TRANSLATIONS

The words on the left are in Spanish and on the right is their English meaning:

• First of all the Bosses:
  • Cangrejo: Crab (this is the first level boss, quite obvious that it's a crab :)
  • Pulpo: Octopus
  • Pollo: Chicken
  • Vista: sight, vision (makes sense, it's got a giant eye!) - Translation contributed by Shvegait
  • Tarso: is tarsus, the part of the foot, but I think this is a misspelling in the game. It should probably be Torso (makes infinitely more sense) - Translation contributed by Shvegait
  • Paguro: means "hermit crab", but in the game, it is a green form of Agar. My guess is that initially it was a new form of Cangrejo, not Agar, but it was changed, and the name was kept the same. Seems a bit convoluted without knowing more information, just a guess - Translation contributed by Shvegait
  • Alguien: Somebody (this is interesting. It kind of makes sense if you think of it as 'Somebody who protects Jashiin')
• Next the Towns:
  • Muralla: Wall (This doesn't make too much sense, but it might be correct considering that this town is a barrier between the peaceful land and the dangerous caverns.)
  • Satono: is misspelled. The correct spelling should be Sotano and translates to Basement or Cellar
  • Bosque: Forest
  • Helada: Frost (Interesting tid-bit: If you change the 'a' at the end to an 'o', you get "Helado" which also means "ice cream")
  • Tumba: Tomb/Graveyard
  • Dorado: Gilded
  • Llama: Flame (And I always thought it had something to do with those South American animals called Llamas. Another meaning of the word is 'Call'. As gamer Shvegait points out that "just like English, Spanish words have multiple definitions, but flame is indeed one of them, and it makes sense").
  • Pureza: Purity (One hell of a name for a town that's got a resident spy!)
  • Esco: 'Escondite' means hiding place or hideout. Esco is most likely a shortened form of Escondite.
• Now the Magical Items:
  • Acero: Steel (So the 'Holy Water of Acero' is simply 'Liquid Steel'?)
  • Magia: Magic (No big surprise in that translation)
  • Espada: Sword (Interesting. Although the Sage says that is the magic of throwing swords, I never really got that feeling form looking at the animation for it)
  • Saeta: Arrow
  • Fuego: Fire
  • Lanzar: to throw or hurl
  • Rascar: "to scrape" or "to scratch"
  • Agua: Yup, you guessed it: Water
  • Guerra: And this is indeed very interesting. It means WAR!!!!!!
• Even the Cavern names have meanings! All of them seem to fit with the characteristics of that cavern except for Cavern of Riza, and perhaps Cavern of Reaccion.
  • Peligro: Danger
  • Malicia: Malice
  • Riza: Curly, or rather, Winding (a cavern with all sorts of twists and turns)
  • Madera: Wood
  • Escarcha: Freeze
  • Glacial: same meaning in English as in Spanish
  • Corroer: to corrode (Fits perfectly since most of the walls and floor crumbles away)
  • Cementar: to cement
  • Tesoro: Treasure
  • Arrugia: Gold Mine. Or a certain technique of gold mining
  • Plata: Silver
  • Correr: to run (like for your life. Those pesky wolves sure do make you run like hell, especially in all the wrong directions!!)
  • Caliente: "hot" or "heated"
  • Reaccion: Reaction (makes sense in terms of chemical reactions, which involve heat, either endothermic or exothermic, etc)
  • Absor: Possibly a reference to 'Absortar' which means to amaze or surprise - Translation contributed by gamer scythe_ri
  • Milagro: Miracle
  • Desleal: Disloyal
  • Falter: to falter
• Finally a couple more:
  • Almas: Souls (Should seem quite obvious but I never figured this out until today)
  • Fin: Aim as in 'Goal'. However the real meaning intended here is The End. See below for more details

Some more facts were brought to my attention later on by a gamer who goes by the name Shvegait. I'm going to include his comments directly here:

The reason the Silkarn shoes are called Shirukanoo (or whatever) is not because that's the common name for them, it has to do with the transliteration of Japanese into roman letters as opposed to a translation of Japanese into English. Similarly, in Dorado town someone talks about the caverns of Tesoro and Burata. Burata is the Japanese version of Plata, since Plata can't be spelled in Japanese. Bu (no Pu) + ra (R/L are the same in Japanese) + ta.

Likewise, Silkarn can't be spelled in Japanese, so it is broken into the syllables Shi + ru (R = L) + ka + noo (the last R disappears.)

And, at the end, you questioned Fin!? Fin is the classic way of ending old movies, etc., equivalent to "The end." It means "end" in the Romance languages (not Japanese). Pronounced feen, not fin.

The strong influence of the Spanish language on the names of Zeliard should not be ignored. All spells, names of caverns, towns, and bosses come directly from Spanish (a couple have spelling issues, though. Satono should be Sotano.)

Another gamer called Crystal points out:

Actually, it wasn't Japanese -> Spanish -> English, so criticizing the translators for making it up is uncalled for. The translation is pretty authentic, with only a few errors, and a few small changes (e.g. naming the unnamed dark lord "jashiin")! If you'd like to see the original Japanese to compare, check this kouryaku page: http://www.geocities.jp/rip_gamer/zeliard/zel_top.html

Even more comments from fellow gamer DrFrag:

I used to play Zeliard years ago, and I remember discussing the translation with someone over the Internet. I don't claim to be the person on your Translations page (I don't remember who I was in contact with) but I do have a few notes amongst my documents.

I noted that the language appeared to be Iberian, an ancient substratum of Spanish, Portuguese or Basque, and not fully interpreted.

Arrugia means "Underground Way", although the modern word "arroyo" translates more like "stream". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language says the etymology of "arroyo" is "Spanish, from Vulgar Latin arrugius, gold mine, underground passage, variant of Latin arrugia, a galleried mine."

Lanzar, which you have translated as "to send" or "to send a flame", I have noted as being from the word Lancea, meaning "a spear". I also wrote the modern Spanish word is "lanza", but Babelfish gives me the same result of "it sends" as you got so I'm not sure about that.

So I guess it is only appropriate to end by saying .