What languages do you speak?

[laiyna]

All questions could be answerd with Dutch and English for me, my English got a bit of an accents but thats it. (and a few languages on a very low level)

The delivery of RPG products is prity bad in Holland. Some products come 3 to 4 months after release date out and even others not at all. But in almost every "major" town are 1 or 2 gameing shops with stuff.

Laiyna

 

[Ravellion]

1.) Where do you live? (Country, community, etc. at whatever level of disclosure you feel comfortable.)

The Netherlands, a suburb of Amsterdam.

2.) What is the primary language in your area? (...and is it a notably different dialect than its original?)

Dutch. No.

3.) What languages do you speak? (...and dialect if appropriate, please)

Dutch - Native speaker
English - fully bilingual
German - read 100%, understand speech 90% , speak simple sentences

4.) At what level of competency? (...if other than your primary language.)

see above

5.) What language do you use at the gaming table? (...or in online games?)

Dutch and English.

6.) In what language are the gaming materials you use? (...and is it the language you prefer to use for gaming?)

All english. Yes (Dutch vocabulary is very poor in the fantasy department. Orcs, Goblins and Kobolds basically can only be translated as "aardmannetjes". All three of them.

7.) How well serviced is the area in which you live in regard to gaming materials? (Miles/Kilometers to the nearest game store, what materials do they carry, etc.)

The centre of Amsterdam has a gamestore that sells pretty much all WotC, S&S and mongoose RPG stuff.

On a side note, anyone who speaks a langauge other than English and who might like to participate in a project translating gaming materials into a language other than English, please contact me via Email (in English, please ) at the following address-

Since I study English and am a native speaker of Dutch, I could help you with this and have even been trained to do this. However, from a marketing point of view, I think it is very silly to do this: I can almost guarantee that a Dutch product would sell less than an identical english gaming product. If you then factor in the extra printing/logistical/translating fees, the choice should be clear.

Basically , Dutch subtitles of English TV shows are preferred over dubbing in the Netherlands and all kids are taught English from age 9 all the way up to age 18, as it is a mandatory course in the dutch secondary education system as well as the primary one.

Rav

 

[HalWhitewyrm]

Languages the World Over

I am finding this thread very interesting.

If I've learned something thus far is that:
(A) English seems to be the prefered Gaming language the world over (though the fact that translations would help spread the hobby to non-English speakers has been noted); and
(B) Gamerspeak seems to be our version of the ubiquitous Common language. It seems we all speak the same Gamerspeak, that being our local language with the interspersion of English gaming terms and phrases, plus in some cases the use of English terms with local language additions (such as verb endings and conjugations).
Techincally speaking, I could sit at any gaming table across the world, and I would probably be able to get the gist of the gaming action based solely on Gamerspeak.

 

[warpmind]

1.) Where do you live? Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

2.) What is the primary language in your area? Spanish and Catalan (which is language on its own, not dialect)

3.) What languages do you speak? Spanish, Catalan, and bits of English and German

4.) At what level of competency? English and German not too much.

5.) What language do you use at the gaming table? Spanish most times but sometimes Catalan too. We use many English terms while playing as "prestige class", "feat" and others because the translation isn't satisfying.

6.) In what language are the gaming materials you use? Mostly English (I only have Creature Collection in Spanish and so far has given me more confusion than anything.

7.) How well serviced is the area in which you live in regard to gaming materials? I have a good bookstore right in town.

 

[Obelix]

1) Mellom bakkar og berg

2) Norwegian, the language of MEN!

3) The language of Men, french, english and spanish. (actually Faeroe is supposed to resemble my norwegian quite much, so I guess I speak that too)

4) I'm just a novice in spanish and french. Everyone knows that the English can't speak proper english (My fair lady ) and you americans....so I guess my english is brilliant (hope I haven't spelled anything wrong)

5) Norwegian and english

6) English

7) average

 

[Someone]

1- Cadiz, Spain. Damned east wind.

2- Spanish.

3- I speak spanish and can read English rather well; conversation and pronunciation are still beyond my reach (though I´m working on that)

4- See above.

5- Only spanish, most of my gaming group don´t speak english and have spanish translations of gaming material.

6- Most in english, just because I wanted to grab them as soon as possible. If I have to buy new material, I´d buy it in spanish, since is cheaper.

7- d20 material is difficult to find, and the comics store rarely have the stuff you want (You have to mentalize yourself to *not* find the right book, or it´ll not be there)

 

[Mark]

Re: Languages the World Over

I am finding this thread very interesting.

I agree. It's probably the most interesting thread I've ever initiated.

I'm learning a lot about who in the world games outside (and some inside) America and it's helping me put a lot of things into perspective. Please, continue to post with your insights whether you've lurked thus far or have some comments regarding other people's conclusions about the world market for gaming. It's all very informative and it's hitting home for me!

(I'm sure a lot of other publishers, including some WotC personel, are reading this thread with great interest.)

 

[Calaveth]

1.) Where do you live?
Sweden, though not for much longer.

2.) What is the primary language in your area? (...and is it a notably different dialect than its original?)
Swedish.

3.) What languages do you speak? (...and dialect if appropriate, please)
Swedish - native, English - near fluent, German - only rudimentary understanding, Spanish - same thing.

4.) At what level of competency? (...if other than your primary language.) Bah, see above.

5.) What language do you use at the gaming table? (...or in online games?)
At gaming table - Swedish. Online, English as a rule.

6.) In what language are the gaming materials you use? (...and is it the language you prefer to use for gaming?)
English usually, some products in Swedish. I would *like* translations to Swedish, but it's not a big problem. I'd rather get one extra product in English than one translated to Swedish.

7.) How well serviced is the area in which you live in regard to gaming materials? (Miles/Kilometers to the nearest game store, what materials do they carry, etc.)
Poor. 150 km to the closest game store, carries most products on the market, though smaller d20 products might not be available.

 

[ninthcouncil]

1. Where do I live?

England - West London, to be a bit more precise. But I'm originally from Canterbury.

2. What is the local language, and is it a dialect?

Local language is English, innit? It must be the normal type of English, because its spoken in London, and nowhere else counts. Or so you would think, to read our wretched city newspaper, the "Evening (Sub)Standard", which prints articles treating cities like Birmingham as potential commuter suburbs....

3/4. What languages do I speak, and how well?

I speak English, RP crossed with Kentish. RP (Received Pronunciation) is what was referred to earlier as the "prestige dialect" - it's how the BBC are meant to sound. It essentially represents the dialect of the upper middle classes within the London - Oxford - Cambridge triangle. My RP is lightly contaminated with the accent of South East Kent. "Posh" people would say I had a regional accent. Normal people would think I sound a bit posh. [Incidentally, "Posh Spice" Victoria Beckham is about as posh as baked beans. Go figure.]

I also have some French and German, but I've hardly used them in the last twenty years and I'm not sure they work any more

5./6. What language do you game in?

Exclusively in English. I do however have a French friend who runs obscure non-d20 French RPG's from French source material, but in English.

7. Local game stores?

I can get to Orc's Nest in central London during my lunch break, so no problems there. I also still like to buy stuff from my former FLG in Canterbury when I'm down seeing my parents.

 

[ninthcouncil]

Everyone knows that the English can't speak proper english

Too true. Scots (apart from Glaswegians, who require subtitles) speak it much better, and so do well-educated Scandinavians and Dutch. They sound as if they're actually making some effort to make the words come out right