72 réponses à ce sujet

[Ramikadyc]

Often you hear quarians exclaim, "Keelah!" when something surprising or unexpected happens. Taking that into account, I would say that "Keelah'Selai" would most closely translate to the Dragon Age blessing of, "Maker watch over you," where the exclamation of "Keelah!" can be interpreted as, "Maker's breath!" Literal translations from one language to another never do the translated terms justice, because so many words can have multiple meanings or interpretations in one language, yet the language that word or phrase is being translated to may only have one or two, and therefore meanings get lost. Hypothetically speaking, in this case, "Maker" can be interchanged with "gods" or "fortune" or any other intangible form of fate accepted by each individual's preferred choice of religion or philosophy.

As for the literal translation in the quarian language, my guess it means, "May the spirits of our ancestors guide and protect us." Whether or not quarians practice ancestor worship would be irrelevant, since the term has been in use so long as to have lost its original specific meaning and has been accepted as a colloquialism; for example, Christmas began as a celebration of the birth of Jesus, yet people who aren't Christian or simply abhor the idea of Christianity (or any religion) still celebrate it as a time to celebrate one's family--the original meaning is lost, but the holiday still endures. So it is with the quarians; "May the spirits of our ancestors guide and protect us" can alternately translate to, "May fortune smile upon us" in the qurian tongue.

My two cents.

Modifié par Ramikadyc, 24 mars 2010 - 07:13 .

[Megatron 1]

Ramikadyc wrote...

Often you hear quarians exclaim, "Keelah!" when something surprising or unexpected happens. Taking that into account, I would say that "Keelah'Selai" would most closely translate to the Dragon Age blessing of, "Maker watch over you," where the exclamation of "Keelah!" can be interpreted as, "Maker's breath!" Literal translations from one language to another never do the translated terms justice, because so many words can have multiple meanings or interpretations in one language, yet the language that word or phrase is being translated to may only have one or two, and therefore meanings get lost. Hypothetically speaking, in this case, "Maker" can be interchanged with "gods" or "fortune" or any other intangible form of fate accepted by each individual's preferred choice of religion or philosophy.

As for the literal translation in the quarian language, my guess it means, "May the spirits of our ancestors guide and protect us." Whether or not quarians practice ancestor worship would be irrelevant, since the term has been in use so long as to have lost its original specific meaning and has been accepted as a colloquialism; for example, Christmas began as a celebration of the birth of Jesus, yet people who aren't Christian or simply abhor the idea of Christianity (or any religion) still celebrate it as a time to celebrate one's family--the original meaning is lost, but the holiday still endures. So it is with the quarians; "May the spirits of our ancestors guide and protect us" can alternately translate to, "May fortune smile upon us" in the qurian tongue.

My two cents.

This ^

[knightnblu]

It is actually Quarian for "Don't drink the water."

[Tilarta]

Haha!

Why would you say that after seeing the Thorian?



But I've always assumed Keelah was God (or an equivalent deity in Quarian religion) and Salai meant Bless.

[Dark_Caduceus]

I dunno, ask around in the Tali thread, although they might brand you a troll for interrupting their endless stream of recycled pictures. They say it all the time!

[phordicus]

from context "keelah" would be something revered. given it's use as an interjection, i'd translate it as "god". the "selai" looks like a root "sel" with "ai" as the conjugate. since most religious phrases are typically generic, i translate that as "<active subject> be with you" or "<active subject> bless you".



keelah selai = god(s) be with you/us

[Aztag09]

"God is with us" or "ancestors protect us"

[abstractwhiz]

phordicus wrote...

from context "keelah" would be something revered. given it's use as an interjection, i'd translate it as "god". the "selai" looks like a root "sel" with "ai" as the conjugate. since most religious phrases are typically generic, i translate that as " be with you" or " bless you".

keelah selai = god(s) be with you/us

It could also be the opposite - a sort of ritual insult aimed at their enemies. 

[Mnemnosyne]

Remember that all quarian names are written the same way. Kal'Reegar, Tali'Zorah, Daro'Xen, etc.

I therefore agree with the hypothesis that Keelah'Selai is the name of a great quarian hero, someone viewed with great respect and reverence, perhaps a remaining tradition from their ancestor worship, even if they have mostly given it up (consider, for example, the amount of non-religious people who in reality will make all sorts of religion-based comments simply because it has become ingrained into our culture to the point that everyone does it - bless you in response to a sneeze is a good example, or the celebration of religious festivities, along with appropriate greetings and customs).

The name itself may be all that remains of a more complex original blessing where there was more to it, and the entire meaning has become condensed into just the name, such that any quarian will recognize the name alone as having the same interpretation as the full blessing once did.

Modifié par Koyasha, 26 mars 2010 - 08:29 .

[Elnino135]

Keelah  = Die!
Selai    = Fire!
Keelah'Selai = Die in a fire!

[Amethyst Deceiver]

it means the same as "allah u akbar"



just ask the Tali-ban. they agree

[OneBadAssMother]

Amethyst Deceiver wrote...

it means the same as "allah u akbar"

just ask the Tali-ban. they agree

[Bann Duncan]

Sibuya Sempai wrote...

Vaya con Dios.

Since the ancestor personality imprint databanks were destroyed centuries ago, I doubt it's anything ancestor specific. More like "Maker bless and watch over you." said by Andrastians in DA:O/A.

I vaguely remember from somewhere that it could also mean "Return safely" since it's usually said as a parting message.

According to masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Quarian:
It is often said in the same vein as "peace be with you" and resembles the Islamic الله أكبر (transliteration: Allāhu Akbar, English: 'God is Greatest'), or the Christian deus vult (Latin for 'God Wills It').

Except as a degree student in Arabic, I'll point out that الله اكبر is not used in that way. Perhaps في امانالله would be more accurate (roughly translated - "go with God's protection")

[Bann Duncan]

Amethyst Deceiver wrote...

it means the same as "allah u akbar"

just ask the Tali-ban. they agree

Ha Ha. Very funny. Points for originality. <_<

You do know that الله اكبر simply means "God is Greater" and is used by Arabic speakers of all religious persuasions, yes?

[DoctorShazbot]

I assume it's like when we say, "Praise be to God." or something like that.

Crap, sorry about the bump. I found this on google and forgot to check the dates.

Modifié par DoctorShazbot, 20 décembre 2010 - 06:04 .

[Ramirez Wolfen]

I think it means "Ancestors watch us" or something. If I remember correctly, the quarians believe in ancestor worship...

[TexasToast712]

I think keelah means "God" or their diety as Tali says "Oh Keelah" When she sees her father dead.  So I think a rough translation would be "Oh God" and Keelah' Selai would mean "Godspeed" as others have mentioned.

Modifié par TexasToast712, 20 décembre 2010 - 06:31 .

[AlexXIV]

I agree with most people it is something religious. Whether ancestors or some sort of god we don't really know. Wonder why we never get to as a Quarian, since they must know I'd assume. But the way they say it in a chorus at Tali's trial I would say it is indeed a sort of blessing.

[CroGamer002]

It means "Raise the Necro thread".

[BiancoAngelo7]

Some sort of "amen" or "spirits bless you" kinda thing. No one really knows what it means, its kinda like a general conclusion phrase that means something for the Quarians. Probably won't know what it means. Maybe in ME3. Rather know what Tali looks like than know this though. (coming from a non hardcore Tali fan)

[WUSA Yurodansa]

I had a completly different thought ... if the quarian language has some kind of relationship with the sumarian language it could be a universal speaking and could mean many things starting by "I like you" ending at "Be Blessed" and Keelah would be just a short form for it ... its just an idea and could be wrong but it think it could be another way to look at it ...^^

[Volus Warlord]

Something with the opposite connotation of bosh'tet?

[EpicBoot2daFace]

Another case of the universe being underdeveloped. It would be a perfect question to ask Tali in the game. Sometimes I just don't understand the lack of common sense on the part of these game developers.



I suppose it's the other side of being brilliant. It's so ironic.

[MassEffect762]

Kill us a lie.

Honestly don't know or care.

Modifié par MassEffect762, 16 janvier 2011 - 05:38 .

[IndigoWolfe]

"Keelah'Selai" is a phrase often used by quarians when in reference to, or in presence of other races. It is derived from the saying --as translated from quarian-- "Your mother was a hampster! And your father smelt of elderberries!"

Modifié par IndigoWolfe, 16 janvier 2011 - 05:44 .