘楼前 	Before the Belltower of the Sun 	

	
Old Akelarre 	魔女がいた場所 	Where the witches once were / Where the witch once was
Ambiguous if singular or plural.


Ruined Fork Road 	分岐路の遺跡 	Ruins of the fork road 		

The word used for ruins, 遺跡, suggest that they are ancient; This is a word used for places Indiana Jones might explore.

The word used for Heide is 廃墟 which suggests they're more recent; While it CAN be used for ancient ruins, it can also be used for, say, an abandoned ravaged town in a warzone.


Shaded Ruins 	虚ろの遺跡 	The empty ruins 	
Same "empty" as in "the forest of empty shadows".

The word's nuances are closer to "hollow" but it's unrelated to the word hollow (hollows=亡者) as used in the English version.

Gyrm's Respite 	ゲルムの憩いの場 	Gyrms' resting area 		

Gyrm is pronounced "Germ" with a hard G.


Ordeal's End 	試練の休息所 	Resting place before the test 	

The test being the boss, the Rat King's Test.


Royal Army Campsite 	王兵の野営地 	Royal soldier campsite 

	
Chapel Threshold 	礼拝堂前 	Before the chapel 	

	
Lower Brightstone Cove 	輝石街・下層 	Brightstone Town: Lower levels 


Harval's Resting Place 	聖職者ハクバルが眠る地 	Hakbal/Hakval the holy man's resting place 	

His name is changed, the Japanese text specifies that he was a holy man (but doesn't call him a saint which would be 聖人), and "resting place" means this is where his body is (duh) and not that he rested here or whatever. 

**I previously messed up this bit by confusing somehow confusing it with Roy's resting place; The original text does not indicate that Hakval died here. (Roy's resting place does indicate that he died there)**


Grave Entrance 	墓所入口 	Grave Entrance 		


Upper Gutter 	クズ底・上層 	Gutter: Upper levels 		

See previous posts for notes on "the gutter".


Central Gutter 	クズ底・中層 	Gutter: Middle levels 		


Black Gulch Mouth 	黒渓谷・入口 	Black Gorge: Entrance 	黒峡谷の口 	


Hidden Chamber 	隠し部屋 	Hidden room 

		
King's Gate 	王の扉前 	Before the king's gate 	


Under Castle Drangleic 	王城・地下 	Royal castle: Underground 

	
Forgotten Chamber 	忘れられた部屋 	Forgotten room 		


Central Castle Drangleic 	王城・中層 	Royal castle: Middle levels 	

	
Tower of Prayer 	祈りの塔 	Tower of Prayer 		


Crumbled Ruins 	崩れた遺跡 	Crumbled Ruins 		

The word used is "iseki" indicating ancient ruins.


Rhoy's Resting Place 	探索者ロイの最期の地 	The resting place of Roy the explorer 	

"Saigo no chi" indicates that this is where he died.


Rise of the Dead 	死者の塔 	Tower of the Dead 	 	

What is this, a zombie movie?


Undead Crypt Entrance 	不死廟・入口 	Undead Mausoleum: Entrance 	

	
Undead Ditch 	死者の捨て場 	Dead dump 	 	

It's a dump, as in a place to throw away rubbish, except instead of rubbish it's for the dead.


Foregarden 	前庭 	Front garden 		


Ritual Site 	秘儀の棟 	[Higi] [hall] 		

See previous post for notes on "higi". Also see ironheart hall for notes on "棟".


Dragon Aerie 	護り竜の巣 	Guardian dragon nest(s) 	

 	
Shrine Entrance 	祭祀場・入口 	Ritual site: Entrance 

	
Sanctum Walk 	聖壁への道 	Path to the Holy Wall 	

	
Tower of Prayer 	祈りの塔 	Tower of Prayer 		

(Yes, exact same name as the other bonfire in Japanese too)


Priestess' Chamber 	巫女の間 	The [miko]'s chamber 		

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miko


Hidden Sanctum Chamber 	聖壁の隠し部屋 	Holy wall's hidden room 

		
Lair of the Imperfect 	なりそこないの住処 	Lair of [the imperfect] 

A "narisokonai" is something that was meant to become something but failed. A mad scientist's experiment at creating something that failed and results in some sort of abomination? That's a "narisokonai".


Sanctum Interior 	聖壁内部 	Inside the holy wall 

		
Sanctum Nadir 	聖壁底部 	Bottom of the holy wall 	


Throne Floor 	玉座の層 	Throne level 	

	
Upper Floor 	上層 	Upper levels 		


Foyer 	中心部 	Central area 		


Lowermost Floor 	最下層 	Bottom levels 		


The Smelter Throne 	熔鉄の玉座 	Smelten throne 		

That's the same smelten as in "the smelten castle" (iron keep) or smelten demon (smelter demon).


Iron Hallway Entrance 	鉄の回廊・入口 	Iron Corridor: Entrance

===============================

On dragons/wyverns/drakes/wyrms/whatever

Wrote this since I encountered someone insisting that Dark Souls clearly distinguishes between dragons, wyverns, drakes and wyrms, yet I've seen people confused about the terms and I don't recall the game in Japanese really bothering with all that.

Translation - Japanese (literal translation)

(Literal translations are for CLARIFICATION and are NOT suggestions for alternate translations like)

Dragon - 竜 (ryuu = Dragon)

Ancient dragon - 古竜 or 古の竜 (koryuu/inishie no ryuu = Ancient Dragon)

Wyvern - 雷の飛竜 (ikazuchi no hiryuu =Flying Dragon of Lightning)

Hellkite Dragon - 飛竜ヘルカイト (hiryuu Herukaito = Flying Dragon: Hellkite)

"Drakes" mentioned in drake sword name/description, as well as the valley of drakes - 飛竜 (hiryuu = Flying Dragon)

Guardian Dragon - 護り竜 (mamori ryuu = Guardian Dragon)

Dragon aerie - 護り竜の巣 (mamori ryuu no su = Guardian Dragons' Nest)

"Wyrms" the dragonriders are said to have used - 地竜 (jiryuu = Earth Dragon)

 Drakewing Ultra Greatsword - 翼竜の特大剣 (yokuryuu no tokudaiken = winged dragon's greatsword)

"Drake" as used in the drakewing ultra greatsword's description is also 飛竜.

Paledrake - 白竜 (hakuryuu = white dragon); Also "Seath the scaleless" is originally 白竜シース/White Dragon Seath.

So yeah, the "wyverns" and "hellkite dragon" and "drakes" are all in fact the same sub-species of dragon, the hiryuu ("flying dragon"). They're all offshoots: The "wyverns" are in fact a type of hiryuu that has something to do with lightning (hence them shooting lightning at you), while the Hellkite is either the name of a specific specimen, or another different offshoot of the sub-species. "Guardian dragon" seems to be more of a description of their role (guarding the ancient dragon's house) than of their species name, and the sword seems to indicate that they're also hiryuu.

The dragonriders' jiryuu (earth dragons) are seemingly another, completely different type of dragon (there aren't many details on the things).

So yeah, in Japanese they're all dragons; It's just that they're shitty descendants of the REAL dragons, the Ancient Dragons.

Hiryuu is almost always translated to "drake" but it looks like the confusion comes from how the translation is somewhat inconsistent (hellkite DRAGON, and the ikazuchi no hiryuu ought to have been Thunderdrakes or something instead of an entirely different word). And I can sort of see what they were trying to do with jiryuu to wyrm: Wyrm sounds like worm and worms are associated with Earth, right? But people familiar with fantasy take "wyrm" to just mean "dragon" which had people thinking the dragon riders rode drakes of maybe even actual dragons when they in fact rode big lizards that crawled around (see the concept art) which is something that comes across fine in the original name (they're EARTH dragons, as opposed to FLYING ones).

===============================
AFTERWORD 

First of all: I don't have any credentials in translation, as I'm not a translator by profession. Nor do I purport to be anywhere as good as a professional translator. But English is obviously my first language, and I've had well over a decade of proficiency in both professional Japanese as well as in the language found in fiction, and have been living in Tokyo for half a decade working for a Japanese company, and am also paid to write articles in Japanese. And anyway, these are clarifications of what the original text said, not suggestions for alternate translations. The SOLE purpose of the text here is explaining the meanings and nuances of the original text. I am explaining what was lost in the translation to English. NOT re-translating. 

Also I've been seeing people going "but From approved the translation therefore it has to be 100% correct wahhhh!".

Yes they hired people to translate the text from Japanese into English because they couldn't do it themselves because they don't understand English. Which means they approved text they didn't understand. The dialogue being in English is a fucking design choice. That's how things work over here. English isn't supposed to mean anything to a Japanese audience, it's a fucking decoration. That's why there are song lyrics that go "dead heat no I love you" and "we are going to the space over the future". From oversaw and approved the translations, yes. That doesn't mean a fucking thing. Tolkien oversaw the Japanese translations of LotR and nitpicked through the translations of individual words and names and it's ENTIRELY thanks to him that the Japanese version is filled with ridiculous shit like Sting becoming "Tsuranuki-maru" (you really need to understand Japanese to get just how absurd it is). Tolkien may or may not (depends on who you ask) have been a great writer and a crazy linguist but he certainly wasn't fluent enough in Japanese to understand how hilarious he made his own books sound. TSURANUKI-MARU, NAGURI-MARU, HASEO, wow.

Anyway, From actually bothered to hire real translators to translate the text properly. They thus probably assumed that the text was, in fact, translated properly, by real translators. But aside from stuff like localisation (there's no way to convey all the nuances in "youtou" to one or even a few English words) it's pretty clear that there are bits where the text was in fact NOT translated properly. Dropping details for no reason (Adgars), adding details for no reason (a lot in Shalquoir's lines), plain fucking mistakes (Shishizoku to "lion clan", harvest valley, Tseldora), inconsistency (youtetsu being translated into, what, three completely different things? Both duke and king being translated to "lord", 名を禁じられた者 being translated into two different things, something like a dozen different words all being translated to "shrine", etc.) and the list goes on. 

This is all pretty standard for a translated game, of course, and it's certainly way better than what we used to get in the 16/32-bit eras. Hell, even today Japanese translations of English games and movies are fucking terrible (Bruce Wayne saying "millionaires are so last year" being translated into "I was (literally) a millionaire up till last year but am a billionaire now", shit like ミレルーク and 至高のオーバーロード, "guardians of the galaxy" being translated to two completely different things and ruining the entire climax scene...) in comparison. But judging it on its own as a translation of something- Well, it's still pretty bad.

Oh and that one fucker who ALWAYS shows up and says something like "but harvest valley makes sense because it looks like they're mining stuff so by harvesting they could be harvesting minerals or something" is a fucking idiot.


-

IN DEFENSE OF THE TRANSLATORS, THOUGH, a lot of text in From's stuff is deliberately ambiguous, and uses aspects of the Japanese language which simply don't exist in English (like being able to completely leave the subject out of a line) that help to add to that ambiguousness, which makes for hard translation (as I'm not doing real translations but setting out to clarify nuances I can just explain what's ambiguous in the Japanese text and leave it at that) . Also, while I don't have any first-hand experience, it's pretty well-known that game translators are commonly just given text files with no context and are expected to be able to do a decent job which is pretty silly, and in a lot of cases they're forced to make their own assumptions- For example, look at "breath" being translated to "bracelet" in Final Fantasy Tactics- That's the sort of mistake that can only be made when the translator is given only the attack names and nothing else, not even the detail if it's an attack or item; ブレス could be breath, bless, or bracelet and the translator took a gamble and lost. Of course FFT's translation was total garbage otherwise, but this particular instance wasn't their fault. In Dark Souls 2, the text on the Throne Watcher's equipment does not specify a gender, and the translator probably just took the 50/50 chance and wrote them down as a "he", possibly expecting quality control to pick up if it was clearly wrong, so if anyone's to blame it's QC and whoever decided not to fix it in a patch even after people pointed out how stupid this was. Also you'll notice how I mentioned that I'm adept at "both professional Japanese as well as in the language found in fiction" in the foreword- Stuff like the nuances behind "youtou" or the way "zoku" is used aren't things you can pick up from any amount of classes or even total immersion in a business atmosphere for years, they're things you actually have to discover for yourself in fiction. Your vocabulary expands in different ways based on what you read, and I just happen to read (and play, and watch) a lot of stuff that's relative here. A translator of the highest level who's used to handling real-world news articles or physics papers or whatever would certainly be puzzled by some of the stuff in here; Professional translators tend to specialise in a certain field because there's way more money to be made from translating non-fiction. I'm not a translator, though, and this is just an offshoot of my hobbies, so I'm free to expand my totally-useless-in-the-real-world vocabulary of words used primarily in fiction with RPGs all I want.

That being said though I'm not saying the translation work here is, overall, good. A lot of the stuff in here IS just inexcusably bad.  I'm just saying that there are mitigating circumstances in quite a lot of cases.


-

HALL OF FAME OF DUMBFUCKS

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ThBhOTF6jfk/VCWzFL1cSDI/AAAAAAAANY0/YjHgbuDYW6g/s1600/retard.png
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YZe-Wulr37g/VCWzMsAy63I/AAAAAAAANY8/O0CpG1EwI8s/s1600/stupidfucker.png
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1XmcmU0FZ-c/VCWzMgIKqGI/AAAAAAAANZA/U96JPp7JHJk/s1600/racistcunts.png
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M924KGvbTE8/VCW8Aj-a3OI/AAAAAAAANZU/wv69jAT8bAI/s1600/fuckoff.png

Edit: And here's a new one
http://www.reddit.com/r/TwoBestFriendsPlay/comments/2hnt7c/best_friends_play_dark_souls_2_part_50/ckuirg0
>If you're referring to that mistranslation pastebin, be careful with that. It's some guy who isn't super sure himself with his translations

I never said that you fucking retard. I said that these AREN'T FUCKING TRANSLATIONS, THEY'RE FUCKING CLARIFICATIONS. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST I HAVE A WALL OF FUCKING TEXT AND THESE STUPID FUCKERS JUST DON'T FUCKING GET IT

WHY CAN'T THEY ALL JUST FUCKING DIE

Edit: New addition!

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eEXejeDDctc/VshD0EMj2UI/AAAAAAAAQFE/UkXIHw6FOx4/s1600/retarded%2Bfuck.png 
"durhur japan doesn't have a th sound so D is the same thing as th also O is the same thing as A"
Also I said nothing of that sort about Seath so this retard is just straight up spewing bullshit from his face.

-

Dark Souls 3 translation stuff.txt

Source: http://pastebin.com/8SnskKPB by HccvJPE8Dk

Also see: Dark Souls 2 translation stuff http://pastebin.com/gy6v34YE
 
This should be obvious enough to go without saying given how this is a game made in, you know, Japan, but amazingly enough there are idiots who will argue otherwise all day so I guess it has to be said: Miyazaki stated in an interview before that the text is originally written in Japanese and later translated to English (with the voice recordings coming last), and the translation company itself  says the exact same thing (「宮崎さんによる日本語のセリフ原案を元にした英語の脚本の制作」="(We) make the English script based on Miyazaki-san's Japanese lines."）. So yeah: If the English text contradicts something in the Japanese text, it's wrong. If the English text has nuances the Japanese text doesn't, those nuances are wrong. It's that simple.
 
The literal translations listed here are meant to clarify meanings and nuances. They are not suggestions for alternate translations.
 
Boss names
 
English name    Japanese name   Literal translation     英語名の和訳  Notes/備考
Iudex Gundyr    灰の審判者、グンダ     Ashen Judge, Gunda  審判者グンディール     "Gun" is pronounced like "goon", not "guhn".
Vordt of the Boreal Valley  冷たい谷のボルド    Vordt of the Cold Valley    北方の谷のボルト    
Curse-rotted Greatwood  呪腹の大樹     Great Tree with Cursed Stomach  呪い腐った大樹   (It doesn't sound as silly in Japanese)
Crystal Sage    結晶の古老     Crystal Ancient     結晶の賢者    
Deacons of the Deep     深みの主教たち   Bishops of the Deep     深みの助祭たち  
Abyss Watchers  深淵の監視者  Abyss Watchers  深淵の監視者  
High Lord Wolnir    覇王ウォルニール    Tyrant Lord, Wolnir     偉大なる王ウォルニール   Due to the wording of "high lord" and the crown's description calling him "the one high lord", some interpret this as meaning Wolnir is positioned above the other lords. The Japanese text has no such nuances, and "the one" in the crown description is not even present in the source text.
「王」は「lord」に訳されており、「high lord」は他の王より上位に位置している、というニュアンスを待つ。また、ウォルニールの王冠では「the one high lord」（唯一無二のハイロード）と書かれているため、ウォルニールがダクソ３に登場するすべての王より上の存在、という解釈をする人も少なからずいる
Pontiff Sulyvahn    法王サリヴァーン    Lord of the Laws, Sullivahn     教皇サライヴァーン     法王 is the Japanese translation of pope/hierophant/pontiff. Also, the Japanese includes 王 = lord, keeping with the theme of lots of lords in the game. 法王 is also used as a Japanese translation for Hindu dharmaraja, the Dalai Lama, and Islamic caliph.
 
The name is pronounced like "Sullivan", except with a longer "van".
Yhorm the Giant     巨人ヨーム     Yhorm the Giant     巨人ヨーム    
Aldrich, Devourer of Gods   神喰らいのエルドリッチ   Eldritch the God-eater  神喰らいのアルドリッチ  
Dancer of the Boreal Valley     冷たい谷の踊り子    Dancer of the Cold Valley   北方の谷の踊り子    
Dragonslayer Armour     竜狩りの鎧     Dragon-hunter's Armour  竜殺しの鎧    
Old Demon King  デーモンの老王   Old Demon King  デーモンの老王  
Oceiros, the Consumed King  妖王オスロエス   Bewitched Lord, Osroeth     食われし王、オセイロス（蝕まれし王、オセイロス）    妖 has nuances of witchcraft, elves, enchantments, that sort of thing.
His name can be transliterated as: Osloeth, Osroeth, Othroeth, Othroes, Othloes, etc.
Champion Gundyr     英雄グンダ     The Hero, Gunda     勇者グンディール    
King of the Storm   無名の王    The Nameless Lord   嵐の王   In the Japanese version, both phases of the fight use the same name. Also, the dragon is only ever named as 嵐の竜 = Storm Dragon; "King of the Storm" is seen nowhere in the Japanese version.
英語版では第1形態と第2形態で名称が変わる。
The Nameless King   無名の王    The Nameless Lord   無名の王    King and lord are interchangeable, but most other instances of 王 are translated to "lord"
Lorian, Elder Prince    兄王子ローリアン    Older Brother Prince, Lorian    年上の王子、ローリアン   The wording in both versions sounds unnatural when translated to the other, but is natural to their languages.
各バージョンのワーディングは互いに直訳すると不自然に聞こえるが、その言語では自然になっている。
Lothric, Younger Prince     王子ロスリック   Prince Lothric  年下の王子、ロスリック   Japanese version does not specify that he's younger (though it's obvious from how Lorian is his older brother)
Soul of Cinder  王たちの化身  Avatar of Lords     燃え殻のソウル（薪のソウル）  The word translated to "cinder" specifically means firewood in Japanese.
英語版では「薪」は「cinder」（燃え殻）に翻訳されている。
 
 
Place names
English name    Japanese name   Literal translation     英語名の和訳  Notes/備考
Cemetery of Ash     灰の墓所    Cemetery of Ash     灰の墓所    
Firelink Shrine     火継ぎの祭祀場   Ritual site of the fire inheriting  火繋ぎの社    
High Wall of Lothric    ロスリックの高壁    High Wall of Lothric    ロスリックの高壁    
Undead Settlement   不死街   Undead Town     不死の集落     (As mentioned in Dark Souls 2 stuff, the word translated to "undead" is literally "undying" and is in Japanese conventionally means "immortal")
Road of Sacrifices  生贄の道    Road of Sacrifices  生贄の道    The word for "sacrifices" specifically refers to the offering of life.
Cathedral of the Deep   深みの聖堂     Cathedral of the Deep   深みの聖堂    
Farron Keep     ファランの城塞   Farran Keep     ファロンの城塞  
Catacombs of Carthus    カーサスの地下墓    Catacombs of Carthus    カーサスの地下墓    
Smouldering Lake    燻りの湖    Smouldering Lake    燻りの湖    
Irithyll of the Boreal Valley   冷たい谷のイルシール  Irthyll of the Cold Valley  北方の谷のイリシール  
Irithyll Dungeon    イルシールの地下牢     Irthyll Dungeon     イリシールの地下牢    
Profaned Capital    罪の都   City of Sin     卑俗なる首都  
Anor Londo  アノール・ロンド    Anor Londo  アノール・ロンド    
Consumed King's Garden  妖王の庭    Garden of the Bewitched Lord    食われし王（蝕まれし王）の庭  
Grand Archives  大書庫   The Great Library   大書庫  
Untended Graves     無縁墓地    (See notes)     世話されていない墓     無縁 means to not have connections to any people; While this does lead to graves being untended, the nuance is that those buried in this cemetery are unknown/forgotten to all.
Archdragon Peak     古竜の頂    Ancient Dragon's / Dragons' Peak    上位竜の頂     Archは「長」「第一の」などを意味し、大天使(archangel)や天敵(archenemy)で見られる。即ち「アークドラゴン」はドラゴンの上位の存在。ただしソウルシリーズの英語版では「古竜」は「dragon」で、飛竜などは「drake」「wyvern」と統一されている節がある（例外もある）ため、「archdragon」は「古竜より上位の竜」と解釈可能になる。
Kiln of the First Flame     最初の火の炉  Kiln of the First Flame     最初の炎の炉  
 
 
Spells
English name    Japanese name   Literal translation     英語名の和訳  Notes/備考
Soul Stream     ソウルの奔流  Soul Torrent    ソウルの奔流  It should be noted that in Japanese, this is the same spell as "Soul Geyser" in Dark Souls 2. Also, the description of the spell in 2 calling it a family heirloom is erroneous; It is said to be An-Dil's (Aldia's) "legacy", suggesting that he created it.
Rapport     魅了  Charm   信頼関係    (The spell)
"魅了" is literally "charm". As in the spell and status effect seen in a million RPGs. This is a fucking charm spell. Rapport? Seriously?
Divine Pillars of Light     天使の光柱     Angel's (Angels') Pillars of Light  神聖なる光柱  
Dead Again  死者の活性     Animate Dead    再死  
Great Chaos Fire Orb    混沌の火の玉  Fireball of Chaos   大混沌の火球  Wording for fireball is different from the other fireball spells (火の玉 as opposed to 火球) but they mean the same thing.
Sacred Flame    浄火  Purifying Fire  聖火  
Profaned Flame  罪の炎   Flame of Sin    卑俗なる炎     The thing in the city is the "Fire of Sin" while the spell is the "Flame of Sin". Also, the English naming makes the Sacred and Profaned Flames seem like a set but in Japanese the names and naming schemes are completely different.
Farron Hail     ファランの矢雨   Farran Dart-Rain    ファロンの雹  
Spook   隠密  Stealth     幽霊  
Aural Decoy     音送り   Send Sound  音のおとり    
Chameleon   擬態  Mimic   カメレオン    
Pestilent Mercury   致死の水銀     Lethal Mercury  伝染する水銀  
Affinity    追う者たち     Pursuers    親和性   (The boss in Dark Souls 2 is "呪縛者" = "Cursed One" in Japanese)
 
 
Items
 
English name    Japanese name   Literal translation     英語名の和訳  
Notes/備考
 
Braille Divine Tome     点字聖書    (See notes)     ブライユ聖書  
In Japanese, Braille is 点字 = "dot-words" which is just a descriptive word that might work in a fantasy setting, while in English it's named after some French guy which may not fit.
 
Curse Ward Greatshield  抗呪の大盾     Greatshield of Curse-Resisting  対呪の大盾    
Could mean "greatshield that resists curses" or "greatshield that resisted a curse". Should be noted that the "Pursuer" boss in Dark Souls 2 was named the 呪縛者 = "Cursed One" in Japanese.
 
Dancer's Enchanted Swords   踊り子の双魔剣   Dancher's Twin Magic Swords     魔法を掛けられた踊り子の剣    
"Enchanted" implies that spells were cast on the swords while 魔剣 implies they were made that way. The item description's text in which they are said to have been enchanted is also missing from the Japanese version, which only describes them as "right sword of dark magic, and left sword of flame" (暗い魔力の右手剣、炎の左手剣).
 
 
Other stuff
 
English name    Japanese name   Literal translation     英語名の和訳  
Notes
 
Cinder  薪     Firewood / kindling     燃え殻   Specifically wood.
 
Lords of Cinder     薪の王   Kindling lords  燃え殻の王    
The wording can mean that the lords, themselves, are kindling; That they're perishable items to be used to prolong the life of the flame.
 
Unkindled (one)     火の無い灰     Ash without flame   燃えざる者    
 
Ashen one   灰の方   Ash     灰なる者    
In Japanese it seems to be a polite contraction of "ash without flame", not a title.
英語版では正式名称っぽくなっている
 
Firelink    火継ぎ   Fire inheriting     火繋ぎ  
 
Farron's Undead Legion  ファランの不死隊    Farran's Undead Corps   ファロンの不死軍団    
"隊" gives the impression of a smaller number of people than "legion".
 
Profaned Flame  罪の火   Fire of Sin     卑俗なる炎    
The thing in the city is the "Fire of Sin" while the spell is the "Flame of Sin".
 
Corvian     鴉人  Crow-people     鴉    
鴉人 is the same word as used for the crow-people of Dark Souls 1 (ベルカの鴉人 = Crow-people of Velka)
 
Slasn   斬撃  Slash   斬撃  
(Damage type)
This is fine.
 
Thrust  刺突  Stabbing    突き  
(Damage type)
This is a bit weird, but okay I guess.
 
Strike  打撃  Blunt attack    攻撃  
(Damage type)
"Strike"? What the actual fuck?
 
Faraam  ファーナム     Farnam  ファラーム     (Damage type)
 
 
Descriptions
 
Item name  
English description    
Japanese Description    
Translation + notes
 
Soul of the Nameless King  
 
"The Nameless King was once a dragon-slaying god of war, before he sacrificed everything to ally himself with the ancient dragons."    
 
無名の王は、かつて竜狩りの戦神であったが、あるとき全てを捨て、古竜の同盟者となった    
 
"The Nameless Lord was once the Dragon-Hunter God, but one day he threw away everything and became an ally to the ancient dragons."
 
-Ambiguous, but "竜狩りの戦神" could mean either "he was a dragon-hunting war god" or "he was the war-god worshipped by the Dragon Hunters"; If the latter is the case it makes it clear that there are multiple Dragon-Hunters ("dragonslayers" in the English versions), of whom Ornstein is one, explaining the existence of the Dragonslayer Armour and Old Dragonslayer (2).
 
Lightning Storm    
 
"Once a slayer of dragons, the former king and wargod tamed a Stormdrake, on which he led a lifetime of battle."    
 
かつて竜狩りの戦神であった彼は生涯、嵐の竜を戦場の友とした    
 
"Formerly the Dragon-Hunter God, in life he made a/the Storm Dragon his partner on the battlefield."
 
-"A slayer of dragons, the former king and wargod" is 竜狩りの戦神. See notes on Soul of the Nameless King.
 
-No nuances of "taming" in the Japanese text. He's called an ally to the dragons which would put him on equal ground with them, and the wording here (友 = friend, comrade, partner) while "taming" suggests he's in a position higher the Storm Dragon.
 
Dragonslayer Swordspear    
 
"A dragon hunting weapon from the age of the gods. The earliest form of the cross spear, serving as both a sword and a spear. Its owner was the Nameless King, a deific hunter of dragons. The swordspear is imbued with lightning, of which he was the heir."  
 
神代の竜狩りの武器。十字槍の原型であり、剣と槍の性質を併せ持つ
 
竜狩りの戦神であった頃からずっと変わらず無名の王の手にあり、彼が引き継いだ、大雷の力を帯びている    
 
"A dragon-hunters' weapon from the age of gods. The cross spears were based upon it, and it has the properties of both a sword and a spear. It has always been in the hands of the Nameless Lord since the time he was the Dragon-Hunter God, and is imbued with the power of the great lightning, which he inherited."
 
-竜狩り is otherwise always translated to "dragonslayer", yet is changed to "dragon hunting" here.
 
-Not just the "earliest form" of the cross spear, but the thing upon which they were based on.
 
-"Deific hunter of dragons" is　竜狩りの戦神, see notes for Soul of the Nameless King.
 
-The bit about the Nameless Lord having used it since before he was exiled is omitted.
 
Soul of the Lords  
 
"Since Lord Gwyn, the first Lord of Cinder, many exalted lords have linked the First Flame, and it is their very souls that have manifested themselves as defender of the flame."  
 
最古の薪の王グウィン以来、はじまりの火を継いだ偉大な王たちのソウルがいつか火を守る化身を生んだのだろう  
 
"It seems that the souls of all the great kings who inherited the fire, since the oldest Kindling Lord, Gwyn, at some point gave birth to an avatar to protect the fire."
 
-Reference to the Avatar (final boss, Avatar of Lords; See boss names) is removed.
 
-"以来" does include the person mentioned, so Gwyn's soul is included.
 
Firelink Greatsword    
 
"The Lords of Cinder linked the First Flame, and this Greatsword was wielded by their deific manifestation. This coiled sword, found thrust in the bonfire, existed long before the throneless lords themselves."  
 
はじまりの火を継いだ薪の王たち神のごとき彼らの「化身」の大剣
 
それは、玉座無き彼らの前にずっとあった篝火に刺さる螺旋の剣である    
 
"The greatsword of the Avatar of the godlike Kindling Lords who inherited the fire of beginning. It is the spiral sword, thrust into the bonfire that was always before the throneless lords."
 
-Avatar refers to the final boss, Avatar of Lords (see boss names). This is again removed in the English version.
 
-"Existed long before" is nowhere in the source text; This appear to be a mistranslation or misinterpretation of ずっと which only says that they've been staring at the sword all this time.
 
Faraam Armour  
 
"Armour named after a god of war. The armour of the Forossa Lion Knights was preserved even after the destruction of their homeland, and is mentioned in numerous legends, alongside the names of those who are said to have gone beyond death."    
 
戦神の名を冠した鎧
 
フォローザ獅子騎士団の甲冑は
祖国が滅んだ後も失われず
幾つかの伝承にその姿が語られている
 
絶望を焚べる者の名と共に    
 
"Armour bearing the name of a war god. The armour of Forossa's Order of Lion Knights was not lost even after their homeland was destroyed, and is spoken of in numerous legends. Alongside the name of the one(s) who burned despair."
 
-There is extra emphasis on "Alongside the name of the one(s) who burned despair." which is its own paragraph. "Burn your despair" is the Japanese catchphrase for Dark Souls 2, just as "go beyond death" is the one for the English release.
 
-The Japanese text does not distinguish between singular and plural. The English version assumes it's a plural, but most Japanese players are assuming that it's singular and referring to the protagonist of Dark Souls 1.