Language - How should people talk?

[SophosTheWise]

Simple question -

 

I really got into the style of the old Ultima games with loads of "old speech"/archaic English. Thou hast thine sword! Thy fate awaits thee!

 

What do you think?

[TMZuk]

Mhm. Something along those lines. I never played the Ultima games, but I loved the tone they used in the BG games.

[kabaliero]

chinese

 

...

 

 

coz it's popular

 

...

 

 

get it? 

 

... anyone?

 

 

Edited January 23, 2013 by kabaliero

[Ieo]

Another take on the idea: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/60343-cant-lingo-jargon/

 

Like so. (Cultural regionalisms would be nifty. Probably not too much otherwise may be a barrier for higher adoption.)

[drake heath]

I'd like some archaic words every now and then, but not like Middle English where it just looks contrived. I'd much prefer them to speak in Modern English, it's easier to understand and it doesn't look silly.

[redneckdevil]

I would also like to actually read or hear other languages. Like if im in a bar on my halfelf...dunno if thatd be in the game or not...but anyway, have him walk into a bar and a group of dwarves are chatting. If I dont have that language, I would like to see them talking in dwarven and such. Instead of everyone always talking in common, would love to actually not understand sometimes what people are saying.

[TRX850]

I would prefer if they didn't dumb down your dialogue responses based on intelligence. It might have seemed a legit design consideration in NWN, but I found it very difficult to read, and conversations took twice as long to resolve.

 

Also, they need to be careful with modern English too. It bugs me when I see words like "Okay", "I guess", "sure" etc. And modern shortenings like "gonna" always make me cringe.

 

And going too far the other way, into Shakespearean territory, often leads to a player having to decode what's really being said. I think the original BG had the balance just right.

[Brother Pain]

I'd prefer to have no phony "Ye Olde Englishe", since it looks corny (and fake) and is just annoying to read. Doubly so if the lines are spoken. I'm not saying have the dialogue in modern English, but the style that BG did with dialogue was cringe-worthy IMHO.

 

And please do keep the low Int speech. It was a great option in Fallout 1+2 and Arcanum, and was a reason not to dump Int. Of course, having Int be useful for people other than the mages would help in that respect too

[Malevolent]

I'd actually prefer we steer AWAY from the "old posh English" accent to emphasize antiquity.  It's already ridiculous enough that they have English accents for Romans and Greeks, we don't need English accents for a fantasy world.  Furthermore, since this is being released to... well, an American (and global) audience, I would think that American accents would be suited, and accents as a whole should be reserved for foreign characters.  Made up accents, or more obscure ones that the standard European could be refreshing and help the immersion experience since we're dealing with an entirely new IP. 

[Heresiarch]

Actually, I am good either way as long as it does not involve posh accents.

 

PST with all the Planescape speech was completely awesome. What's the chant? Cutter, basher, deader, berk, clueless, sodding... what's not to like there? On the other hand, Witcher used pretty modern language (much like Sapkowski did in his books) and it too sounded awesome.

 

They conveyed different things. Planescape is a strange and alien place with its own culture and denizens. The Witcher world, while completely alien, is pretty much the same thing as today's world still prosaic with trivial racism, poverty and crime problems. So the answer is whatever the devs see fit.

[Death Machine Miyagi]

I really got into the style of the old Ultima games with loads of "old speech"/archaic English. Thou hast thine sword! Thy fate awaits thee!

 

What do you think?

 

Unique speech patterns that lend color to different regions or cultures are nice and I support them, but I really can't abide being subjected to more atrociously weak attempts at early modern English. I say avoid that, at least, like ye olde plague. 

[Calmar]

Simple question -

 

I really got into the style of the old Ultima games with loads of "old speech"/archaic English. Thou hast thine sword! Thy fate awaits thee!

 

What do you think?

 

I praise thine idea! Shakespearean English pleaseth both eye and ear, methinks. But sadly 'tis often us'd in a woefully incorrect fashion that causeth the speaker to appear not archaic, but idiotic. This sadly occureth even in the masterly Baldur's Gate where many a wizard, suppos'd to sport high education and eloquence, useth pronouns blatantly wrong. It annoyeth me greatly to hear Dynaheir respond to being click'd on with words like "Thy called?".

 

If it is us'd in a game, it must be us'd properly.

[IndiraLightfoot]

Some thieves' cant would be cool, complete with signs and all.

 

And for some reason I have a secret desire of OE including Commedia dell'arte theatre folks, where women too could perform, and mime artists began to appear. I have always liked to assassinate a mime artist in a CRPG, that would be marvellous!         

 

EDIT: It should have been "Thou", but you're right. It sounds contrived even on a stage. And there's that song: Calleth you, cometh I, which also gets the Middle English wrong. Grrrrr!

Edited January 24, 2013 by IndiraLightfoot

[TRX850]

Mockney Rhyming Slang in the seedier parts of town could add some colour too.

 

Maybe you have to locate a tome to translate some of the stranger rhymes?

 

"Hold up, Guv. I'll get me weasel and stoat." (coat).

[Jarmo]

As long as Dwarves are scottish with lots of yar and laddie and stuff, the rest doesn't matter much.

[TRX850]

If P:E was set in the Forgotten Realms, there could be an army general who yells "THIS -- IS -- YARTAR!"

 

(Ok, I'll just get my weasel and stoat...Jeez).

[Nonek]

Like english second world war fighter pilots:

I say Minty, bally Gerry dicky birdied and turned his ack acks on ones under carriage, barely got out in one piece!

Blaggards!

Long story short, early bath time in the drink. Had a frightful time, caught a damned cold and arrived late at mothers.

Not bloody cricket!

Mind you, had just emptied me payload all over sausage eater HQ, might have been a bit upset that he wasn't invited to the barbecue.

Yes, bit of a sticky wicket, what.

[Dream]

I vote they speak like modern Americans, bro.

Edited January 24, 2013 by Dream

[rjshae]

Just no ebonese or inner city slang please. That patois has it's place in simulated cultural environments; but it's not in a medieval setting.

[AGX-17]

chinese

 

...

 

 

coz it's popular

 

...

 

 

get it? 

 

... anyone?

 

 

 

What, Mandarin or Cantonese?

 

 

All japes aside, addressing the OP, it should be English. And whatever other language they later translate the original English into. Nobody speaks medieval English today, few people understand it without special instruction. If someone from ye olde tymes heard modern English they wouldn't understand it any better than an average modern English speaker understands The Canterbury Tales.

 

This is a fictional world, not medieval Britain, there's no reason to put on that sort of mummers farce, all it would do is add difficulty to the writing process. The idea is that the player is speaking whatever the imaginary lingua-franca of the land is, and thus should understand it as the players understand their own languages. Even though English is the lingua-franca of the modern age.

Edited January 24, 2013 by AGX-17

[beerflavour]

Contemporary English would be most appropriate. Most players would understand it.

 

 

Let's face it, I am reading Shakespeare plays from time to time. Without an appendix/explanations/dictionary you don't get all the meanings of words. Some words had a different meaning then. You don't get certain jokes (references to other classical works). Certain catch phrases from that time are not common knowledge nowadays.

 

Medieval English and earlier "versions" would be only understandable if you had a degree in literature/culture/mythology of that time.

 

 

Trying to mix contemporary English with certain old words simply feels like a superfluous exercise. You can see the same effect in arts. A painter imagining a scene from a past event. Since the painter doesn't have the knowledge of the fashion during those periods he ends up painting something he completely made up with influences of his/her own time (e.g. a painting of alexander the great --> This just ends up like  http://www.wga.hu/art/c/crayer/alexande.jpg). It simply feels odd.

 

 

If I'm not mistaken they utilized some modified English Coc.kney dialect in Planescape Torment. Dialects could be used to distinguish NPCs. As long as non-native speakers can understand it, it should be OK.

Edited January 24, 2013 by beerflavour

[PoisonWar]

I want them to go all Vampire the Masquerade- Redemption on this game.

I loved the old english dialogue!

[Shadenuat]

Every language has many languages in it. Until radio and television came to be, pretty much every region could speak differently, sometimes drastically, up to point of no understanding.

Characters could make use of different types of speech. Races gifted with longevity could speak with archaic bits in it, as elves and wizards will greet you with a few thou's and thee's. Nobles could speak polite and courteus. Commonfolk may swear a lot and sometimes babble incomprehensible, while criminals could utilise cant. And so on.

Edited January 24, 2013 by Shadenuat

[lolaldanee]

I want them to go all Vampire the Masquerade- Redemption on this game.

 

I loved the old english dialogue!

don't know about that, redemption is one of 3 games where i liked the german version better than the english one, and they did away with the old language there (or maybe i just didn't notice it that much)

on the other hand, the older english in tolkiens books is awesome (hell, everything! in tolkiens books is awesome, especially language-wise)

undecided...

Edited January 24, 2013 by lolaldanee

[Oerwinde]

I want the standard Dwarven accent to be based on German, and elves to be based on swedish/norwegian. Elves and dwarves being based on norse/germanic mythology.