Need help translating snooker and billiard texts

[Archivist]

I have a lot of rare texts in different languages. Not only rare, but I also have some modern texts in languages I don't speak.


I'm looking for some help translating some texts into English. They're in:

1. French (and also Old French printed in the old grammar).

2. Dutch

3. Portuguese Brazilian

All the texts are about snooker or billiards. I'd be really grateful if you could help.

We'll be making all the translated texts available free of charge to anyone who's into snooker or billiards.

[Siz]

Good luck with your endeavor.

I had a copy of "Théorie mathématique des effets du jeu de billard" by Coriolis which I laboured over with my not very good french, until I discovered years later that there is an English translation freely available..🙄 ..

Not an easy read in either language, but it does contain a proof of how to aim a masse shot.

[Archivist]

It's really tough to translate books. I don't even try. I learned French at school, but it's been more than forty-five years since then. I don't remember much beyond 'Je suis malade' and 'Quel est le prix d'un kilo de cerises?', and that's down to music and the fact that I live a hundred kilometres from the French border and sometimes go shopping in France.

I've got a few books in Old French from the 16th century and earlier. The word 'billard' or 'billart' is sometimes mentioned there. The font and grammar are very old, so I'm not sure if it's a reference to the game billiards or a surname (in the 16th century, names and surnames were often spelt with a small letter). I'm not going to translate the whole book, just a small section.

The same is true of Dutch. I have some old newspapers in which the font is blurred. It's not clear whether it's "Snooker" or "Snoeker". You have to understand the context, but I don't know the language.

I don't know Portuguese Brazilian at all. I've tried translating the rules of Sinuca Brasileira with DeepL and other translators, but it's a nightmare. I don't understand the meaning of the translated text.

UPD. I'm not even looking for help translating from Latin. It's from the second quarter of the fourteenth century, handwritten, on poor quality paper. I'll try to translate Pope Gregory's decree and figure out why he declared billiards a game of chance someday, but it'll take a while. I'll probably have to wait until I'm a pensioner to get the time to translate it

[Cue crafty]

It's really tough to translate books. I don't even try. I learned French at school, but it's been more than forty-five years since then. I don't remember much beyond 'Je suis malade' and 'Quel est le prix d'un kilo de cerises?', and that's down to music and the fact that I live a hundred kilometres from the French border and sometimes go shopping in France.

I've got a few books in Old French from the 16th century and earlier. The word 'billard' or 'billart' is sometimes mentioned there. The font and grammar are very old, so I'm not sure if it's a reference to the game billiards or a surname (in the 16th century, names and surnames were often spelt with a small letter). I'm not going to translate the whole book, just a small section.

The same is true of Dutch. I have some old newspapers in which the font is blurred. It's not clear whether it's "Snooker" or "Snoeker". You have to understand the context, but I don't know the language.

I don't know Portuguese Brazilian at all. I've tried translating the rules of Sinuca Brasileira with DeepL and other translators, but it's a nightmare. I don't understand the meaning of the translated text.

UPD. I'm not even looking for help translating from Latin. It's from the second quarter of the fourteenth century, handwritten, on poor quality paper. I'll try to translate Pope Gregory's decree and figure out why he declared billiards a game of chance someday, but it'll take a while. I'll probably have to wait until I'm a pensioner to get the time to translate it

The trouble with translator apps is they tend to translate word for word and you loose the context. Professional translation is expensive for good reason but maybe your best chance could be via a business app like Linkedin which has a worldwide community. It's become more like a Facebook for business these days and just possibly members may find it fun to try and help and raise their own profiles etc.

I noticed WST are on there now promoting content etc.

[Siz]

My advice is if you are feeling ill, go see a medecin. Cherries - a bit of a long shot. But seriously, how long is the latin text? Someone I used to work with was a classist. Not sure about her billiard knowledge though. And I don't know if medieval Latin is her thing.

Alternatively, do you know any members of the chartered institute of linguists? I am sure that they have a forum. If you know anyone you could ask them to enquire whether there are any billiards afficionados there who might want to take on a labour of love.

[Archivist]

The trouble with translator apps is they tend to translate word for word and you loose the context. Professional translation is expensive for good reason but maybe your best chance could be via a business app like Linkedin which has a worldwide community. It's become more like a Facebook for business these days and just possibly members may find it fun to try and help and raise their own profiles etc.

I noticed WST are on there now promoting content etc.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll certainly give it a go. There's another issue we need to look at. Not every translator is able to correctly translate a text on a specialised theme. My mate's wife is originally from Brazil. Of course, she speaks both her native language and English really well. I asked her to help translate the rules of Sinuca Brasileira. She's never played billiards and isn't interested in the game. She also had trouble understanding half of the terms used in her native language.

That's why I'm reaching out to the snooker forum for assistance. If there are any users from Brazil or Portugal here, they can translate it by understanding the context.

I'll try asking for help on LinkedIn, but I'm not sure what the outcome will be. I'm not looking to pay for professional translations. The history of snooker and billiards is my hobby and the description of Sinuka rules on Mike Stooke's site is enough for me.. But for the https://allabutsnooker.info archive, you need to have sources, and there are strict rules in place. All publications have an official source, either on paper or as scans. It'd be great if they could be translated into English. This isn't for me, but for those who read the site and are interested in more than just the game at the last tournament.

[Archivist]

But seriously, how long is the latin text? Someone I used to work with was a classist. Not sure about her billiard knowledge though. And I don't know if medieval Latin is her thing.

Alternatively, do you know any members of the chartered institute of linguists? I am sure that they have a forum. If you know anyone you could ask them to enquire whether there are any billiards afficionados there who might want to take on a labour of love.

The Latin text is pretty lengthy, around 200 pages, but it mentions billiards three times (or at least, that's how many I could find). It's handwritten, so it's pretty tough to read. I've scanned the manuscript, and it's about one gigabyte at maximum quality. I haven't highlighted individual sheets, but it makes sense to assume that one sheet would be 5-7 megabytes (depending on the amount of text and paper damage). I spoke to my home doctor, she knows Latin well, but the handwritten text is very difficult to read. You have to first understand which letter is which and only then translate.

UPD. I extracted a small section of the scan and edited it in an image processing program. This is the best quality I could produce.


Latin.jpg