Escape code for Accents

[RideTheDivide]

Not sure if this has been suggested before or not but it would be great to be able to "escape code" for when you're saying either your name or the name of a place since those shouldn't be succeptible to poor language ability.

For example:

say My name is ~Blabbermouth

Would do:

The short, plump elf says in sirihish:
"Mi zame is Blabbermouth"

What does everyone think?

[Plazgoth]

Ok...can you tell me how the person hearing the unknown speach would know that that was a name? If I told you in Bulgarian: "Zdravey Kazvam Se Bogomil" How would you know which word is my name? Maybe you can guess correctly, but if it was burried in a long sentance, you would not distinguish it from the rest of the garbled speach.

[Lazloth]

can you tell me how the person hearing the unknown speach would know that that was a name?

Because, as titled, he's talking about an accent, not a distinct language.

That said, I don't agree with this suggestion.  When one of you swanky folks from Boston invite me for lunch, I may laugh at the enunciation of chow-dah, but it's mutually intelligible.

[creeper386]

Alright. Even if the person listening to you doesn't know the language, or you don't know the language, that you are speaking. Your name is going to be the same. Locations not so much so. They name can be the same but words can be different, and depending on the society they may name it something completely different, you may not know which word is the name, but when they are always saying something and one word is always there, you can get the idea that it's not an average word in the langague. On the same note, their name could be an average word in the language. So who knows... It could be really difficult to have it coded... Unless they made up a dictionary for every word for each individual language. It's really a problem in the code and that it's texted base, because if you hear someone talk, it's not going to be jarbled you just won't understand it, and if they repeat themselves it's going to stay the same.

Now, from what I understand each language has it's own specific "feel" for how it garbles the text. Maybe this would work if that feel was more wide spread and wasn't as fluid, wasn't as random. Otherwise I don't see how it'd fit... I don't know... SHRUG. It really does hinder things. Like if you join up with someone and neither of you speak the same language. You wouldn't be able to use their name in emotes and such, and if you go to a populated place, or are fighting can lead to accidents sometimes.

ALSO, they couldn't just leave it for anything. Maybe if it's the word your name is it doesn't get jarbled but what about people with more then one name? Have to include the keywords... Then you get.

Crazy guy says, in an unknown language,
    "Blkdjai lkhda crazy guy blkeic dnjb lipc knsb kaenid. Ie idan eo George."

He could be saying he just got robbed by a crazy guy and his name was George. It'd be weird. Now maybe there can be a names specific thing. Where you can put in more then one name like the keywords. Then they'd also have to have a list of unique location names, Allanak, Tuluk, etc. But places like Red Storm would have to be left out because if you are saying red or storm or what not it might end up being non jumbled... And it goes on and on, and ends up either way being more hassle then it's worth.

[Plazgoth]

All the communication barries could be resolved using the way. You contact the person you wish to know your name and you type:

psi By the way my name is George.

[Master Z]

I actually can see how this could be a cool idea. In real life, when I hear someone talking about me in another language for example, I heard my name among some gibberish and I get the idea that they're talking about me. Also, when someone is introducing themselves in another language and you get the gist of what they're doing, it'd make sense if you heard their name correctly. These examples are assuming that names do not differ from language to language, which I do indeed assume.

I don't really know if this should be coded though... there are lots of ways the language code could be changed and made more realistic, and anything, even writing out the entire grammer and vocabulary of all the Zalanthian languages, would be imperfect. I think although this'd be nifty and realistic, it'd be too confusing to try and figure out what words its okay to do this with. Like, the Red Desert is a proper name of a place, but is it called El Desierto Rojo in Allundean?

I guess I could go both ways on this idea.

[Angela Christine]

I don't think this will go in.  It used to be that capital letters were not scrambled, so if you were enunciating a word you spell it out in CAP-I-TAL letters so people would read it correctly, but I belive this was taken out.

AC

[Lazloth]

but I belive this was taken out.

Don't believe so.

[creeper386]

Acctually I remember something being said that anything in caps now'll be garbled.

But I don't know.


Creeper

[chang]

Mi nombre es chang.

My name is chang.

But chang, if you said it in Spanish, for all I know, nombre is a kind of liquor, and chang is a hunk of dirt. So now I've got dirty liquor and I don't know what your name is.

[chang]

Much agreed, though chang will still be chang will still be chang, be it my name or a hunk of dirt (was that a low blow   ?).  So lets look at the spanish phrase:

Mi nombre es chang.

Erasing all your knowledge of spanish class, it makes no sense at all.  It doesn't matter whether you understand that the 'chang' string is my name or not, but it makes more sense for it to be consistent from language garble instance to language garble instance in the game.

I'm sure its already been brought up, but there's always those dwarves you wanna chat with in the tavern that know sirihish poorly, well enough to understand, but speaking sucks a little.  You ask them their name, they understand, and reply with a single word, their name.  But somehow, through the miracles of coded language garbling, they mispronounce their own name- happens to me all the time.

[RideTheDivide]

Whoops!  Yes, I wasn't talking about accents - I was talking about languages.  But then y'all seemed to pick up on that pretty quickly  :wink:

If the caps thing works, that would be a nice work around.  Doing it through the Way seems twinkish to me.  Even two people who don't know a lick of eachother's language should be able to do something like:

Pointing to his chest and nodding, the wild, muscular man says:
"Tarzan"

If that has to be in CAPS to make it happen, so be it.  It just takes away from the RP when I have to say my name 10 times and eventually use the Way just so they can understand it.

[Cenghiz]

I usually emote saying it slowly, really slowly. Just the name... It works. I don't think it's twinkish. It's an escape code for roleplay. When I tell you my name, maybe you can't write it properly, but you'll be able to say it.

[RideTheDivide]

Do you mean that you spell it out?  Does that make it come through more clearly?

Very slowly, the fat elf says to you:
"My name is  J i m b o"

Hm.... I'll have to try that.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Mi nombre es chang.

Nombre is number.

Name is llamo. I think I spelled it wrong, but here is what is sounds like.
(Yah-moe)

[RideTheDivide]

Getting way off topic, but I can't let this go.

Actually, nombre does mean name in Spanish.  However, when talking about names, the passive voice is used so that you say:

"Me llamo Cheng" - which translates to "I am called Cheng"

Number is numero.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Ridemyd...Hrmph...I mean, RidetheDivide is correct.

:?  :lol:

Thanks for clearing that up, man.

[HaiWolfe]

If someone is speaking in a  language completely foreign to you in the game, so that you actually get the message "soandso speaks in an unfamiliar tongue," then Plazgoth's argument,

Ok...can you tell me how the person hearing the unknown speach would know that that was a name? If I told you in Bulgarian: "Zdravey Kazvam Se Bogomil" How would you know which word is my name? Maybe you can guess correctly, but if it was burried in a long sentance, you would not distinguish it from the rest of the garbled speach.

applies.

And if someone is speaking in a foreign language that you don't know very well, or if they are a foreigner speaking in your language, so that the majority of it is garbled, then it can be interpreted in-game that the person's accent is thick enough that even if you heard their name, it sounds different to your ear than it does to his or hers.  Just like certain Europeans have trouble pronouncing the 'w's in English or Asians have trouble pronouncing 'r's.  To them, a 'w' sounds the same as a 'v' or a 'r' sounds the same as an 'l'.

[creeper386]

In a world where most everyone is illiterate. Those differences between l's and r's or w's and v's won't matter. The sound is still the same sound. The name is still the same through each language. Most the commoners aren't going to break things into letters or anything. They know how to spit out sounds thats it. Now it could be difficult picking out someones name, but normally it's not impossible, but they probably well be speaking to YOU, if your just walking down the street and all the names were unjarbled. You'd pick it out no problem from everything else which isn't cool.

Like I said before theres no real logical solution to this problem. But also the problem comes in when someone speaking a foreign language speaks your name. My names Harley. I turn my head at most anything that has an r sound followed up by lee. Someone with an accent speaking my name I might have some troubles but I'd probably pick it up.

But again theres just not one solution that'd solve things without making other troubles... At least from other peoples ideas and anything I've thought about. It's not TOO bad now, specially with the way. And you shouldn't feel twinkish. Everyone can use the way. It's a decent way to do business if you can trust the other person not to have some dude come in and attack you while you are resting and waying. SHRUG.

Creeper

[HaiWolfe]

In a world where most everyone is illiterate. Those differences between l's and r's or w's and v's won't matter. The sound is still the same sound. The name is still the same through each language. Most the commoners aren't going to break things into letters or anything. They know how to spit out sounds thats it.

But that's what I mean.  Different languages put emphasis on different sounds.  Oftentimes, the 'ruh' sound used in English cannot be distinguished from 'luh' to the Chinese ear.  That's because the vocabulary in the language does not put a lot of emphasis on differentiating the two.

The Chinese man says to you, in eastern-accented English,
People in this place call me Lichard.

To your ear, you hear the l.  To his ear, he's positive he's pronouncing it with an r.

[creeper386]

I know what your talking about. But it's also something that tends to be well know. Just like when I hear someone talking to me and they say Hawlay Dahvis I tend to know they are saying my name. Also when someone calls asking for malwy or something similar I know what they are talking about. And the orient where most these peoples accents originate from, is FAR from America. Zalanthas is a closer world as a whole, I would think most people would know common misconceptions and accent sounds and such. So it tends to not be as important for the most part, although there certainly are people that are nearly uncomprehindable with their accents, it's normally not a large group.

Basically people adept around accents. Specially when they are used to it. Humans and dwarves have been around each other along time. Elves have lived in the cities for along time. They would know each others twists and turns. The problems come in with mantis and halfling languages and such but thats WAY different.

I don't know... The accents would probably be not that great for the most part I wouldn't think and if they are they would be figured out by now and kind of common knowledge. SHRUG. PRobably doesn't make sense to anyone but me.

Creeper

[RideTheDivide]

That is a very good point... I know that when I used to work with Japanese vendors, I'd ask them their name and have to ask again just because the thick accent made it too hard to understand.

Also foreign names sound so different to us that it can be hard to grasp.  So from that perspective I see how the code makes sense...