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Fowl or Foul? A Study of Hippogriff Brutality

Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China)
家禽还是怪兽
Jiāqín háishì guàishòu?

鹰头马身有翼兽野蛮性研究
Yīngtóu-mǎshēn-yǒuyì-shòu yěmàn-xìng yánjiū
家禽 jiā-qín = ' domestic fowl, poultry'.
还是 hái-shì = 'or'.
怪兽 guài-shòu = 'strange/monstrous beast'.

鹰头马身有翼兽 yīngtóu-mǎshēn-yǒuyì-shòu 'hawk-headed, horse-bodied, winged beast' = 'hippogriff'.
野蛮性 yěmàn-xìng = 'barbarity, brutality'.
研究 yánjiū = 'study, research'.

1. Poultry or Monstrous Beast

2. A Study of Hippogriff Brutality

Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan)
飛禽或是惡獸?鷹馬殘酷行為研究
Fēiqìn huòshì èshòu? Yīngmǎ cánkù xíngwéi yánjiū
飛禽 fēiqìn = 'bird(s), creatures of the air'.
或是 huòshi = 'or'.
惡獸 èshòu = 'evil beast'.
鷹馬 yīngmǎ = 'hawk-horse' = 'hippogriff'.
殘酷 cánkù = 'cruel, brutal'.
行為 xíngwéi = 'actions, behaviour'.
研究 yánjiū = 'study, research'.
Bird or Evil Beast? A Study of the Cruel Behaviour of Hippogriffs
Japanese
鳥か盗りか?
Tori ka tori ka?

ヒッポグリフの残忍性に関する研究
Hippogurifu no zannin-sei in kansuru kenkyū
tori = 'bird'.
盗り tori = 'thief, robber'.
.... ka ... ka (following nouns) = 'or'. AかBか = 'A or B'.

ヒッポグリフ Hippogurifu = 'Hippogriff' (written in phonetic katakana script, used for writing foreign words).
no = connecting particle
残忍性 zannin-sei = 'cruelty, brutality'. (残忍 zannin = 'cruel', -sei = 'nature, characteristic', together mean 'cruel nature, brutal nature').
に関する ni kansuru = 'concerning, regarding'.
研究 kenkyū = 'study, research'.
1. Bird or Thief?

2. A Study concerning the Brutality of Hippogriffs
Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology)
Chim Hay Quỷ? Một Nghiên Cứu Về Tính Hung Ác Của Bằng-Mã chim = 'bird'.
hay = 'or'.
quỷ () = 'spirit of the dead, evil spirit, fiend, devil'.
một = 'one'.
nghiên cứu (研究) = 'study, research'.
về = 'about, concerning'.
tính () = 'nature'.
hung ác (兇惡) = 'cruel'.
của = 'of, belonging to'.
Bằng-mã (鵬馬) = 'eagle horse' = 'hippogriff'.
Bird or Evil Spirit? A Study concerning the Cruelty of Hippogriffs
Mongolian (new)
Тэжээвэр үү? Махчин үү? Хиппогрифийн зан байдлыг судлах нь
Tejeever üü? Makhchin üü? Khippogrifiin zan baidliig sudlakh n'
тэжээвэр tejeever = 'tame'.
үү / уу üü / uu Marks yes/no question.
махчин makhchin = 'carnivore, beast of prey'.
Хиппогриф khippogrif = 'hippogriff' (Genitive form).
зан байдал zan baidal = 'behaviour'.
сурах surakh = 'study'.
нь n' = 'about' (makes the preceding sentence into a noun).
Is it Tame? Is it a Predator? Studying Hippogriff Behaviour

Both the Japanese and Mainland translators mistakenly translate this as two separate titles: 'Fowl or foul?' and 'A Handbook of Hippogriff Psychology'.

How is 'Fowl or Foul' translated?:

The question 'fowl or foul?' works nicely as a pun but is slightly strange in ordinary English.

Firstly, 'fowl' is a noun whereas 'foul' is an adjective. 'Fowl' is used in the archaic sense of 'bird (in general)' (as seen in the expression 'fish or fowl?', or in the words 'wildfowl' and 'waterfowl'). 'Foul' is an adjective meaning 'wicked' or 'immoral', and also carries the sense of 'offensive to the senses, especially the sense of smell'. The result is the rather strained question: Is the Hippogriff a kind of bird, or is it wicked?

The interpretation of the Hippogriff as a kind of bird makes the question even more strained since the Hippogriff has the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a horse — hardly an ordinary bird.

Nevertheless, the two work nicely as a pun. The broader sense of the question is: Is the Hippogriff just an ordinary, inoffensive kind of bird or is it something evil?

The aim of the translators must be to capture this. Reproducing the pun is a bonus but not essential.

For 'fowl':

'Foul':

How is 'Hippogriff' translated?:

Hippogriffs are creatures with the head of an eagle and the body of a horse. The name is from 'hippo' (Greek for 'horse') and 'griffon' (or griffin or gryphon), an ancient Greek creature with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. It is translated as:

How is 'A Study of' translated?

English uses the preposition 'of' to indicate the concept of 'a study concerning'. All of the CJV languages use the same word for 'study or research' (noun): 研究 yánjiū (Chinese), 研究 kenkyū (Japanese), and nghiên cứu (Vietnamese), a word hailing from the 19th-20th century modernisation (Westernisation) of vocabulary in East Asia.

How is 'brutality' translated?:

'Brutality' is translated differently in each version.

Category: Magical Creatures

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