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Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 12:41 pm
by let it trip
Just curious if anyone roleplays this sort of thing? Obviously it is by nooooo meansss a requirement at all, but I personally do find it pretty fancy and quite thoughtful when, for example, a half-orc may talk like a poet in Orcish but not other tongues, or a paladin may talk with a Latin or Shakespearean vibe in Celestial to give it an ancient exoticism and mystery or old timey feel. You've also got things like accents or vocabulary.

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 12:45 pm
by NPC Logger Number 2
It is a nice touch for RP. A half-elf might speak Common fluently as everyone else but speak elven a bit clumsily. While a full-blooded elf might speak elven like Shakespear but Common like Forrest Gump. Dwarves could have an accent in Common but not Dwarven. etc. Of course all of this is completely optional but I do appreciate when other players put in that little bit of extra effort to increase everyone's immersion.

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 6:16 pm
by Best Rich Face
I do this, but it varies from character to character, and language to language.

And you know, sometimes I forget to do it in a given post and then feel bad.

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 6:36 pm
by Aradin
Totally, I've always liked it. I've known a few characters who do this, and my ogre does this himself: fluent & solid no-nonsense phrasing in Giant, outrageous ogrey slang in Common & Undercommon. Takes a bit o' knacky rack ta get used ta figgerin', but once yaz weeks deep in chattin' dis way dem words is comin' out real easy!

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 7:00 pm
by NMan7496
I take extra care not to use English slang, colloquialisms, and contractions when speaking other languages, as they really wouldn't translate properly.

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 7:07 pm
by Flower Power
I do this pretty regularly on most of my characters. Some of my halflings (and most of my dwarves) have been more or less incomprehensible in Common, but perfectly clear in their native tongue.

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 7:58 am
by Ninjimmy
Mixed opinions on it,

The half elf who wasn't raised very Elven has a faltering different tone to their words and a terrible accent even if they do speak it fluently, meanwhile the wizard who's got 4-5 languages under their belt sounds the same across them because they knows how to properly approximate their usual speech patterns in the new language (or does by 100% at least).

Since the text is always "translated" I figure colloquialisms, contractions and the like stand because any unique elements or idioms will be "translated" into an appropriate one for the language.

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 8:56 am
by Kuma
i am a huge fan of this and do it wherever possible. I also prefer doing the same while teaching languages, conveying that certain languages may have an easier time with certain concepts - Infernal might be light on contractions and very good at describing horrible things, Undercommon might struggle with philosophy, or it might only be possible to fully understand Elven poetry in Elven; translations seeming stilted or mechanical.
Ninjimmy wrote:
Thu Jun 25, 2020 7:58 am
Since the text is always "translated" I figure colloquialisms, contractions and the like stand because any unique elements or idioms will be "translated" into an appropriate one for the language.
The text is translated for convenience, but it is absolutely something to promote in RP using idioms, references, allusions, and wordplay relevant to the culture to which the language belongs (or using 'wrong' versions in the 'wrong' language to come across as weird). "100% fluency" doesn't mean native speaker.

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2020 3:10 am
by Skibbles
Lots of people do this, but my favorite is dwarves/duergar that write with their accent fully scribed to the page.

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2020 6:34 pm
by Aleilsum Ellrum
Yes, partly due to RL experience.

Being half-fluent in another language leads to some really quite interesting misunderstandings, some of which can be funny and some of which can lead to embarassing situations. Being half-fluent is *far* more than just an accent. It leads to people thinking they understand, but don't, which can have some interesting (read highly inconvenient) consequences. It gets in the way of forming friendships, because clear communication is essential to friendship. It can lead to laughter. It can lead to huge problems with immigration and bureaucracy, which has significant impact.

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2020 8:32 am
by Kenji
This is basically how I do my characters all the time, but what Kuma's doing is next level, one I wish to eventually know the setting well enough to be able to mimic.

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2020 9:56 am
by darthkitteh
When I played Yashara, she would mainly speak Draconic, her natural kobold langauge.
But when she spoke any other language, especially common, she would have a lot more tssskkk to the words, as it wasnt natural for her to speak them.

Greatinggssss human, sssssshe wont harm him.... today... *evil grin*

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2020 11:56 am
by good man of god
I do this if the character calls for it, for sure!

Matthew Daressin-Gravelle spoke with inflections in Common, but much more smoothly in Undercommon, having been raised in Andunor and mainly interacting with drow, etc.

Equally, a random druid elf alt I had once was a wild elf, so spoke very broken Common, fairly decent Elven, and was able to express himself fluently in Animal Language.

It's a nice twist of flavour to add to a character!

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2020 7:05 pm
by Miaou
I do this! For all of my characters. It differs from one to the other.

Common is accented, Luric is choppy, Elven is without flaw and lacking contractions, and celestial is with added ye olde words.

My other tends to have choppy common and undercommon, though speaks normally in infernal.



I remember one half-orc that could barely speak common, but could speak perfectly fine in orc, or when given an int buff. It was awesome. I wish more people played around with concepts like these.

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2020 2:37 pm
by let it trip
Miaou wrote:
Sat Jun 27, 2020 7:05 pm

I remember one half-orc that could barely speak common, but could speak perfectly fine in orc, or when given an int buff. It was awesome. I wish more people played around with concepts like these.
There was a character who did a really great slightly over the top expression on it such as their common words were also written out reeeeelleee badlee lYYkke SoMETimes I THINk they did this GOBLin TRICK tooo buurt moostly it wuuz long yooos and weez and stuff, but Orcish was incredibly polite, English major level vocabularly, perfect grammar, everything.

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2020 6:12 pm
by malcolm_mountainslayer
let it trip wrote:
Mon Jun 29, 2020 2:37 pm
Miaou wrote:
Sat Jun 27, 2020 7:05 pm

I remember one half-orc that could barely speak common, but could speak perfectly fine in orc, or when given an int buff. It was awesome. I wish more people played around with concepts like these.
There was a character who did a really great slightly over the top expression on it such as their common words were also written out reeeeelleee badlee lYYkke SoMETimes I THINk they did this GOBLin TRICK tooo buurt moostly it wuuz long yooos and weez and stuff, but Orcish was incredibly polite, English major level vocabularly, perfect grammar, everything.
I have debated doing the opposite on a high int goblin. Because a lot goblins speak said grammar in goblin and perhaps it's not that they are speaking poor goblin, but that's the literal grammar of goblin and said mindset comes out when speaking other languages much like accents. For example, skipping extra words that help the flow of a sentence vs "skip words, make speech faster" could even be viewed as an issue of effeciency.If goblins can fill in the context and understand with less words, why waste more time on their already short lived lives.

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2020 12:27 pm
by ChrisY
I do this.

For my trog he speaks normally in Draconic, being his natural tongue.
When speaking common or undercommon, his speech follows the stereotypical reptile speech of dragging and "s" sounds.

Also, I try to avoid using "oh", as I see it as a very mammal thing. "Tssk" becomes his default reaction phrase. Of course the intonation will determine if he is angry/surprised/irritated, etc.

Re: Changing how you talk when speaking another language

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2020 7:31 pm
by Brandon Steel
I always do it with my goblins. Goblin for the most part is pretty straight forward and without effort, but with common I’ll speak strangely and struggle with words.