The MLP Arena

Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Shaz on August 28, 2018, 01:48:38 AM

Title: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Shaz on August 28, 2018, 01:48:38 AM
I love ponies (obviously!) and I also love foreign languages. So just lately I've been entertaining myself by trying to find out the names of some of my favourite ponies in German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Greek (I picked those languages as I know a little of them so feel fairly confident about hunting down pony names in them - though I think I may have been over-ambitious with Portuguese!).

After mentioning my love of translated pony names in another thread, I discovered that other people are fascinated by it too :) yay! So here is a thread for all things name-related. What are your favourite pony names in another language? Do you know of any awesome resources for finding out names used for ponies in other countries? Do you happen to have scans of non-English catalogues/comics/whatever that you feel like sharing?

My favourite discoveries so far are:
- Corsaire (Barnacle in French; sounds so dashing! And apparently in Canada he was Loup de Mer)
- Pfiffikus (Tales Bright Eyes in German; not quite sure what it means, but it's such fun to say)
- Kuschelwuschel (Baby Cuddles in German. Such a lovely snuggly-sounding name!)
- Filiberto & Guendolina (Italian Dibbles & Nibbles. I love the real-person names given to some of the Italian ponies!)
- Pandora (Italian Little Flitter. Apparently Summer Wing ponies were 'Baby Pony Flap Flap' in Italy, which amuses me inordinately.)
- Asinha de Açucar (Starshine in Portuguese. Means "sugar wings", which I think is very pretty)
- Sifflebiz (Wind Whistler in French)
- Bigodinho (this is Twinkles the cat's name on Portuguese/Brazilian packaging. It means "little moustache"!!)

I've been conducting my research so far using My Little Wiki, Chrissytree's accessories website (the MOC section), the Nirvana gallery, and just a bit of Googling. Further sources would be greatly appreciated. I am on the hunt for more Greek pony names, and I would also love to know what Wind Whistler was called in German-speaking countries. This just seems like such a fun aspect of pony history, and way more interesting than the current 'Pinkie Pie is Pinkie Pie EVERYWHERE'.

All rambling about pony names that aren't in English is welcome here :)
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: PoserBeachball on August 28, 2018, 02:51:19 AM
What a fab thread

Can I ask about some of my ponies?


I know Gustavo is the Italian Gusty, and he's a he.
I think Italian Surprise is called Melassa?
My third Italian is Tickle - what is her real name please?

My Barnacle came from Germany so he's Piri
Spanish Pinwheel is Molinillo

I've also got a Lemon Drop who came to me from Spain, a Painting Time who came here from France and Trucker from Germany. Would be lovely to know their names in their native tongues.


Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Shaz on August 28, 2018, 04:10:58 AM
Well, I know that Spanish Lemon Drop is Gotitas (means 'droplets').
I've seen Surprise called both Melassa (I think that was on My Little Wiki) and Melissa (in an article about MLP n Friends on Italian Wikipedia), so not sure which is correct.
I have a Piri too! The German Big Brother names that I've seen (Indi = Wigwam, Dampfi = Steamer, Booti = Salty) strike me as really cute.

I don't know about your others, hopefully someone else will know.
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Einhornbaby on August 28, 2018, 04:19:50 AM
Oh yes, I remember we talked about this a lot in the past years. But its always fun to chat about so... :

Wind Whistler has two different names in Germany. One is Naseweis (a person who is cheeky, nosey and / or precocious). And the other one is Windspiel (this directly translates to greyhound lol but I think thats not what it meant. A Windspiel is a thing you can hang up in your doorway for example. I makes a jingling sounds when touched by wind).

Truckers german name is Brummi, that comes from the humming sound a truck makes. He never got sold in Germany though.

A Pfiffikus is a really smart person or a smart fellow as dict.cc says.

Kuschelwuschel is a word mixup. "kuscheln" -> cuddling. "wuscheln" is a word like to tousle or to ruffle. So I think its Kuschelwuschel is how I would describe a person who would cuddle really hard lol.

I have some german MOCs but they are also listed on Chrissytrees page.
Here they are (germans only)
Please notce,  "chen" is to belittle something, so like Baby Täschlein -> Baby little bag. Putting an i to the end of a word does the same. Also -lein does belittle something.

http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/applejack.jpg   -> a kid with rosy cheeks, a healthy kid
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/applejack2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/babyschoolbag.jpg  -> Baby Little Bag
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/babyschoolbag2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/babyshaggy.jpg -> Strubbel -> a person with shaggy hair
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/babyshaggy2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/babytappy.jpg -> Tapsi = tapsen = to toddle
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/babytappy2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/babystella.jpg -> Glitzer = glitter
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/babystella2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/babytictactoe.jpg -> Trixi, just a name for a person
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/babytictactoe2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/babywavedancer.jpg - Wasserlöckchen... uhm thats tough. Wasser = water, Löckchen = a little curl
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/babywavedancer2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/beachball.jpg -> something precious from the beach
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/beachball2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/boquet.jpg -> Wunder = wonder, so Little Wonder maybe
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/boquet2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/cherriesjubilee.jpg -> Kirschblüte = cherry blossom
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/cherriesjubilee2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/chrissi.jpg -> just a name
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/chrissi2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/goodweather.jpg -> Sonnenstrahl = sunbeam
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/goodweather2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/molasses.jpg -> Honigherz = a popular baked snack made with honey
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/molasses2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/peppermintcrunch.jpg -> Pfefferminzi = Little Peppermint
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/peppermintcrunch2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/rainfeather.jpg -> Regentröpfchen = Little Raindrop
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/rainfeather2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/secretbeauty.jpg -> Schimmerchen = Little Gleam
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/secretbeauty2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/starflash.jpg -> Herzstern = made up from the word heart and star
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/starflash2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/strawberrysurprise.jpg Erdbeermund = a person with beautiful red lips you would like to kiss
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/strawberrysurprise2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/streaky_g.jpg Regenbogenreiter = someone who rides the rainbow
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/streaky_g2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/tootietails.jpg Sonnenschatz = a gleaming treasure, also used for fruits from excotic locations like i.e. pineapples
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/tootietails2.jpg
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/wildflower.jpg Perlblümchen = thats a tiny little flower with blue petals
http://einhornbaby.contract-killers.de/zeigen/chrissytreee/wildflower2.jpg
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Carrehz on August 28, 2018, 07:48:16 AM
Corsaire! I love that name!!

I like Spike's Italian name - Dragoberto. XD It sounds so cute and silly.
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: aquamarinemolly on August 28, 2018, 08:00:35 AM
Just here to say I am loving this thread! :lovey:
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Leave a Whisper on August 28, 2018, 09:52:45 AM
Baby Pony Flap Flap! :lmao:

I like Brummi a lot.
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Taffeta on August 29, 2018, 12:34:40 AM
Trucker is Brummi in Germany? That's so funny for me. In the UK, people who come from Birmingham (like me, technically) are colloquially known as 'Brummies'. So he's a Brummie, is he? xD Good stuff :D

@Shaz I might have some on my website (sig for link) although you have some of mine already from Chrissytree's site as I basically dumped all my MOC images on her for use :)

I'll add Feuerfunke as a favourite of mine because it sounds funky. Literally. (Firefly in German).

Shady in France (not Canadian French) is Incognito. In Canadian French she was Petit Ombre. I like both names to be honest. I am not sure how many other variations there are between Canada and France.

I remember Sweetie/Sweet Stuff is Gourmandine in French. Oh yes! And Trixi! Tic Tac Toe is Trixi in German :D

In Spanish, Trickles is Rocio. And I like that, because my first year in London, I had a flatmate called Rocio. And ironically, one of the ponies I had with me was a regular HK Trickles. Talk about coincidences :D I also think Molinillo for Pinwheel sounds cute though I can't translate it. Spanish names sound pretty ;D



There is a whole list of names in Finnish online somewhere.
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: PoserBeachball on August 29, 2018, 01:15:31 AM
I also think Molinillo for Pinwheel sounds cute though I can't translate it. Spanish names sound pretty ;D

I don't know Spanish, wondered perhaps if Molinillo is from the same root as 'mill' and 'moulin' which would make sense as a 'little windmill'.

Brummi conjours up the funniest thoughts as a Brummie trucker carving up traffic on the M5 round Birmingham :) :)
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Taffeta on August 29, 2018, 01:31:08 AM
And spaghetti junction! !
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Shaz on August 29, 2018, 01:33:08 AM
@Einhornbaby Wow, so much pretty pony packaging to look at! It's awesome to find out what the pony names actually mean to people who speak the language, e.g. I can see that Erdbeermund means something like "strawberry mouth" but I don't have the knowledge of colloquial German to know that it means someone kissable. I'm thinking Windspiel would be best translated as 'windchime'.

@PoserBeachball Love the idea of the Brummie truck driver :) . I was just poking around on Strawberry Reef and found an Italian page. Not sure how accurate it is, but Tickle's Italian name is given as Barnaba.
http://www.strawberryreef.com/Index/G1/Country/italy.html

@Taffeta Wow, a list of Finnish names, hope I run across that one day. I remember someone sharing an awesome giant list of Spanish names once as well, but haven't been able to find it again.
I've found a few differences between French and Canadian French names, e.g.:
Gusty - Bourrasque in France - Rafale in Canada
Lickety-Split - Sorbet in France - Trotteause in Canada
Sweetie/Sweetstuff - Gourmande or Gourmandine in France - Douceur in Canada
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Leikin on August 29, 2018, 03:24:51 AM
Lemon Drop had a few different names in Spain, depending on which version ^^
Regular yellow LD - Gotitas
Piggy LD - Suspiro
Green LD - Agua Limón (which I guess translates something like lemon water :P )
Baby LD - Bebé Comilíon

Lemon Drop in italian is Limone, in german its Zitrönchen and greek is Zízí.

There are a bunch of Swedish names that where used in some early books and merchandise (and one film) before they switched to the english names. I dont remember much of them, but Firefly was silver. ^^
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Shaz on August 29, 2018, 03:28:21 AM
This seems like a fun website for the name-obsessed:
http://petitecollection.free.fr/Section_MPP.htm
And not just French names!: http://petitecollection.free.fr/Section_Pays.htm

Here's some more links that I've been finding helpful:
http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,389549.0.html - a database of Spanish pony names!

https://digilander.libero.it/damaindaco/nomiitaliani.htm - Italian names

http://www.ponylande.de/g1/liste.html - German names! The same website has similar lists for G2 and G3.
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: PoserBeachball on August 30, 2018, 07:07:19 AM
Thanks for posting those links - very interesting

and I think this is 'tail wagging the dog'........
I've now got an Italian added onto on my wish list because her name is the same as a family member :) :) :)
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Shaz on September 02, 2018, 01:58:54 AM
Yay, I found the list of Finnish names: http://www.elisanet.fi/myrskytar/suomennoksia2.htm

I think my favourite is Barnacle's. Apparently it means "One Eye"!
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Moonbreeze on September 02, 2018, 03:18:45 AM
Oh man, some of these are awesome. I believe the G1 got some Dutch translations in the comics, but not on the toy products themselves :P I'll look some up!

G2 and G3 on the other hand... *snort*
Waterlily (g2) = Gekke Kikker which is Crazy Frog. And I just ???

Ok, ok, a better one. They decided to call G2 Bubble.... Shampoo. Yes, there's a pony called Shampoo xD

There are better ones though! Spring is called Lentebries which means Spring Breeze :)
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Nienna on September 02, 2018, 04:09:21 AM
In G3, Pinkie Pie is called 'Lekkerbekje' in Dutch, which is a word for a person who enjoys food a lot :P but, it's also a common word for fried fish... so it's a little weird ;)
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Taffeta on September 02, 2018, 09:07:09 AM
I will always consider Hip Holly's stage name "Miss Gadget", because we bought her in Paris :)

I still love the name for the twins drifter and dreamer in French as well. Vive-La-Vie and Vive-Le-Vent. Lovely alliterative names there.
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Leave a Whisper on September 02, 2018, 10:49:34 AM
Yay, I found the list of Finnish names: http://www.elisanet.fi/myrskytar/suomennoksia2.htm

I think my favourite is Barnacle's. Apparently it means "One Eye"!

Poor Barnacle! XD
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Perikoala on September 02, 2018, 10:52:37 AM
I can contribute with Spanish names. Some have nothing to do with their English version, sometimes even different ponies have the same name, I think MB didn't have a detailed record, or didn't care about repeating names.

In Spanish, Trickles is Rocio. And I like that, because my first year in London, I had a flatmate called Rocio. And ironically, one of the ponies I had with me was a regular HK Trickles. Talk about coincidences :D I also think Molinillo for Pinwheel sounds cute though I can't translate it. Spanish names sound pretty ;D

Rocío literally means "dew", "goteo" would have been more faithful to "trickles" but I guess dew sounded more aesthetic  :P

I don't know Spanish, wondered perhaps if Molinillo is from the same root as 'mill' and 'moulin' which would make sense as a 'little windmill'.

Yes, you're right. Mill is molino in Spanish, as pinwheels are like small blades of a mill. So molino + illo (diminutival) = molinillo.

Lemon Drop had a few different names in Spain, depending on which version ^^
Regular yellow LD - Gotitas
Piggy LD - Suspiro
Green LD - Agua Limón (which I guess translates something like lemon water :P )
Baby LD - Bebé Comilíon

The CP Lemon Drop had two different names in Spanish. Lluvia (Rain) with the first release of the Show Table, and Gotitas (droplets) with the second.

Suspiro > Sigh
Agua limón > Lemon Water
Bebé Comilón > Baby Glutton/guzzler

Some other names:

*Tickle - Plumitas > (little) Feathers

*Baby Moondancer - Bebé Mimosito > Baby Cuddly

*Baby Bowtie - Bebé Regordete (also called Bebé Lacitos) > Baby Chubby

*Baby Tiddly Winks - Bebé Chiquitín > Baby Tiny

*Gingerbread - Muñeca > Doll

*Sweet Stuff - Goloso > Sweet Tooth

*Whizzer - Bombón > Bonbon

*Steamer - Trenecitos > (little) Trains

*4-Speed - Viajero > Traveler

*Barnacle - Barbarroja > Barbarossa/Red Bear

*Wigwam - Apache

*Hopscoth - Juguetón > Playful (Play-Time also has this name)

*Sugarberry - Fresa Salvaje > Wild Strawberry

*Sweet Tooth - Golosina > Candy

*Up Up and Away - Globitos > (little) Balloons

*Baby Quackers - Bebé Patito Feo > Baby Ugly Duckling

*Bouquet - Delicia > Delight

*Curly Locks - Maravilla > Wonder

*Braided Beauty - Enredos > Tangles

*Peppermint Crunch - Silvestre > Wild/Sylvan

*Swirly Whirly - Cucurucho > Cornet

*Wild Flower - Delicada > Delicate

*Baby Nightsong - Estela > (comet) tail/stella

*Baby Stella - Baby Nanas > Baby Lullaby/Nightsong

*Hula Hula - Grumete > Cabin Boy

*Li’l Pocket - Risitas - Giggles (same name for Little Giggles too)

*Sweet Pocket - Sonidos Mágicos > Magic Sounds

*Bunny Hop - Toques Mágicos - Magic Touches

*Bubblefish - Saltitos - (small) Jumps

*Cherry Sweet - Dulces Delicias > Sweet Delights

*Sweet Delight - Chocolate

*Nice n' Spicy - Sabroso > Tasty

*Chatterbox - Mimoso > Cuddly

*Good Weather - Solete > This is hard to translate because "-ete" is an affectionate diminutive and sol is sun so literally would be like "little sun" but the meaning would be sun beam or sunshine.


Sorry, the list is a bit long  ^^;
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: LadyMoondancer on September 02, 2018, 12:09:52 PM
*Baby Quackers - Bebé Patito Feo > Baby Ugly Duckling

WOW, that is amazing.  :lol:
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: PoserBeachball on September 03, 2018, 12:55:16 AM
The Spanish names are really interesting, thank you Perikoala.


The one in particular that made me smile was Braided Beauty - Enredos > Tangles
guess who was having a bad hair day when the naming meeting came around :) :)?
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Taffeta on September 03, 2018, 01:08:34 AM
The Spanish names are really interesting, thank you Perikoala.


The one in particular that made me smile was Braided Beauty - Enredos > Tangles
guess who was having a bad hair day when the naming meeting came around :) :)?

That's why she ended up braiding it, clearly ;) That's what I do when my hair is driving me mad...(which is often, because it's super fine).
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Shaz on September 03, 2018, 01:23:52 AM
@Perikoala, wow, all those names! I think Baby Quackers' is my favourite. Poor Baby Ugly Duckling  :lol:
Do you know if Majesty, Baby Cuddles, Wind Whistler or the Princess Ponies (Sapphire/Royal Blue, Tiffany/Pearl etc) ever had their names translated into Spanish? I don't think they were sold in Spain, but I wonder if they might have popped up in the cartoons, comics or whatever.

My latest discovery is some Greek cartoon names. It seems Greece had My Little Pony Tales! I saw a video of it for sale on eBay (with pictures from the 1986 movie on it just to confuse things), with mentions of the characters Starlait = Starlight, Braitais = Bright Eyes, Souitchart = Sweetheart, Bon-Bon, Milonty = Melody, Lanser = Lancer, As = Ace and Tenty = Teddy - i.e. the names pronounced the same way as in English, but rendered phonetically into the Greek alphabet. I found that very awesome and interesting :)

Images of Greek video below, for those who are interested. Not my images.

Spoiler
https://imgur.com/a/iYwhwAU
"At last
A cinematic film
Featuring the legendary
MY LITTLE PONY
with 11 wonderful songs!"

https://imgur.com/a/RPwUTpc
"My Little Pony captivates with cheerfulness, imagination and adventure.
Starlight, Bright Eyes, Sweetheart, Bon-Bon and Melody are like all girl-friends everywhere.
Ace, Lancer and Teddy, the boy ponies, make life in PonyLand a little more complicated, constantly interesting and always challenging.
Enjoy [watching] the good friends as they laugh, cry, remember, reconcile and learn from their mistakes."
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Taffeta on September 03, 2018, 04:34:28 AM
I have a Starlight moc whose card is English but who is fixed into this bigger greek packaging with a candle and tales pony art so that does make sense. When I bought it there were a lot around and apparently it related to Easter in some way...
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Shaz on September 03, 2018, 06:21:46 AM
I have a Starlight moc whose card is English but who is fixed into this bigger greek packaging with a candle and tales pony art so that does make sense. When I bought it there were a lot around and apparently it related to Easter in some way...

That's interesting to know! I'm very curious as to which ponies were sold in Greece after the El Greco ones and what sort of packaging they had. Do you happen to have any pictures of your Starlight?
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Leikin on September 03, 2018, 06:59:59 AM
Lemon Drop had a few different names in Spain, depending on which version ^^
Regular yellow LD - Gotitas
Piggy LD - Suspiro
Green LD - Agua Limón (which I guess translates something like lemon water :P )
Baby LD - Bebé Comilíon

The CP Lemon Drop had two different names in Spanish. Lluvia (Rain) with the first release of the Show Table, and Gotitas (droplets) with the second.

Suspiro > Sigh
Agua limón > Lemon Water
Bebé Comilón > Baby Glutton/guzzler

*Baby Quackers - Bebé Patito Feo > Baby Ugly Duckling


Poor baby Quackers :haha:

Thanks for the names :) Didnt know about Lluvia.

And Bebe Mimosito sounds so cute!
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Taffeta on September 03, 2018, 07:31:06 AM
I have a Starlight moc whose card is English but who is fixed into this bigger greek packaging with a candle and tales pony art so that does make sense. When I bought it there were a lot around and apparently it related to Easter in some way...

That's interesting to know! I'm very curious as to which ponies were sold in Greece after the El Greco ones and what sort of packaging they had. Do you happen to have any pictures of your Starlight?

Yeah, I do. I don't seem to have any images of the back that I can find at the moment, but here is the front:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


There were many of these back when I bought mine, and they were not that expensive at the time, but I haven't seen another one come up for literally years. I am sure they have and there must be others out there, but maybe folk are hoarding them.

The Starlight card was/is fixed in place with tape which as you can see is yellowing and drying out, so she's a little loose but hasn't quite come away from the base yet. The card has also been trimmed around the edges but not by me, that also seems to be part of fitting her in the bigger candle...thing.
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: tootie_tails on September 03, 2018, 10:12:23 AM
I think the Rocking Beat ponies had cool names in french but I don't remember them now.. I *think* one of them is "Solo".


"Baby Quackers - Bebé Patito Feo > Baby Ugly Duckling"

Ugly Duckling, how strange but cute.


"Barnacle - Barbarroja > Barbarossa/Red Bear"  (Beard?)

Barnacle is Red Beard ? Again, weird but fits him..




Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Shaz on September 03, 2018, 11:51:11 AM
Spoiler
I have a Starlight moc whose card is English but who is fixed into this bigger greek packaging with a candle and tales pony art so that does make sense. When I bought it there were a lot around and apparently it related to Easter in some way...

That's interesting to know! I'm very curious as to which ponies were sold in Greece after the El Greco ones and what sort of packaging they had. Do you happen to have any pictures of your Starlight?

Yeah, I do. I don't seem to have any images of the back that I can find at the moment, but here is the front:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


There were many of these back when I bought mine, and they were not that expensive at the time, but I haven't seen another one come up for literally years. I am sure they have and there must be others out there, but maybe folk are hoarding them.

The Starlight card was/is fixed in place with tape which as you can see is yellowing and drying out, so she's a little loose but hasn't quite come away from the base yet. The card has also been trimmed around the edges but not by me, that also seems to be part of fitting her in the bigger candle...thing.

Awesome! The Greek says "Happy Easter". I don't know a lot about modern Greek culture, but I gather that Easter is a big thing there, and tends to involve candles and red-painted eggs, so I suppose that's why we have ponies like Paschalitsa, Lambaditsa, and this Happy Easter Starlight.
Global pony releases, merchandise etc. are so interesting, and there must be so much that still isn't known about them!
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Taffeta on September 03, 2018, 11:59:57 AM
Spoiler
I have a Starlight moc whose card is English but who is fixed into this bigger greek packaging with a candle and tales pony art so that does make sense. When I bought it there were a lot around and apparently it related to Easter in some way...

That's interesting to know! I'm very curious as to which ponies were sold in Greece after the El Greco ones and what sort of packaging they had. Do you happen to have any pictures of your Starlight?

Yeah, I do. I don't seem to have any images of the back that I can find at the moment, but here is the front:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


There were many of these back when I bought mine, and they were not that expensive at the time, but I haven't seen another one come up for literally years. I am sure they have and there must be others out there, but maybe folk are hoarding them.

The Starlight card was/is fixed in place with tape which as you can see is yellowing and drying out, so she's a little loose but hasn't quite come away from the base yet. The card has also been trimmed around the edges but not by me, that also seems to be part of fitting her in the bigger candle...thing.

Awesome! The Greek says "Happy Easter". I don't know a lot about modern Greek culture, but I gather that Easter is a big thing there, and tends to involve candles and red-painted eggs, so I suppose that's why we have ponies like Paschalitsa, Lambaditsa, and this Happy Easter Starlight.
Global pony releases, merchandise etc. are so interesting, and there must be so much that still isn't known about them!
Agreed. I could rantcomplain about the amount of time people have spent not looking into stuff that's blatantly there (but I won't xD).

I do wish I could remember if all the ones back then were Starlight or whether they were others. I think they were others but I really don't recall and I have tried searching but didn't come up with anything. I wonder if you searched in Greek, whether it would come up with anything better? I find a lot more stuff using kanji than romaji when I want to dig up something Japanese, so it's a thought whether a Cyrillic search might reveal more...

I think the artwork is from Princess Sparkle's box.



Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Perikoala on September 03, 2018, 12:11:34 PM
*Baby Quackers - Bebé Patito Feo > Baby Ugly Duckling

WOW, that is amazing.  :lol:

Poor baby Quackers :haha:

@Perikoala, wow, all those names! I think Baby Quackers' is my favourite. Poor Baby Ugly Duckling  :lol:

I know, right? :biggrin: I wonder if the second set of TEs had been available in Spain, maybe Quackers would have been named Uglu Duckling? It would have been hilarious!  :lol: :lol:

@Perikoala, wow, all those names! I think Baby Quackers' is my favourite. Poor Baby Ugly Duckling  :lol:
Do you know if Majesty, Baby Cuddles, Wind Whistler or the Princess Ponies (Sapphire/Royal Blue, Tiffany/Pearl etc) ever had their names translated into Spanish? I don't think they were sold in Spain, but I wonder if they might have popped up in the cartoons, comics or whatever.

Sadly, as you suspected, those ponies were never sold in Spain, so its hard to know how they'd be named, unless you take it as 'canon' the names in the cartoon. And the cartoon is something funny here because there were 2 different dubs in Spain. The first one was in Castilian Spanish (aired only once I think, so its hard to find. No DVDs :( ) and the second in Latin Spanish.
The Castilian one the names were translated (in Latin the names were in English) and even thought some ponies were true to their Spanish names, others changed theirs; like Sweet Stuff instead of being called Goloso (Sweet Tooth) like her toy version, is called Caramelo (Caramel) so yeah...

I only could find 1 episode in castilian on YT, and fortunately Wind Whistle is in there and her name is Vendaval (Gale).

We had some tale books too but I don't own any yet so I don't know how the ponies are named but once looking at my cousin's sticker album, I found that Lemon Drop is called Suspiro, her piggy's name and I think that's very cute!  ^.^

"Barnacle - Barbarroja > Barbarossa/Red Bear"  (Beard?)

Barnacle is Red Beard ? Again, weird but fits him..

I'm pretty sure its because Barbarrosa was a pirate and since Barnacle has a pirate hat and a treasure symbol... I think is pretty cool!
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Shaz on September 04, 2018, 03:03:19 AM
@Perikoala, thanks for all the Spanish names & info!

@Taffeta, I haven't found anything about Happy Easter Starlight, but I do now have a new hobby of looking at Greek websites about ponies :) . I found a whole thread of people reminiscing about their childhood Greek ponies, though sadly most of the links and pictures no longer show. Greece seems to have had lots of the later ponies, like the roller-skating ponies, Tales ponies, Glowing Magic/Glow n Show. Also found a mention of "Fantastic Hair" and "Glowing Princess" ponies, so I'm thinking maybe Hair-Do ponies and light-up Princess Sparkle? I'm now filling a notebook with foreign pony names and random observations about ponies in Greece, maybe one day I'll have enough for a coherent history or my own website or something!
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Taffeta on September 04, 2018, 03:53:30 AM
I'm now filling a notebook with foreign pony names and random observations about ponies in Greece, maybe one day I'll have enough for a coherent history or my own website or something!

Do it. Seriously. Do it :)

There's a member on here who comes from Cyprus, I know because I sold them ponies...and I remember they had a lot of the same stuff as Greece did in that area as well. I also remember that the later European style cards with the borders also have some information (hasbro details probably?) in Cyrillic (Greek Cyrillic) on them as well and a lot of the border card ponies still MOC come out of Greece. I think both my Rosette and Sweet Clover MIB came from Greek sellers, so there's definitely something there.

It's a hypothesis but I feel like the early years of MLP in Europe is really diverse, with different strands in different countries. And then we get to a point where it almost standardises in terms of the border card releases. Albeit there are some exceptions, what happens in Europe is a lot more uniform after around 1989ish than it is before that point.

Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: LadyMoondancer on September 04, 2018, 07:22:29 AM
Sulaine, who IIRC was from Finland, used to have a page of "unusual" Finnish pony names.  Some from comics, some from packaging, some from the show.  Sadly her website is gone now but I did save the list of names for posterity:

http://heckyeahponyscans.tumblr.com/post/142359327977

So the following translations are all from her: :P

BABY TIC-TAC-TOE —Tipsuttaja  (Tripper)   I wonder what this means…

BABY TIC-TAC-TOE —Hipsuvarvas  (Trip-Toe)   Oh, now I get it! It’s a TOE! The translators could understand the “toe”-part! Isn’t this amazing?!!!

CONFETTI –Konvehti  (piece of chocolate)  and Karkki  (Candy) . Ok, Confetti and Konvehti might be same LOOKING words, but….

MASQUERADE –Muskeli  (Muscle) .
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Leikin on September 04, 2018, 07:42:49 AM
MASQUERADE –Muskeli  (Muscle) .

:lol: I mean, common! what about her seems like a muscle?
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Taffeta on September 04, 2018, 08:19:34 AM


CONFETTI –Konvehti  (piece of chocolate)  and Karkki  (Candy) . Ok, Confetti and Konvehti might be same LOOKING words, but….

I remember Sulaine!
Also, this one is kind of interesting to me. There's a similar word in Japanese which also means a kind of candy. It does make you wonder if the whole concept of her theme was a bit lost in translation...though I'm assuming Finland had the Wedding Bells release, I actually don't know if they did or if it was just the walking one...

Weird how words have different nuances when they cross cultures...

Muscle is brilliant. Poor Masky.
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Shaz on September 05, 2018, 02:30:54 AM
Oh my goodness, those Finnish names! I think the translators must have been having some fun! I am now imagining Masquerade as a bodybuilder....

Taffeta, I think I have worked out the story behind your Happy Easter Starlight. Part of Greek Orthodox Easter celebrations involves everyone lighting a candle to symbolise the Resurrection, so attractive Easter candles are big business in Greece, and sometimes have cartoon characters on them/their packaging. These days you can get G4 MLP Easter candles! So that would explain the giant candle in pony packaging. I'm thinking that some enterprising Greek shop then decided to put some ponies that they had lying around in with the candles, hence Starlight on a (presumably) European card. That would explain why it's been trimmed to fit. But I still haven't found any others pictured online, just lots (and lots) of G4.

I've gone a bit off-topic with my Easter Starlight musings (I'm going to have to start a new thread for all my discoveries and questions about Greek ponies!), so I'll just add a few of my favourite recent translated name discoveries:

- Baby Cuddles in Finnish is Pikku Pony ("little pony"). Descriptive, I suppose.
- Little Flitter in Finnish is Lentäjä, which I think means "pilot". Aviator pony?
- Baby Tiddly Winks in Finnish is Pikku Murunen ("little crumb/morsel").
- Wind Whistler in the Italian cartoon is Fischietto, "whistles".
- An Italian advert for the Baby Buggy describes Baby Cuddles as "il Principio felice", "the happy Prince", which is cute.
- Argentinian Starshine is called Sol Dorado, "golden sun", which I think is a very pretty name.

I got on eBay last night (always a mistake :lol: ) and purchased myself a G3 sticker book from Serbia. So I will soon know what Rainbow Dash, Wysteria, Pinkie Pie etc is in Serbian. Useful knowledge indeed :nod:
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Taffeta on September 05, 2018, 07:08:12 AM
Easter pony stuff in spoiler
Spoiler
Ooh! That sounds so likely. Whether it was done by one store or one store chain as a special thing, it seems really plausible. Though the boxes and stuff are G1 art and fit, so I almost think it must have had some involvement with Hasbro somewhere along the line. I don't know if Hasbro had a Greek branch. Maybe...?

But I think you're right. Thank you so much for doing the digging :) Even if we can't prove 100%, it makes a lot of sense that way. It is just a bit sad knowing there were others and now there isn't a trace of them. I have thought about selling Starlight more than once but the size of her and getting the thing out of the cupboard has prevented me. I'm kind of glad now I kept her, so that at least the phenomenon is documented, because otherwise it might have been lost :/

(On the subject of Easter, I think there's some weird easter release for Bedtime Newborns in Australia, but that's off topic and seems like a whole new Easter discussion xD)
On the names again!

I remember having a conversation with my Israeli friend about MLP - she had them as a kid too (G1) and still does have them, what she describes sound mostly like US stuff, but she did mention books in hebrew. I know we have at least one Israeli community member here in Allymer, maybe there are some Hebrew pony names as well. When I talked to my friend about MLP she doesn't really remember the TV show...she remembers the Hebrew version of Transformers and that basically the Hebrew word for Autobot and Transformer was the same thing pretty much...so it seems likely they had their own names for pony stuff too...

But I think her ponies were all sold in English language packages (so far as she remembers). I wonder if Allymer might know more. (Unfortunately the only hebrew word I can read is 'shalom', and I know hebrew characters change according to their position in the word, so I'm not even going to begin trying...
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Shaz on September 07, 2018, 12:53:46 PM
I am continually amazed by just how many countries had G1 ponies! Truly a global phenomenon. (Although I am still peeved that Romania didn't have them. Romanian history/language/culture is one of my enthusiasms and it would have been fun to combine it with ponies. But then I suppose Romania had bigger things on its mind in the 80s than small plastic equines.)

Israeli Wikipedia tells me that Firefly in Hebrew is:
פיירפלי
What that means or how it is pronounced I have no idea :lol:

I found out some Greek names from the Greek translation of the cartoon:
Mimic was Mimi
Sweetstuff/Sweetie was Zacharenia ("sugar")
Megan was Natali (for some reason!)
Title: Re: Pony Names in Translation
Post by: Taffeta on September 07, 2018, 01:52:39 PM
I have the Italian names for Mimic's set. I'm going to go see if I have an image to go with that though, as I don't remember any of them off hand.

Hrm, apparently don't have a scan of that insert :/ It's one of those sets where the characters don't have human names, they seem more translated if I remember right.

Re: Hebrew - My friend tried to teach me a bit about how it works when I was over there with her last May, and curious Taffeta is curious so I was trying to read signs (I did end up recognising Jerusalem once I knew a couple of characters in context!) but I don't remember clearly. Just that it's right to left....and that the vowels aren't written in, they're implied from the position of the character in the word...

SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal