D&D 5E WotC will not allow translation of D&D NEXT.

[S_Dalsgaard]

Every time I see a rpg term translated to Danish I cringe, so I am very happy with living in a country too small to ever get a translated version

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Every time I see a rpg term translated to Danish I cringe, so I am very happy with living in a country too small to ever get a translated version

Really? Is Danish your native language? How does it work then? Do you just play in English or do you switch from English to Danish every now and then?

 

[Ricochet]

I'm Danish too. We game in Danish, but use English terms for our descriptive stuff. 'Reaction', 'Spell Slots' etc are thrown in along with the Danish. Everyone here has a pretty good grasp at English, and even those who don't understand that "this term means so-and-so in-game".

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

I'm Danish too. We game in Danish, but use English terms for our descriptive stuff. 'Reaction', 'Spell Slots' etc are thrown in along with the Danish. Everyone here has a pretty good grasp at English, and even those who don't understand that "this term means so-and-so in-game".

But do you feel that your language simply cannot be used in certain contexts, such as roleplaying games? Most RPG terms are rather straightforward, "Reaction" is a good example. Why would it feel weird to use the Danish word?

 

[S_Dalsgaard]

Really? Is Danish your native language? How does it work then? Do you just play in English or do you switch from English to Danish every now and then?

Yes, Danish is my native language and it does get a bit tricky sometimes. We play in Danish, but use the English terms for anything game mechanics related (armor class, hit points, fighter, etc.) as well as names (Waterdeep, Identify spell, etc). Our biggest issue is probably measurements. I have played for a long time, so I am pretty "fluent" in feet, pounds, Fahrenheit, and so on, automatically doing the conversion on the fly in my head, but my players aren't, so I have to remember to give them a room's measurements in meters, although I write it down in my notes as feet.

 

[Ricochet]

Really? Is Danish your native language? How does it work then? Do you just play in English or do you switch from English to Danish every now and then?

There are a few Danish RPG systems out there, but even they tend to use English terms. I dunno. We are a tiny country and we are used to adapting to English, so for us it isn't unnatural to throw the two languages together like that.

Heck, Danish as a language has become infested with anglifications in recent years to the point that commonly-used Danish words have been substituted by poorly converted English dittos. An example of this is the Danish word for a role model: "Forbillede". It is still in use, but most places use this new Danish word instead: "Rollemodel".

Anyway, for gaming, it works fine to mix the two, and a translation would fail thoroughly. Many gamers (probably most) in Denmark want the English version - the original text - and the market is simply not large enough to support a translated version. Same with novels... Although a lot are translated, it seems that Fantasy and Scifi in particular are sold mostly in their English version. If others are like me, it is because they prefer the "real author's words" and not a translated version.

 

[S_Dalsgaard]

There are a few Danish RPG systems out there, but even they tend to use English terms. I dunno. We are a tiny country and we are used to adapting to English, so for us it isn't unnatural to throw the two languages together like that.

Heck, Danish as a language has become infested with anglifications in recent years to the point that commonly-used Danish words have been substituted by poorly converted English dittos. An example of this is the Danish word for a role model: "Forbillede". It is still in use, but most places use this new Danish word instead: "Rollemodel".

Anyway, for gaming, it works fine to mix the two, and a translation would fail thoroughly. Many gamers (probably most) in Denmark want the English version - the original text - and the market is simply not large enough to support a translated version. Same with novels... Although a lot are translated, it seems that Fantasy and Scifi in particular are sold mostly in their English version. If others are like me, it is because they prefer the "real author's words" and not a translated version.

Yeah, I prefer reading stuff in its original language as well. Then nothing is lost in translation.

I believe D&D Basic (the red box from the eighties) was translated, but AFAIK that is the only version of Dungeons & Dragons translated to Danish. Also the Swedish game Drager & Dæmoner (a D&D knock-off with Runequest ducks) was released in Danish.

 

[Ricochet]

I have the D&D Black Box in Danish (I think it's called that) with the red dragon on the cover. It wasn't a bad translation, but getting the English books was a startling revelation into everything that was missing all the same.

I have a Danish system book called VP (Via Prudensia) and it's a nifty little game. GURPS-ish.

 

[fjw70]

So are there many non-English RPGs out there or do most non-English speaking gamers play D&D/Pathfinder?

 

[Iosue]

When I introduced my wife to D&D, I got her the 4e Red Box in Japanese. But character generation and the whole power system was more involved than she liked. So I got a hold of a copy of the Japanese translation of the original Red Box. I was crestfallen to find that in that particular translation, they kept all ability score names, classes, and spells in English, merely transliterating them into the katakana script. So "Fighter" was "Faitaa". Dexterity was "dekkusuteriti", and so on. Probably great for the hardcore otaku who wanted that foreign feeling. Not so great for my English-challenged wife!