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Ingame translator would be awesome

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
I was in quarks bar and noticed a group of friendly people all speaking German to one another, and so I took out my ipod and brought up the translator app I had, and I was able to talk with them and understand what they were saying. After a while I made a new friend. :)

I was wondering if there was any way to put a translator in the game that allowed people to talk to one another over various languages. It would keep in the spirit of star trek with the universal translator, afterall. :)
Post edited by Unknown User on

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  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited May 2010
    I was in quarks bar and noticed a group of friendly people all speaking German to one another, and so I took out my ipod and brought up the translator app I had, and I was able to talk with them and understand what they were saying. After a while I made a new friend. :)

    I was wondering if there was any way to put a translator in the game that allowed people to talk to one another over various languages. It would keep in the spirit of star trek with the universal translator, afterall. :)

    If you wanted accurate translations, it'd have to be limited in scope - like certain phrases. It'd be cheaper.

    If you wanted tons of freedom but inaccuracies galore, they might be able to license Google's translation tools - maybe.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited May 2010
    If you wanted tons of freedom but inaccuracies galore

    Sometimes that makes the conversations much much more interesting.

    ;)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited May 2010
    they ought to stick with the standard rules of speaking the mother language of the country that hosts and runs the server or providing alternative language servers if there is the demand.

    I speak Swedish and Danish ( father is Danish, I speak German too but I digress ) and it drives me mad the amount of Scandinavians in WOW that won't ( but can ) speak English. It even says in the terms that EU servers unless country specific are English speaking servers and you must speak English.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited May 2010
    No matter how you turn it, English is the 'language of the internet'. Unless there are different servers for countries/continents, that should also be the language of an international game. I speak German and some Dutch and French, but I find it plain rude to chat in languages not everyone in the area understands. In private, nationality based fleets or teams, no problem. But in public?
    Besides, no game or platform anywhere online has staff for each and every language. Allowing users to speak whatever they want also opens the door for fraud that goes unnoticed.

    I agree, it should be stated somewhere that public chat has to be in English.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited May 2010
    I think people should be free to speak whatever they like, and being able to talk with them and learn more about their culture would be nice. :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited May 2010
    I think people should be free to speak whatever they like, and being able to talk with them and learn more about their culture would be nice. :)

    nobody is disputing that. What is clear is that they ought to speak the language of the server because it's very rude to use a language in public that many people do not understand. If I wish to speak German I can open another channel. If I speak German in Zone do you know I'm not insulting you and is that acceptable?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited May 2010
    nobody is disputing that. What is clear is that they ought to speak the language of the server because it's very rude to use a language in public that many people do not understand. If I wish to speak German I can open another channel. If I speak German in Zone do you know I'm not insulting you and is that acceptable?

    In my visits to Germany, I was confused about many things.
    So one day, in one of it's many beer halls, I asked a few of my random questions out in the open.
    I explained that I was Canadian, and I wanted to be less ignorant about a few things that may or may not have come from Germany.
    The din quieted down around me, and I was met with odd stares for a moment.
    When they all finished laughing at the seltsame kanadischen, they answered my questions.

    Here are my findings:

    English is 'the cool' language that all the kids want to speak. And are more than happy to use you as a test subject for more understanding. Older Germans prefer Deutsche.

    Not every German likes Sauerkraut.

    Autobahn is the word for highway/interstate. It has no speed limit, but don't use that as an excuse.
    (which led me to...)
    I can drive all the way to Nuremburg, but they don't let just anyone on their ring.

    A handy is a nickname for a cell phone, presumably, because they are.

    Verboten isn't written on a sign warning me of some kind of German grammar robot. It means caution.

    Not all Germans are completely methodical and have specific engineering-like qualities in everything they do, nor are they obsessed with numbers. Now, joke number 1. (I was told this word for word, and I still don't get it, but they laughed. A lot.)

    Yes, there is a word for everything in German. It's: alles.

    If you are confused as to what country you are standing in, and you believe you may not entirely be Germany anymore, but you can still see Germany, it's still Germany, and don't ask.

    Yes, they had heard of a certain Austrian fellow who had some strange ideas back in the 1940s, and they don't like talking about him, joking about him, or even mentioning him in the slightest.

    But I digress, heavily. :)

    It's a catch 22. The game is translated into a few languages. I don't see anything wrong with someone speaking something I may not understand, because to them, the rest of the game is in that language.
    It would be nice if I could understand it, but I'm not going to tell them to speak something I can understand, because I can't understand them... Unless they are specifically trying to ask me something.

    I have not checked, but I believe there are likely some channels with a spoken language requirement as their name, but not having a comprehensive list of them forces them to speak outside of them often to promote them. This means occasionally seeing a non english language in zone. I can handle that.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited May 2010
    denare wrote: »
    A handy is a nickname for a cell phone, presumably, because they are.
    I knew that:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WIscxut_ak
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited May 2010
    denare wrote: »
    If you are confused as to what country you are standing in, and you believe you may not entirely be Germany anymore, but you can still see Germany, it's still Germany, and don't ask.

    Lebensraum, eh?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited May 2010
    since sto seems to have only one server, and everyone is welcome to play on it, i think it should be encouraged that people speak their native language. the request is that there be an ingame translation tool that functions similarly to a translator app on the ipod. a source language and a target language, so that you can send messages to people in whatever language they are most comfortable with. trek is global, and i want to see how other cultures enjoy it.

    sto could implement a passive translation program that automatically transfers your text into the language of choice for the recipient player. if i chose german as my native language, then everyone else in the game would have their text messages translated via the program into german for my benefit. if my native language was english, the translation program would read and display messages in english.

    A notification next to the player text would indicate that they are speaking X language and it is being automatically translated, which would allow for any odd syntax or grammar when i receive their messages.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited May 2010
    denare wrote: »
    In my visits to Germany, I was confused about many things.
    So one day, in one of it's many beer halls, I asked a few of my random questions out in the open.
    I explained that I was Canadian, and I wanted to be less ignorant about a few things that may or may not have come from Germany.
    The din quieted down around me, and I was met with odd stares for a moment.
    When they all finished laughing at the seltsame kanadischen, they answered my questions.

    Here are my findings:

    English is 'the cool' language that all the kids want to speak. And are more than happy to use you as a test subject for more understanding. Older Germans prefer Deutsche.

    Not every German likes Sauerkraut.

    Autobahn is the word for highway/interstate. It has no speed limit, but don't use that as an excuse.
    (which led me to...)
    I can drive all the way to Nuremburg, but they don't let just anyone on their ring.

    A handy is a nickname for a cell phone, presumably, because they are.

    Verboten isn't written on a sign warning me of some kind of German grammar robot. It means caution.

    Not all Germans are completely methodical and have specific engineering-like qualities in everything they do, nor are they obsessed with numbers. Now, joke number 1. (I was told this word for word, and I still don't get it, but they laughed. A lot.)

    Yes, there is a word for everything in German. It's: alles.

    If you are confused as to what country you are standing in, and you believe you may not entirely be Germany anymore, but you can still see Germany, it's still Germany, and don't ask.

    Yes, they had heard of a certain Austrian fellow who had some strange ideas back in the 1940s, and they don't like talking about him, joking about him, or even mentioning him in the slightest.

    But I digress, heavily. :)

    It's a catch 22. The game is translated into a few languages. I don't see anything wrong with someone speaking something I may not understand, because to them, the rest of the game is in that language.
    It would be nice if I could understand it, but I'm not going to tell them to speak something I can understand, because I can't understand them... Unless they are specifically trying to ask me something.

    I have not checked, but I believe there are likely some channels with a spoken language requirement as their name, but not having a comprehensive list of them forces them to speak outside of them often to promote them. This means occasionally seeing a non english language in zone. I can handle that.

    Your intelligence about my residence is flawed. Please contact your local operative for more accurate information.

    You say it - there are channels for such things. Channels for roleplayers, channels for factions, channels for fleets. There is no problem at all to also make channels for those refusing to speak English.
    While some countries teach German, Spanish or French in school, most countries still teach English first. I highly doubt that many of the MMO generation understand/speak absolutely zero English. Even if its bad English, its enough for zone chat.

    English is, contrary to popular belief, not the 'cool language'. German and Japanese are. Look at ship names. I see English, Japanese, German and Klingon mostly. Most of the German names belong to non-German players. (A lot German names are also misspelled, so its easy to see, and I guess many Japanese also make little sense to Japanese native speakers.) In other words, even if someone's English is poor - don't worry, you're in good company. Its always enough to transport the message.

    Btw, the OP observed something I noticed, too. Its usually German players not chatting in English. I've seen a few fleet recruiting messages in Dutch, but never Dutch zone/local chat, or any other language. No Spanish, no French (and that though people always claim the French are arrogant and act like they understand no English - either there are no French players, or that's just an urban legend...) - only German. Are the schools here really THAT bad? :rolleyes:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited May 2010
    ArievDhien wrote:
    Your intelligence about my residence is flawed. Please contact your local operative for more accurate information.

    You say it - there are channels for such things. Channels for roleplayers, channels for factions, channels for fleets. There is no problem at all to also make channels for those refusing to speak English.
    While some countries teach German, Spanish or French in school, most countries still teach English first. I highly doubt that many of the MMO generation understand/speak absolutely zero English. Even if its bad English, its enough for zone chat.

    English is, contrary to popular belief, not the 'cool language'. German and Japanese are. Look at ship names. I see English, Japanese, German and Klingon mostly. Most of the German names belong to non-German players. (A lot German names are also misspelled, so its easy to see, and I guess many Japanese also make little sense to Japanese native speakers.) In other words, even if someone's English is poor - don't worry, you're in good company. Its always enough to transport the message.

    Btw, the OP observed something I noticed, too. Its usually German players not chatting in English. I've seen a few fleet recruiting messages in Dutch, but never Dutch zone/local chat, or any other language. No Spanish, no French (and that though people always claim the French are arrogant and act like they understand no English - either there are no French players, or that's just an urban legend...) - only German. Are the schools here really THAT bad? :rolleyes:

    One thing we can agree on, my intelligence is flawed. :)
    Also, since sadly, the main way I have heard the german language is through video games and war movies. Not exactly the best way to learn. All I wanted was for a customs agent to ask me for my identification, or better yet, my papers. And for the life of me, I could not get anyone to ask me for my papers. I suppose I am too easily amused, and it would not have ended well, were I to have laughed at the man or woman asking me for them as I entered the country.

    As for the French, that's a whole different story.
    Also as a French Canadian, I apologize about Celine Dion. All we really wanted to do was send her to a desert for awhile. The closest one out of country was Nevada.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited May 2010
    ArievDhien wrote:
    Btw, the OP observed something I noticed, too. Its usually German players not chatting in English. I've seen a few fleet recruiting messages in Dutch, but never Dutch zone/local chat, or any other language. No Spanish, no French (and that though people always claim the French are arrogant and act like they understand no English - either there are no French players, or that's just an urban legend...) - only German. Are the schools here really THAT bad? :rolleyes:
    Maybe there are just ridicilous amounts of German players playing STO, so they feel "safe" speaking their language? Or maybe it's just our computer skills suck and it didn't occur to the players in question they could create their own German chat channel.

    Many European countries (aside the obvious one) use English a little more than Germans or French. In Germany and in France, movies and TV series are always dubbed. This means German rarely get a deeper unstanding of the language they learned in school, and the skill atrophies with time.

    I think most of my English I learned from watching TV series and movies undubbed, following forums and playing D&D (and other RPGs) with English rulebooks. ;)

    Mustrum Ridcully
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