I’m none too big a fan of the German translation of the Stormlight Archive, but there’s one thing that German does incredibly well: the two German forms of address (“du” for family, friends, and children, and “Ihr” for people of high rank; the modern “Sie” for strangers is generally not used in Fantasy as it came up in modern times). “Du” has another component: not just familiarity, but also disrespect.
The translator made the choice to use the respectful “Ihr” for the lighteyes, and “du” not just for friends and family, but for all darkeyes in general, and it hits so hard. Whether as a slave or as captain of Dalinar’s guard, Kaladin is matter-of-factly addressed as you would a child, just because his eye colour means more to people than the uniform. It feels incredibly disrespectful and nobody, not even the darkeyes, blinks an eye. It’s a great translation choice and adds so much to the narrative.
