«The Witcher», or The Witcher, has gone far beyond a series of books and games: there are Netflix series, an official manga, anime, a board game, and even a cookbook, but now it has even appeared in the language learning app Duolingo. Reddit user GeraltAndYennefer noticed one of the questions in a Finnish course. Duolingo asks for the translation of the phrase: «The bride is a woman and the groom is a hedgehog». «Is this a reference to «The Witcher?», — asked a Reddit user.
Is this a Witcher reference??
byu/GeraltAndYennefer inwitcher
Duolingo confirmed to the site IGN confirmed that this is indeed a deep nod to his favorite fantasy, in particular to Sapkowski’s short story «The Question of Price». His story was adapted for Netflix in the fourth episode of the first season of the series.
The protagonist of «The Witcher», Geralt of Rivia, attends a banquet organized by Queen Calante of Cintra, who is more familiar to many as Ciri’s grandmother. Cirilla was not yet born — the story is about her parents’ affair.
Many candidates traveled to Cinthra to try to win the hand of Princess Pavetta, Ciri’s mother, but through a complicated series of events, Pavetta chooses the masked knight Dani. However, Dani is cursed with a curse that effectively turns him into a hedgehog. But Geralt saves the day, and the princess and the hedgehog become engaged, hence the reference to Duolingo.
«Duolingo is known for weird and funny sentences in our courses, but there’s real learning value behind them. Sometimes we intentionally insert references to anime, gaming, or other pop culture into our content to help connect language learning to people’s passions and interests,» a Duolingo spokesperson told IGN.