I think my favorite translation-related detail in the Witcher saga that separates the original Polish version from English lies in Geralt’s horse(s), Roach
He names all of his horses “Roach,” which in English, is a very grim-sounding name. It immediately stirs the thought of a cockroach, and it sort of fits the grimy dark fantasy aesthetic that the series has going for it, as well as Geralt’s personality as someone who likes to keep things simple and uncomplicated. He gives the name to every horse he owns, further adding to that.
Meanwhile, in the original Polish version, his horse’s name is Płotka, which to my understanding is a diminutive form of płoć, which is a type of fish, known as a common roach in English, which is actually a pretty small and common fish. It being a diminutive form, it’s also basically saying “Roachie” instead of “Roach,” so all things considered, it’s meant to be a tiny, adorable, cutesy name, but that gets completely lost in the translation. It’s like naming your horse “Guppy” or something.
op i need you to know when you google “
Płotka“ this is like the third image
lmao just thought about jaskier rifling through geralt’s bag and seeing a potion and being like “what does this one do” and geralt dead pan going “it makes you invisible. go on try it” and then jaskier drinking it and literally nothing happens bc it’s just like. red bull. but anyway geralt starts yelling “oh my gods jaskier I can’t see you!! shit jaskier it wasn’t supposed to work on you!! fuck!! I can’t reverse it!!” and he keeps it up for like 3 days
