niuttuc: Another translation gem from Modern Horizons! So, most magic players know the Gravedigger,
niuttuc: Another translation gem from Modern Horizons! So, most magic players know the Gravedigger, an often reprinted and iconic black creature. The Graveshifter is an obvious reference to it, down to similar art echoing it, and a somewhat similar name. But the translation is better than that. Gravedigger, in French, is named Fossoyeur, a literal translation, a Fossoyeur being, well, a professionnal gravedigger. However, it isn’t a compound word of grave and digger like it is in English, but a single one. As such, it doesn’t suit the change to Graveshifter well. What the translator did, here, is simply go with something else. Our Graveshifter, in French, is a Fauxsoyeur. Fauxsoyeur isn’t a real French word, neither is it a combination of two like Graveshifter is. However, it has the exact same pronunciation as Fossoyeur (Yes, au is pronounced like o and the x and silent. I know. It’s French.) Soyeur, on its own, has no related meaning. However Faux means Fake. Graveshifter in French is essentially called Fakedigger while being pronounced exactly the same as Gravedigger. Another good job, @wizardsmagic translation team! (However, you gave us another one of those, we get almost one per set nowadays. Please check existing names? ) -- source link