Verdansk, Translated

In Call of Duty: Warzone, there is a mix of language use in the fictional city of Verdansk, which based off the Ukrainian city of Donetsk. I was inspired to document some of the things written around Verdansk and translate them back into English.

The Verdansk Sparks

Из искры возгорится пламя – *Iz iskry vozgoritsya plemya* – A spark will ignite a flame

The tagline for the Verdansk Sparks, Из искры возгорится пламя, or “A spark will ignite a flame” is possibly borrowed from this poem.

Верданск Искры, Выигранные матчи – *Verdansk Iskry, Vyigrannyye matchi* – Verdansk Sparks, Matches Won

VNS4, the TV Station

ВСН4, Верданская Служба Новостей – *VSN4, Verdanskaya Sluzhba Novostey* – VNS4, Verdansk News Service

The TV Station, would likely be spelled VNS4 in English. ВСН stands for Верданская Служба Новостей, which transliterates to Verdanskaya Sluzhba Novostey, or when translated to English, Verdansk News Service (VNS). The Cyrillic letters ВСН look identical to the very different Latin-based letters, BCH.

Even though it is clear in the game that ВСН is a acronym (in English, “VSN”) and it is not the English acronym “BCH” (“bee see aitch”), the fact the different letters appear identical has people conflating the two. If you’re still arguing about it with your teammates, just call it the TV Station!

Nonetheless, the above North American “Exit” sign is humorous touch, and a reminder there are liberties taken at the expense of authenticity.

Burgergrad, the Russian “Burger Town”

When Call of Duty’s mainstay Burger Town was translated into Russian to Бургерград, it adopted the suffix “grad.” It might be a little nonsensical in Russian, especially when it is split back into two words as “Grad” as its own word might mean something else. This said, imaginatively, Burgergrad takes on a grander and bolder meaning than simply being a burger “town,” and invokes something larger, comparable to a place such as Volgograd or Saint Petersburg (formerly Leningrad).

Бургер Град: Просто перк вам нужен! – *Burger Grad: Prosto perk vam nuzhen!* – Burger Town: Just the perk you need!

Acropolis National

Acropolis National, one of the bank chains in Verdansk, is also the sponsor of the stadium.

Репутация вчерашнего дня
Удобство сегодняшнего дня
Готовим вас к завтрашнему дню
Акрополь Национальный

Reputation from yesterday
Convenience of today
Preparing you for tomorrow
Acropolis National

Verdansk Museum of Contemporary Art

It appears that the current featured gallery at the Verdansk Museum of Contemporary Art is called “Deconstruction,” showcasing “Art and Philosophy of Revolutionary Castovia.”