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<blockquote data-quote="Scurvy_Platypus" data-source="post: 4448038" data-attributes="member: 43283">I'm not quite sure what you're really arguing for, but as someone that's been trained to be an interpreter, I've gotta say you're partially wrong.There's some pretty big differences in terms of ability to speak a language. You've got things like &quot;register&quot; (how formal or informal your word choices are), grammar, overall vocabulary, regional differences (like whether someone says, &quot;soda&quot;, &quot;pop&quot;, &quot;Coke&quot; or &quot;fizzy&quot;), word play (innuendo, puns, etc) and so forth.Language contains a wealth of cultural information nested in it, in terms of assumptions of status, education, values...It's a pretty involved and complicated thing.Having languages operate the way they do might not be &quot;ideal&quot;, but it's really the easiest way to handle something that most people aren't interested in the actual details of. To be honest, I'd say the majority of people are kinda clueless about the way language operates, unless they've specifically studied language in a more formalized fashion than the typical reading/writing classes you take in school.Unless your game is really focused on language in some fashion, then there's certainly no need to try and model the the subtle (and not so subtle) distinctions that do exist. That part, I agree with. But mainly because that sort of thing is just tedious and boring to most people. Not because it isn't present.Languages operate the way they do in the game, because in most cases language isn't the focus of the play. It's killing something and taking its stuff. Language basically boils down to &quot;can you make yourself understood to someone else?&quot; because that's the only function it serves.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Scurvy_Platypus, post: 4448038, member: 43283"] I'm not quite sure what you're really arguing for, but as someone that's been trained to be an interpreter, I've gotta say you're partially wrong. There's some pretty big differences in terms of ability to speak a language. You've got things like "register" (how formal or informal your word choices are), grammar, overall vocabulary, regional differences (like whether someone says, "soda", "pop", "Coke" or "fizzy"), word play (innuendo, puns, etc) and so forth. Language contains a wealth of cultural information nested in it, in terms of assumptions of status, education, values... It's a pretty involved and complicated thing. Having languages operate the way they do might not be "ideal", but it's really the easiest way to handle something that most people aren't interested in the actual details of. To be honest, I'd say the majority of people are kinda clueless about the way language operates, unless they've specifically studied language in a more formalized fashion than the typical reading/writing classes you take in school. Unless your game is really focused on language in some fashion, then there's certainly no need to try and model the the subtle (and not so subtle) distinctions that do exist. That part, I agree with. But mainly because that sort of thing is just tedious and boring to most people. Not because it isn't present. Languages operate the way they do in the game, because in most cases language isn't the focus of the play. It's killing something and taking its stuff. Language basically boils down to "can you make yourself understood to someone else?" because that's the only function it serves. [/QUOTE]

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