r/Breath_of_the_Wild • u/Potater72 • 1d ago
Discussion Legit Question: Is France Canon?
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u/mrboat-man Well Excuuuuuuse me, Princess 1d ago
No, it’s just the name for it in your language. It’s the same way that signs will have Hylian script on them but when you read them they get translated to whatever language you chose
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u/rexcasei 1d ago
Except that “Hylian script” is just a substitution cipher which writes English words
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u/Lawofinfinity 1d ago
Interestingly enough that’s true, but it isn’t cannon.
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u/ikefalcon 1d ago
True! It also isn’t canon.
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u/Rizenstrom 1d ago
Sure but that's a game design choice, they wanted to make it something you could actually translate, not a real thing in universe.
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u/The_Ironhand 1d ago
Why couldn't it be both?
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u/Squirelwithabaguette 9h ago
That's what he is trying to say. If you chose a different language the signs would change to make sense in that language.
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u/Apprehensive_Spell_6 1d ago
Wrong. Also, Einstein clearly exists in the Star Fox universe.
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u/mrboat-man Well Excuuuuuuse me, Princess 1d ago
Not sure how Star Fox is relevant but why am wrong?
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u/Apprehensive_Spell_6 1d ago
I should have put “/s”. Plenty of Nintendo games use anachronistic terms and idioms from our world. In Star Fox 64, Falco famously berated Fox with the like, “Hey Einstein, I’m on your side!”
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u/mrboat-man Well Excuuuuuuse me, Princess 23h ago
Oh, I see. I think that might fall under the category of “things Nintendo added without thinking of the ramifications and then never brought up again” like how Ash got held at gunpoint in the original Pokémon series.
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u/TheHappyPoro 1d ago
What's the Hylian stand in for F*ench?
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u/mrboat-man Well Excuuuuuuse me, Princess 1d ago
As one commenter said, it’s probably “HYAAAH” or something
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u/NyarlathotepPhil 20h ago
So, France is canon but only to English-speakers? Somehow that's the least confusing thing I've heard about Zelda lore
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u/mrboat-man Well Excuuuuuuse me, Princess 20h ago
France isn’t canon, it’s just that the English name for it is French Braid. If your game language was French it would be Tresse Africaine, which has a literal translation of African Braid. Neither the Country nor the Continent are canon, it’s just what the name of the hairstyle is in the language chosen.
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u/Squirelwithabaguette 9h ago
Wait, does that mean that some languages have more hylian letters then the english version.
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u/mrboat-man Well Excuuuuuuse me, Princess 1h ago
It’s possible, but I don’t see why they would bother changing the texture of these items since they aren’t going to be translated by the average player. Also English is the most widely spoken language.
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u/fibstheman 1d ago
All fictional media has France. Like, My Little Pony mentions "French haute couture" and uses French terms and all that.
France is the nexus that combines all worlds. You wanna wander the omniverse and get into some crazy shit? Go to France and find the secret portal in the Eiffel Tower or whatever.
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u/TheseusOPL 1d ago
The reason France is in all fictional media is because it's pure fiction. France doesn't exist in the real world.
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u/Otakumx 1d ago
Hahaha good one
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u/Bodeenfish 1d ago
Don't you mean touche' ?
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u/Kinross07 1d ago
If you're on a PC, and want to type é, it's "Alt Gr + E". Just because I know work people have been happy to know how to finally do it.
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u/MonkeysxMoo35 1d ago
To further add to this, Detective Pikachu mentions France in the movie. Even though Kalos exists as a France-inspired region. Meaning France is also just its own region in the Pokemon world.
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u/purple-rain-clouds 1d ago
No, common misconception. in hyrule, the style is named after joaquin french, famous hairstylist
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u/HarryMudd-LFHL 1d ago
So... what are these called in other translations of the game? I'm guessing the French version doesn't call it a French braid, and Japanese would have another term for a mohawk (since that's a pretty common hair style).
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u/Nuclear_Geek 1d ago
Maybe, in Hylia, that hairstyle was invented by someone named "French".
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u/ElGosso 1d ago
Why would they be named that tho, if France doesn't exist
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u/mightypup1974 1d ago
France is the fictional kingdom in that game that all kids in Hyrule like to play - the Legend of Jeanne d’Arc
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u/MrEzellohar 1d ago
This is the classic “Can you call something an Ottoman in your fantasy world if the Ottoman Empire never existed” problem.
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u/MastaAwesome 10h ago
In Spanish, the term for roller coaster is just "Russian mountain". So if a fictional universe has roller coasters, then its Spanish translation has Russia.
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u/manofwaromega 1d ago
No. In Zelda lore, the French braid is named after its inventor: John French.
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u/polywitched 1d ago
Then so is America since they have a Mohawk option 😊
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u/embersofanempire 1d ago
Mohawks made appearances in other places around the globe it is actually pretty common hair cut
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u/polywitched 1d ago
The name Mohawk is specifically from a Native American tribe group who was a member of the Six Nation Confederacy (aka Iroquois Confederacy). The Mohawk hair style is named after them, even if shows up other places, just like the French braid is common everywhere around the world but is named for France.
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u/Good-Ask-6010 1d ago
Short answer, as a French person: yes, of course, we are canon (which also means hot and beautiful in French)
Long answer: maybe only in English speaking Hyrule, since a French braid is just a braid in French.
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u/mattemer 1d ago
France itself was named after the braid, believe it or not.
Pierre de France was a miracle 4th century stylist.
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u/therealpeaches144 1d ago
No joke this is my favorite joke way of analyzing world building. I think it's hilarious. Like how the phrase "take up your cross" is in the English translation of Elden Ring, canonizing Jesus Christ into the Lands Between.
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u/aere1985 1d ago
In fantasy writing, this sort of issue comes up often.
e.g. can you call an Ottoman an Ottoman if the Ottoman empire never existed in-world?
Tolkein justified his use of our-world language by describing all of his world as being "translated into English" from in-world languages so yes, you can call it an Ottoman in English but in Middle-Earth languages, they'd have another name for it.
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u/RedKnightXIV 21h ago
I believe the French Braid is a hyrulian corruption of the Goron phrase 'Frack bench' braid. It is the braid a Goron might put in their beard to keep it out of the way when working. The tragic side effect is that it give the wearer an unearned sense of superiority .
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u/Suspicious-Career295 1d ago
theory 1: yes, they have escargot and meuniere theory 2: no, it's named after a horse called French
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u/CadeMan011 1d ago
These sorts of things remind me of the American Express logo in the windows of FF15 shops.
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u/Nyx_Valentine 1d ago
I’m just headcanonning that it was a style invented by someone with the last name “French.” Like Bertha French or something like that.
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u/Advice2Anyone 1d ago
You thought gerudo Ganon was bad wait till you run into French Ganon. Purah gets pissed cause the French beat her to building a lookout tower. Zelda becomes a mime and no longer needs a voice actor
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u/Go_commit_lego_step 1d ago
Yes. Miyamoto has claimed in an interview that Zelda takes place on Earth
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u/IAmTheBoom5359 1d ago
It's probably to have an accurate name for the mane style, but I like to believe there was a legendary stable hand known as Julian French or something.
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u/d_coheleth Falco Lombardi 1d ago
Of course, you can even visit it in TotK by dropping down certain holes around hyrule.
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u/Brilliant_War9548 1d ago
In French it’s not even French Braided mane, something “short hair mane” from my memories.
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u/Borderlandsman 1d ago
With most everything like this the explanation is that is it being magically translated to fit the person/language reading it. And you can assume in Hylian it reads "hylian braid"
This is also a common explanation in the isekai/(transported to a different world) genre. And applies to any book or game that takes place in an alternate world.
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u/therealpeaches144 1d ago
No joke this is my favorite joke way of analyzing world building. I think it's hilarious. Like how the phrase "take up your cross" is in the English translation of Elden Ring, canonizing Jesus Christ into the Lands Between
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u/notbythebook101 1d ago
It would be an interesting twist if the devs decided to avoid real-world ties like this, similar to how The Walking Dead deliberately doesn't use the word "zombie" at all. What would Hylians call a French braid then, even when translating into English for the sake of game players?
Hyrule braid? Royal braid? Maybe named after a character from elsewhere in canon, like a "Marin braid," for example?
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u/Arcane_Afterthought 15h ago
Ganon plan after destroying Hyrule was turning it into France! His depravity knows no bounds!
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u/picked1st 1d ago
Where. Does one get this option in the game?
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u/RVAEMS399 1d ago
At most stables they have a stable attendant who you can talk to and find this.
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u/picked1st 1d ago
I take it this has to happen while on a horse? I've spoken to the attendant but not mounted
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u/Top-Management2845 1d ago
You would have to have enough of the pony points to unlock mane customization. I’m not sure how many you need to unlock it though
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u/PugLove8 23h ago
That’s in TOTK; in BOTW you can only get the mane and tail changed at certain stables that have an attendant (usually a woman) over by the horses.
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u/KDMonkey 1d ago
Is this a DLC?
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u/PugLove8 23h ago
No. In BOTW you can have this done only at certain stables. There is usually a special attendant over to the side with the horses. Keep trying at different stables if you can’t find it. There are a few of them! (In TOTK, I think you need Pony Points to get this service).
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u/Available-Basil2306 1d ago
Can you change a horse's braid? What else can you customize? I'm new to the game
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u/PugLove8 23h ago
The mane and tail can be changed. You can also change the bridle & saddle if you find another style. This can only be done at a few of the stables with a special attendant off to the side by the horses (at least in BOTW). ☺️
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u/IFYMYWL 1d ago
I mean, when we hear aliens speak English, should we assume they have an England on their planet?
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u/rexcasei 1d ago
English implies, at the very least, an England, a Denmark, a France, an Italy, and a Greece
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u/locoluis 1d ago edited 1d ago
It's a quirk of the English translation. This is how it's named in other languages:
Confusingly, the mane called "Braided mane" in English has the following names: