Dialogue language

My primary language is English, but I have difficulty understanding the English translation/language style of FFXIV in cutscenes and dialogues. Japanese dialogue is normal conversation but English seems old style (?) and very complicated. I have cutscene voice set at Japanese, but I'm wondering if there is an option to change the dialogue box to appear in Japanese as well? I'm hoping I don't need to change the entire game setting to Japanese - just dialogue/cutscenes.

I believe that if you want to have dialogue in Japanese, it will set the entire game to Japanese (menus and everything).

But why would that be a problem if your Japanese is good enough to understand the dialogue?

thanks :) Reading and all is not a problem, but I already started the game in English, so I learned English terms in the game. I play on a NA server so all my conversations, terms I use is English. I hate to have to translate how to say Alexandrian Savage or various stuff to talk to friends.... if I change the game to Japanese, all terms will be in Japanese (I assume).

Changing the dialogue just changes the dialogue, not the written text I think. Because you are on English client it will be in English(voices default to the client). You will need to buy a Japanese version of the game to play fully in Japanese. It is very hard especially to read all the Limsa Lominsan dialogue. I think the localisation team just gets carried away with the RP.

You can change the text to Japanese, I do it sometimes to practice. When you boot up the game, there is an option on the log on screen in the bottom left corner(PS4) that has English selected, you can click this & change text to Japanese. You can only change it when booting up the game, exiting from being logged in back to the log in screen will lock it. Settings in game on System has voice change to Japanese.

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Originally Posted by PrincessPeaNuT

thanks :) Reading and all is not a problem, but I already started the game in English, so I learned English terms in the game. I play on a NA server so all my conversations, terms I use is English. I hate to have to translate how to say Alexandrian Savage or various stuff to talk to friends.... if I change the game to Japanese, all terms will be in Japanese (I assume).

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i use japanese language client and most of it is the same, save for a few things that are named differently and some commands are different. like cure1,2,3 is ケアル, ケアルラ, ケアルガ (cure, cura, curega/curaga), /novicenetwork is called /beginnernetwork, duty roulette and duty finder is contents roulette and contents finder, /pet is /stroke, etc. etc.

it wont take long for you to adapt and switch around the terms :)

You can change the text language in the launcher before you log in. But it change every text, not only NPC dialogues.

Since the game is quite heavily localised you will feel frustrated at times trying to communicate with other English speakers when the words are different and they don't understand or accommodate this (I played FFXI in full Japanese for ten years and JP players were easy to understand while players with other clients would be confusing due to auto translate being used for the wrong things; the words seldom made sense across clients). There are also small things like titles being different (yet still in English) which might spoil some of your favourites. Since it's easy to switch though, why not give it a try?

I can understand the difficulty with the localization what with Urianger telling you he'll report back anon and Baderon telling you <insert Limsan example I can't possibly recreate here>, but they definitely have had a history of this in past Final Fantasy titles.

For instance; I'm currently playing through FFIX for the first time, and when I got to a certain town where you have to get married to progress... feuch, I dun ken if i kin take much more 'o it, rally-ho!

I think localization employees should use better translation program not only google.

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Originally Posted by gastovski

I think localization employees should use better translation program not only google.

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You do realize the localization team lead is fluent in Japanese, right?

@OP - think of this as an opportunity to expand your knowledge of the English language. While characters like Urianger do speak in a more archaic form approaching Shakespeare, most of it that isn't meant to be a quirky dialect is just modern English in its more formal form.

It just uses a more archaic form of english for flavor. I rather enjoy it. Keeps it different from every other game out there.

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Originally Posted by gastovski

I think localization employees should use better translation program not only google.

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Rude. I'm not a big fan of the OTT localisation most of the time but there's no denying that the translators work really, really hard and do their homework. The only real problem I have with them is the apparent lack of awareness of issues stemming from mixed clients sharing the same game and the communication problems it causes affected players.

(Though I'm never going to like "dances sprightly". Ever.)

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Originally Posted by RLofOBFL

You can change the text to Japanese, I do it sometimes to practice. When you boot up the game, there is an option on the log on screen in the bottom left corner(PS4) that has English selected, you can click this & change text to Japanese. You can only change it when booting up the game, exiting from being logged in back to the log in screen will lock it. Settings in game on System has voice change to Japanese.

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Thanks! i'm considering this now, but a bit lazy to switch between English and Japanese every time I do quests ^^;;

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Originally Posted by Astyrah

i use japanese language client and most of it is the same, save for a few things that are named differently and some commands are different. like cure1,2,3 is ケアル, ケアルラ, ケアルガ (cure, cura, curega/curaga), /novicenetwork is called /beginnernetwork, duty roulette and duty finder is contents roulette and contents finder, /pet is /stroke, etc. etc.

it wont take long for you to adapt and switch around the terms :)

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Thanks! I guess my biggest concern would be like... if they come out with new dungeon/raid/trials and names are very different that i won't know what is what without research.... but I will take a look at this :)

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Originally Posted by Seig345

I can understand the difficulty with the localization what with Urianger telling you he'll report back anon and Baderon telling you <insert Limsan example I can't possibly recreate here>, but they definitely have had a history of this in past Final Fantasy titles.

For instance; I'm currently playing through FFIX for the first time, and when I got to a certain town where you have to get married to progress... feuch, I dun ken if i kin take much more 'o it, rally-ho!

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While the use of their language gives lots of fantasy flavor ish thingies, sometimes I feel they go a bit overboard and really makes it hard to understand without reading it multiple times. Often by that time, I love concentration. I found Japanese is simpler (using more common language) and while some words are hard (esp kanji) I still get a better understanding of the dialogue itself. I really hope one day they will make it just a bit simpler to understand.

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Originally Posted by PrincessPeaNuT

I guess my biggest concern would be like... if they come out with new dungeon/raid/trials and names are very different that i won't know what is what without research....

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most of the names are mostly the same for the new locations and dungeons i think they're pushing towards this type of naming convention (atleast for EN and JP). only the raids (even alex, where for example Alex Creator is called 天動編) and 2.xx areas had slightly different but still similar (if translated) names.

some examples:
バエサルの長城 = Bae's Wall
影の国ダン・スカー = Dun Scaith

^ the above, they all have katakana names of the english version so you wont be so lost in between auto translates

I totally agree, that the English in FF is very complicated

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Originally Posted by PrincessPeaNuT

I really hope one day they will make it just a bit simpler to understand.

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Don't get your hopes up. The English localisation team is making use of every English dialect, culture, etc when it comes to giving characters voice.
As we're going to Ala Mhigo in Stormblood, expect cockney accents/dialect at any point in time.

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Originally Posted by Nestama

Don't get your hopes up. The English localisation team is making use of every English dialect, culture, etc when it comes to giving characters voice.
As we're going to Ala Mhigo in Stormblood, expect cockney accents/dialect at any point in time.

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I bet they will speak scottich (because Highlands ^^)

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Originally Posted by Chiramu

You will need to buy a Japanese version of the game to play fully in Japanese. .

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Who told you this? the option is on the bottom left corner. I've been playing in Japanese since 3.0 and I bought this game in Australia.
http://i.imgur.com/XkBJa87.png

The English is often used in older forms and it is not the translator team wrong. And some places have their own dialet.

Whoever refuses to accept it...

http://wanna-joke.com/wp-content/upl...rs-glasses.jpg

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Originally Posted by Felis

I bet they will speak scottich (because Highlands ^^)

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Naw. Pretty sure the Ala Mhigans will all have a cockney accent.

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Originally Posted by Yasuhiro

Who told you this? the option is on the bottom left corner. I've been playing in Japanese since 3.0 and I bought this game in Australia.

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Cool thanks :) you may want to edit your picture it has your square id though.

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Originally Posted by LalaRu

The English is often used in older forms and it is not the translator team wrong. And some places have their own dialet.

Whoever refuses to accept it...

http://wanna-joke.com/wp-content/upl...rs-glasses.jpg

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I don't think anyone is saying translation team is wrong... but if the language is much difficult to understand for many people, it loses focus and the value of the story. They didn't do this complicated dialogue in Japanese. Japanese has bunch of old language/dialect too but they chose to use more common language for players to understand.... I really hope (yes still hopeful) one they they will make it simpler in English too.

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Originally Posted by PrincessPeaNuT

I don't think anyone is saying translation team is wrong... but if the language is much difficult to understand for many people, it loses focus and the value of the story. They didn't do this complicated dialogue in Japanese. Japanese has bunch of old language/dialect too but they chose to use more common language for players to understand.... I really hope (yes still hopeful) one they they will make it simpler in English too.

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Yes, they have. The Japanese version has various "hougen", or regional dialects in it. But the reason it's not difficult to read the Japanese is because Japanese is a phonetic language. The way it's written has one and only one way to read it. English is not phonetic. We can read two words spelled exactly the same in two completely different ways. "Read" being the perfect example. It can be read as "reed" or "red" depending on the context of the sentence.

The Japanese version does indeed use older dialects and regional dialects... it's just not as hard to read because it's a phonetic writing format.

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Originally Posted by PrincessPeaNuT

My primary language is English, but I have difficulty understanding the English translation/language style of FFXIV in cutscenes and dialogues. Japanese dialogue is normal conversation but English seems old style (?) and very complicated. I have cutscene voice set at Japanese, but I'm wondering if there is an option to change the dialogue box to appear in Japanese as well? I'm hoping I don't need to change the entire game setting to Japanese - just dialogue/cutscenes.

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I have my audio set to Japanese. I understand just enough spoken Japanese to detect the obvious fact that the English text doesn't match the original spoke Japanese, sometimes not even remotely. Unfortunately I don't understand enough spoken Japanese to do without the subtitles in English.

There are several fairly stark examples where the localized English diverges from the Japanese version *AND* the European version of he same scenes. It's annoying.

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Originally Posted by Serilda

Rude. I'm not a big fan of the OTT localisation most of the time but there's no denying that the translators work really, really hard and do their homework. The only real problem I have with them is the apparent lack of awareness of issues stemming from mixed clients sharing the same game and the communication problems it causes affected players.

(Though I'm never going to like "dances sprightly". Ever.)

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Sprightly? That was an official translation? Not Spryly?

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Originally Posted by gastovski

I think localization employees should use better translation program not only google.

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Our english localization team is kind of hopeless.

The dialogue is supposed to be more straightforward and just a tad more profane in places, and they were called out on this by Yoshi-P himself, but refused to do it as requested.

Limsa lominsa is almost unreadable between the ye olde english, fake/obscure words, and pirate talk. I mean sure, it's a fantasy game, but it's hard to be immersed when you can't understand what you've just read. I thought i was having a stroke when i first started a ninja.

I can understand scottish twitter better than i can this game sometimes.

As much as I look forward to every Urianger scene, I think you aren\\'t missing *too* much if you can\\'t understand his ramblings. Gobbyspeak is a thing of beauty though. I recommend trying to discern the quirky English localizations if possible since they have a wonderful flavor and will deepen your understanding of the underlying English language even if they deviate from standard usage. They add a lot of personality to the game and give you the feeling that you are interacting with different tribes or cultures.

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Originally Posted by Kosmos992k

Sprightly? That was an official translation? Not Spryly?

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Should be an adverb like, uh, "sprightlily" if that is even a word!

I think there are several of issues here. Some people have touched on Japanese and English being two different types of languages and that is a big thing.

Another issue is how the English language was formed. It is an amalgamation of many different languages. That is why words don't seem to follow the same rules, for example: moose, goose, house, and mouse. Their plurals are moose, geese, houses, and mice.

Lastly SE has chosen to replace some of the words we would normally use with different words in game. Instead of using please they used pray. Instead of using anyway they used anyroad. There is most likely more but those are the most common ones I have seen. While anyroad is not an actual word most English speakers can make the connection to anyway. Using pray on the other hand is a far bigger stretch. It really makes no sense to me personally how they made that connection. It just doesn't fit into my, and I would be many others, form of English.

The localization team did an amazing job of making each group of people seem distinct. The weird version of cockney that the thieves guild uses, the old English that Urianger uses, and the special words they use to replace some of ours makes the game world unique and immersive.

As far as the OP's request on how to change options around in game I have no info for you, sorry. :(

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Originally Posted by Kosmos992k

There are several fairly stark examples where the localized English diverges from the Japanese version *AND* the European version of he same scenes. It's annoying.

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Yes, it's the entire reason I'm playing in EN this time (I played FFXI in JP and the differences between the games my friends and I were playing were so vast at times that it was just annoying to try to coordinate anything). And it's still annoying because whenever I play with non-EN groups or read JP fan sites they use different descriptions for instances, items, actions and story content because it has been localised so much. Heavy localisation is great in offline titles; online it's a potent recipe for miscommunication.

I like the (insane) rogue guild dialect even though I barely understand half of it, it's cute. 'Dances sprightly' just parses as everyone having really weird rustic accents though.

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Originally Posted by Xandos

It really makes no sense to me personally how they made that connection.

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"Pray" in instances similar to what we see in-game comes from how it was used to emphasize requests...usually the earnest nature of said request (follow the word itself back far enough and it leads you to the Latin word for entreat).

These days it's more often used in a more sarcastic manner.

But yeah, that's where the connection comes from and why it's used here in place of please.

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Originally Posted by Averax

The dialogue is supposed to be more straightforward and just a tad more profane in places, and they were called out on this by Yoshi-P himself, but refused to do it as requested.

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Source on this? and not just regarding Haurchefant and Midgardsormr. As far as I know, the localisation team don't have full freedom (since 2.4 or something), which implies that what we've been getting has been okay'd.

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Originally Posted by Averax

Limsa lominsa is almost unreadable between the ye olde english, fake/obscure words, and pirate talk. I mean sure, it's a fantasy game, but it's hard to be immersed when you can't understand what you've just read. I thought i was having a stroke when i first started a ninja.

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Kind of expected in a harbour city which thrives on trading and maybe tourism.
I feel Othard will be where the 'direct translation' people will feel at home. Maybe. Depending on if Othard is the Japan of Hydaelyn and if their dialect is 'straight forward' and 'to the point.'

Anyroad is northern English dialect.

I wonder............... (or strongly hope) they will make English dialogue communication easier to understand in Stormblood... I can change to Japanese setting and read it but I can't read every complicated kanji out there :O ! and prefer to still read English since I'm playing the game in English...