what did the first one say when they burned dinner

It was ruined

[smoochtheshef]

Hi there, I hope you're well! I'm so sorry to bother you. I was hoping you could help me out with a little She-Ra issue lol. I'm a huge fan of the show, and it was really a light in the darkness for me. I want to get the word "Promise" in first ones writing tattooed, but am unable to find an accurate picture of it on the web. Is there any way you can help me or send a picture of what it looks like? Thanks so much!

Hey there!

Sorry it took me a while to get back to you but there's an app available on the Google Play store that can translate for you! It isn't always accurate so you should probably countercheck too but can give you an idea of what it should look like. It's called First Ones Translator.

Here's what promise should look like.

A quick look tells me it should be about right so you can use this as the base. As long as you can keep the graphemes in more or less the correct shape and order, you can have as much fun with the design as you like.

Hope you manage to get the tattoo exactly how you want it!

[smoochtheshef]

Hi! I was wondering what it says on the door in S5, EP11 (7:33-ish) ? I can’t figure out what it’s supposed to say

Hey there! I fell off the wagon with this little project of mine. I still intend to complete it eventually.... but I think it’s better to take a look at it from 7:26 instead of up close. Up close it doesn’t seem to make any sense at it looks like it says “t-æ-r-t”

If you take a look at it from 7:26, this is what it looks like.

Please accept my quick and dirty translation to “heart”/”h-æ-r-t”   which fits better with the context of the episode.

The “æ” is flipped in this one.

[smoochtheshef]

Understanding First Ones Writing

(Posting this because apparently linking to pages on my tumblr doesn’t work on mobile unless it’s a post….)

First Ones writing is read from right to left. The letters forming a word are joined by one long line that can connect segments (for ease of reference, I’ll be referring to this as the “center line”). These segments are usually divided into syllables but can be a single consonant or vowel. Sometimes all the syllables can even be joined with just one segment! The beginning and the end of one word is signified by a circle at both ends of the line. Usually shapes or line formations above the center line are decorative and may be used to connect one related word to another or used to form a sentence or phrase.

In my translations, I include the letters in gray for vowels as they guide pronunciation. Keep in mind that since First Ones writing is phonetic, there can be many ways to write a word. For instance, “the” can be written using TH and E or DH and E.

As for the letters themselves, this bit is directly lifted from the guide

With @me1och​‘s suggestion, the pronunciation part will now use a mix of IPA/enPR symbols

Sad -æ

All - ɔ

Say - ā

Pet -ɛ

Feet - ē

Lit - ɪ

I - aɪ

Good - o͝o

Too - o͞o

Go - ō

House - aʊ

Fun - ə

Boy - ɔɪ

Yes-j

Source: Dreamworks Translation Guide

[villainsimpathizer]

And here’s some additional info with examples:

[villainsimpathizer]

Adding on to this post, I’m a bit confused as to what Wrong Hordak’s apron says? (Pictured below) It seems to spell out “smech thee shoosh”, which…. doesn’t make sense. Any ideas? Am I reading it wrong?

[smoochtheshef]

Hey there! It’s meant to say “smooch the chef” i.e. “s-m- o͝o-ch th- ē sh- ē-f”

I can see how it might be a little confusing (or maybe even written wrong) because the  o͝o and the ē look very very similar, but if you notice, there’s no connecting line between the two circles in “smooch”compared to the two circles in “chef.” Possibly animator error or some alternate way to write  o͝o.

Just to add, there have been other instances where the alignment or angle of the graphemes are a little wonky (imagine a child writing a letter backwards or even their entire name in the incorrect order type of thing).

[villainsimpathizer]

Ohh I see now, that would make more sense. Thanks @smoochtheshef !

[smoochtheshef]

@minniedlucca more than happy to help!

[smoochtheshef]

Understanding First Ones Writing

(Posting this because apparently linking to pages on my tumblr doesn’t work on mobile unless it’s a post….)

First Ones writing is read from right to left. The letters forming a word are joined by one long line that can connect segments (for ease of reference, I’ll be referring to this as the “center line”). These segments are usually divided into syllables but can be a single consonant or vowel. Sometimes all the syllables can even be joined with just one segment! The beginning and the end of one word is signified by a circle at both ends of the line. Usually shapes or line formations above the center line are decorative and may be used to connect one related word to another or used to form a sentence or phrase.

In my translations, I include the letters in gray for vowels as they guide pronunciation. Keep in mind that since First Ones writing is phonetic, there can be many ways to write a word. For instance, “the” can be written using TH and E or DH and E.

As for the letters themselves, this bit is directly lifted from the guide

With @me1och​‘s suggestion, the pronunciation part will now use a mix of IPA/enPR symbols

Sad -æ

All - ɔ

Say - ā

Pet -ɛ

Feet - ē

Lit - ɪ

I - aɪ

Good - o͝o

Too - o͞o

Go - ō

House - aʊ

Fun - ə

Boy - ɔɪ

Yes-j

Source: Dreamworks Translation Guide

[villainsimpathizer]

And here’s some additional info with examples:

[villainsimpathizer]

Adding on to this post, I’m a bit confused as to what Wrong Hordak’s apron says? (Pictured below) It seems to spell out “smech thee shoosh”, which…. doesn’t make sense. Any ideas? Am I reading it wrong?

[smoochtheshef]

Hey there! It's meant to say "smooch the chef" i.e. “s-m- o͝o-ch th- ē sh- ē-f”

I can see how it might be a little confusing (or maybe even written wrong) because the  o͝o and the ē look very very similar, but if you notice, there’s no connecting line between the two circles in “smooch”compared to the two circles in “chef.” Possibly animator error or some alternate way to write  o͝o.

Just to add, there have been other instances where the alignment or angle of the graphemes are a little wonky (imagine a child writing a letter backwards or even their entire name in the incorrect order type of thing).

[smoochtheshef]

Salineas Sea Gate

Season 1, Episode 5 - The Sea Gate

Salineas Sea Gate (S-ɔ-l-ɪ-n-ē-ɔ-s S-ē G-ā-t)

(I can totally relate to Sea-Hawk in that screenshot.)

Quick guide: First Ones writing is written and read from right to left; letters in gray guide pronunciation

You can find my guide and Dreamworks’ official translation guide here

[smoochtheshef]

For the heir of gray whales

Season 1, Episode 5 - The Sea Gate

For the heir of gray whales (F-ō-r  th-ē a-ē-r ə-v  g-r-ā  aʊ-ā-l-z)

I definitely had some kind of a time translating this one. The “for the heir of” was relatively simple, although I don’t quite agree with the use of “EE” for “heir” (an “E” might have been better, I think) this was the only way the word was going to make sense. I also think that “the” might have been better with the “U” sound instead of “EE” but that’s probably just me nitpicking. 

As for “gray whales” this was more or less when I discovered that the “A” in that symbol is meant to be read with the “Y,” in other words, it seems to be meant to be “ā“ in English. Realizing that certainly cleared up a lot of things. I was convinced that the two words were meant to be “gray whales” since Mermista says “For the honor of gray whales!” when she’s playing Sea-Ra in Roll With It (Season 2, Episode 4).

Quick guide: First Ones writing is written and read from right to left; letters in gray guide pronunciation

You can find my guide and Dreamworks’ official translation guide here

[smoochtheshef]

She-Ra

Season 1, Episode 2 - The Sword (Part 2)

She-Ra (Sh-ē-r-ɔ)

Quick guide: First Ones writing is written and read from right to left; letters in gray guide pronunciation

You can find my guide and Dreamworks’ official translation guide here

[smoochtheshef]

Eternia

Season 1, Episode 2 - The Sword (Part 2)

Eternia (Ē-t-o͝o-r-n-ē-ə)

Quick guide: First Ones writing is written and read from right to left; letters in gray guide pronunciation

You can find my guide and Dreamworks’ official translation guide here

Thanks again to @me1och who pointed out my mistake!

[smoochtheshef]

Data, Send

Season 1, Episode 2 - The Sword (Part 2)

Data (D-ā-t- ə) and Sent (S-ɛ-n-t)

It took me a while to piece the words together since there’s no clear shot of them in any one given frame.

Quick guide: First Ones writing is written and read from right to left; letters in gray guide pronunciation

You can find my guide and Dreamworks’ official translation guide here

Thanks to @me1och​ for the correction and suggestion!

[smoochtheshef]

She-Ra

Season 1, Episode 2 - The Sword (Part 2)

She-Ra (Sh-ē-r-ɔ)

Blink and you’ll miss it, She-Ra appears on the sword in the opening sequence.

Quick guide: First Ones writing is written and read from right to left; letters in gray guide pronunciation

You can find my guide and Dreamworks’ official translation guide here

[smoochtheshef]

She-Ra

Season 1, Episode 2 - The Sword (Part 2); Season 4, Episode 1 - The Coronation

She-Ra (Sh-ē-r-ɔ)

This is the first time we see She-Ra in First Ones writing! We see it again several times later in this episode.

No major change for both here. Oddly enough, it does seem that they redid this part regardless. If you look closely, the “SH” is now aligned a little differently in relation to the center line. Another point of interest here is that there are no end points for the word here.

Quick guide: First Ones writing is written and read from right to left; letters in gray guide pronunciation

You can find my guide and Dreamworks’ official translation guide here

Pre-episode card part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 (previous post)

[smoochtheshef]

“Eternia”

Season 4, Episode 1 - The Coronation

Eternia (Ē-t-ə-r-n-ē-ə)

This is the corrected version of this word. It now spells Eternia properly and the “R” is unmirrored. Interestingly, they decided to replace the “OO” we see between “T” and “R” in the Sword (Part 1) with a “U.” For me, this really drives home the fact that the First Ones wrote with a phonetic alphabet and thus certain words can be written in several different ways.

You can find my guide and Dreamworks’ official translation guide here

Pre-episode card part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 (previous post) (next post)

[smoochtheshef]

“Eternia” (supposedly)

Season 1, Episode 2 - The Sword (Part 2)

Ueenrtee (Ə-ē-n-r-t-ē)

Eternia (Ē-t-r-n-ē-ə)

As I said in the first part of this little five post series, there are some clear errors in the writing for the pre-Dreamworks card. The most glaring error in this word is the fact that the segments seem to be written to be read from left to right. It’s entirely possible this entire string was simply mirrored as the “R” itself is mirrored. The mirroring is less obvious in the other letters as they will look the same whether mirrored or not. Interestingly, it’s also missing the “OO” between the “T” and the “R” we saw in how “Eternia” was written in the first episode. 

The errors are fixed in Season 1, Episode 4 - The Coronation. Whoever noticed the errors and decided to redo this pre-episode card despite the fact that almost no one will go ahead and try to read it is my hero. 

You can find my guide and Dreamworks’ official translation guide here

Pre-episode card part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 (previous post) (next post)

[smoochtheshef]

“Best Friend Squad”

Season 4, Episode 1 - The Coronation

Best Friend Squad (B-ɛ-s-t F-ɛ-n-d S-k-w-ɔ-d)

Skipping ahead three seasons to show how they fixed the mistakes in the first pre-episode card. They added the dot necessary to make the “P” a “B” instead and fixed the rotation of the third letter to turn it into a clear “S” instead of a possible “F.” The second word remains mostly the same, except for a change in the rotation of “F” to make it clearly an “F” in relation to the rest of the letters in the segment. They did the same for the “S” and the “D” in “Squad” and replaced the “OO” symbol to a “W,” which is a bit more accurate but ultimately unnecessary but still welcome(!) change. It emphasizes the fact that the First Ones wrote in an alphabet that was phonetic. They didn’t change the “A” in “Squad” though (i.e. it’s still mirrored), which is a shame. It’s still great that they fixed it to conform with the guide though!

Quick guide: First Ones writing is written and read from right to left; letters in gray guide pronunciation.

You can find my guide and Dreamworks’ official translation guide here

Pre-episode card part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 (previous post) (next post)

[smoochtheshef]

“Peft Friend Squad”

Season 1, Episode 2 - The Sword (Part 2)

Peft Friend Squad (P-ɛ-f-t F-r-ɛ-n-d S-k-o͞o-ɔ-d)

There are some clear errors in the writing for the pre-Dreamworks card. Apart from general alignment, which can be hit or miss, understandably so, the first letter is missing the dot in the middle. This means, instead of a “B,” it’s a “P.” If the triangle symbol for "F" was flipped horizontally, it'd read as a clear "S" instead. The A in Squad is also mirrored. The errors are fixed by Season 4, Episode 1 - “The Coronation” along with some other more logical changes to how the words are written in terms of alignment and letter/symbol choice. I gotta admire whoever noticed this and fixed it. The attention to detail 👌🏽

Quick guide: First ones writing is written and read from right to left; letters in gray guide pronunciation.

You can find my guide and Dreamworks’ official translation guide here

Pre-episode card part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 (next post)

[smoochtheshef]

Understanding First Ones Writing

(Posting this because apparently linking to pages on my tumblr doesn’t work on mobile unless it’s a post....)

First Ones writing is read from right to left. The letters forming a word are joined by one long line that can connect segments (for ease of reference, I’ll be referring to this as the “center line”). These segments are usually divided into syllables but can be a single consonant or vowel. Sometimes all the syllables can even be joined with just one segment! The beginning and the end of one word is signified by a circle at both ends of the line. Usually shapes or line formations above the center line are decorative and may be used to connect one related word to another or used to form a sentence or phrase.

In my translations, I include the letters in gray for vowels as they guide pronunciation. Keep in mind that since First Ones writing is phonetic, there can be many ways to write a word. For instance, “the” can be written using TH and E or DH and E.

As for the letters themselves, this bit is directly lifted from the guide

With @me1och​‘s suggestion, the pronunciation part will now use a mix of IPA/enPR symbols

Sad -æ

All - ɔ

Say - ā

Pet -ɛ

Feet - ē

Lit - ɪ

I - aɪ

Good - o͝o

Too - o͞o

Go - ō

House - aʊ

Fun - ə

Boy - ɔɪ

Yes-j

Source: Dreamworks Translation Guide

[smoochtheshef]

“Eternia”

Season 1, Episode 1 - The Sword (Part 1)

Eternia (Ē-t-o͝o-r-n-ē-ə)

As with the last post, there’s a lot of other things going on in this photo, but the other lines and shapes don’t seem to mean anything and are just there for purely aesthetic purposes.

Quick guide: First ones writing is written and read from right to left; letters in gray guide pronunciation.  

 You can find my guide and Dreamworks’ official translation guide here