The German trailer for the DLC uses the English voices but provides German subtitles and also translates the captions in the trailer into German.
The Fustercluck and Borderlands 3
What is a “Fustercluck?” The word does not exist in English either. It is a play on “Clusterfuck”. That’s what you call a complete mess. The German translation would be a “damn chaos” or a “huge muddle.”
Because “Clusterfuck” contains the profanity “Fuck,” Gearbox has twisted and distorted it in Borderlands 3 by swapping syllables. This fits the theme of the DLC, which is completely crazy and chaotic. Everything gets mixed up, even the word to describe this chaos.
Just as one turns “Scheiße” into “Scheibenkleister”, they also toned down the word in English.
In German, we do not have the problem with “Fuck,” so a play on words is not necessary and does not fit: Which word would one want to twist? You could have turned a mess into a “Maschlassel” or a “Kuddelmuddel” into “Muddelkuddel”, but both were probably deemed too bold to sell it to the people.
Neither “Schlamassel” nor “Kuddelmuddel” has such a strong “Fuck” in it, as the English “Clusterfuck” does, to represent a completely insane situation.
The futhermucking Krieg
This problem also arises here: In the English trailer, the hero of the DLC is introduced as “futhermucking Krieg.” This is the same idea as with “Clusterfuck”: Because the English “Motherfucking” is considered a taboo curse word, yet belongs to the colloquial language, it has been transformed into “futhermucking.”
Here too, the German translator raises the white flag and accepts the word “futhermucking” as it is.
Otherwise, the translator made a brave effort in the subtitles:
- From “Catch the Locomöbius” comes “Erwisch den Lokomöbius”
- From Choo Choooo, it becomes “Tschuu Tschuu” in German (the use of Us is limited in German)
- From “angry anthropomorphic brain train into a strange portal” it becomes “follows an angry, anthropomorphic brain train into a mysterious portal”
- Vaulthalla is Kammerhalla in German
In any case, that must have been a tough moment for the German localization team of Borderlands 3 when they first saw the English source. However, the work of the translator is apparently not fully appreciated by the fans:
The mean thing is:
- The German trailer has only 330 views
- The English trailer has 451,692 views
We at MeinMMO have often dealt with the German translation of English words. One of the hottest topics came up in 2016 – when the German translation of Destiny called an event “the Anbruch.” What a Scheibenkleister:
Destiny: “Der Anbruch” – What kind of stupid name is that?
The new trailer for Borderlands 3 must be a gigantic challenge for any translator. How does one translate words like “Fustercluck” and “Futhermucking”? The German translator decided: Not at all. In German, the DLC will be called “Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck.” Our author Schuhmann takes a closer look at this.
This is so hard to translate: Borderlands 3 announced a new DLC yesterday. It will be the 4th DLC for the shooter overall. The Vault Hunters embark on a journey into the mind of Psycho Krieg, and it seems it will be just as crazy as it sounds.
- In English, the DLC is called “Borderlands 3 – Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck.”
- In German, the DLC is called “Borderlands 3: Psycho-Krieg und der fantastische Fustercluck.”
There wasn’t even an attempt to translate the word “Fustercluck” into German in any way.
The German trailer for the DLC uses the English voices but provides German subtitles and also translates the captions in the trailer into German.
The Fustercluck and Borderlands 3
What is a “Fustercluck?” The word does not exist in English either. It is a play on “Clusterfuck”. That’s what you call a complete mess. The German translation would be a “damn chaos” or a “huge muddle.”
Because “Clusterfuck” contains the profanity “Fuck,” Gearbox has twisted and distorted it in Borderlands 3 by swapping syllables. This fits the theme of the DLC, which is completely crazy and chaotic. Everything gets mixed up, even the word to describe this chaos.
Just as one turns “Scheiße” into “Scheibenkleister”, they also toned down the word in English.
In German, we do not have the problem with “Fuck,” so a play on words is not necessary and does not fit: Which word would one want to twist? You could have turned a mess into a “Maschlassel” or a “Kuddelmuddel” into “Muddelkuddel”, but both were probably deemed too bold to sell it to the people.
Neither “Schlamassel” nor “Kuddelmuddel” has such a strong “Fuck” in it, as the English “Clusterfuck” does, to represent a completely insane situation.
The futhermucking Krieg
This problem also arises here: In the English trailer, the hero of the DLC is introduced as “futhermucking Krieg.” This is the same idea as with “Clusterfuck”: Because the English “Motherfucking” is considered a taboo curse word, yet belongs to the colloquial language, it has been transformed into “futhermucking.”
Here too, the German translator raises the white flag and accepts the word “futhermucking” as it is.
Otherwise, the translator made a brave effort in the subtitles:
- From “Catch the Locomöbius” comes “Erwisch den Lokomöbius”
- From Choo Choooo, it becomes “Tschuu Tschuu” in German (the use of Us is limited in German)
- From “angry anthropomorphic brain train into a strange portal” it becomes “follows an angry, anthropomorphic brain train into a mysterious portal”
- Vaulthalla is Kammerhalla in German
In any case, that must have been a tough moment for the German localization team of Borderlands 3 when they first saw the English source. However, the work of the translator is apparently not fully appreciated by the fans:
The mean thing is:
- The German trailer has only 330 views
- The English trailer has 451,692 views
We at MeinMMO have often dealt with the German translation of English words. One of the hottest topics came up in 2016 – when the German translation of Destiny called an event “the Anbruch.” What a Scheibenkleister:
