curiousRonia may be best as Ronia, but you can see the value of good name translation in the English editions of Ms. Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking books. Pippi's full Swedish name is:Mostly I just wanted to share the link since I think a lot of people in the community will find the blog interesting, but I must admit I'm curious about her assertion that the French translator worried that Pippi sounded "rude".
Pippilotta Viktualia Rullgardina Krusmynta Efraimsdotter Långstrump
We English speakers would have missed out on the fun if the translator hadn't rendered the name as:
Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Ephraim's Daughter Longstocking
That's a virtuoso composition, a perfect balance of literal and poetic translation for full comic effect. Pippi remains unmistakably, indelibly Pippi. In fact, her first name goes untouched around the world except in France, where they apparently worried it sounded rude. So French children enjoy...yes, Fifi Longstocking (or rather, Fifi Brindacier).
Is that true, does Pippi have a rude sound in French, and if so what kind of rudeness? I must admit that I have a slightly personal interest here as I'm pregnant with a girl and one of the names we're considering is Philippa, which of course carries the Pip nicknames. Especially since we live in Canada, I'd like to know if she uses a Pip nickname, will that cause Francophones to laugh behind her back or what?