Limsa Lominsa, Ferry Docks -- Text -- Ahldskyf's Incorrect Hyphenation -- "gods-sent"

[Dargoth_Draconia]

Thanks Fern I did as you suggested here:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...578#post263578

Hope you other guys check it out and if you agree toss some likes on it so the Dev Team and Localization teams will be sure to check it out!

[Kysenna]

The Hellsguard, on the other hand, in an attempt to better adapt to Eorzea, sometimes choose to 'translate' their names from the old language, which is why you will, every now and then, see an NPC named Grizzly Gnat or Immodest Mouse.

Thanks for the lore explanation, that's really cool! Also, I just wanted to say that I love whoever thought up Immodest Mouse and wrote his text. Perhaps next he should talk about "floating on"...

[Payadopa]

Many Roegadyn words sound pre~tty German. Though, the spelling is horrible. lol

[origamikitsune]

Ohhhhhh, the /sarcasm command was turned ON. Gotcha

But seriously, at a glance, Roegadyn names can oft appear like a amalgam of seemingly random letters, pounded out by a starved monkey chained in front of a thrift store typewriter.

Ah, but that is where you are mistaken! There actually is a pattern!

...Unfortunately, no one has taken the time to properly explain that system to everyone, and for that an apology is owed. I've spoken with the man in charge of the game's lore, and we both agree that a detailed explanation of NPC naming conventions is long overdue. For now, I can give you a quick overview of Roegadyn names, and hopefully in the near future when we get a to a lull in our patch duties, I can put together something more fancy.

Roegadyn names are actually all formed from two words taken from the ancient Roegadyn language that the race's ancestors spoke before they came to Eorzea. For example, Ahldskyf is a combination of Ahld (meaning 'old') and Skyf (meaning ship). Rostnsthal is a combination of Rostn (rusty) and Sthal (steel). Pronunciation of the names can be a bit easier after splitting the name into its two parts: Ahld + skyf (read "ald-skiff").

Roegadyn Last names can appear even more imposing, but in fact, they follow rules similar to the first names. A last name simply takes the father's name and adds either Syn (meaning 'son') or Wyn (meaning 'daughter'). For example, Limsa Lominsa Admiral, Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn could be broken down like this:

Merl (sea) + wyb (wife)
Bloe (blue) + fhis (fish) + wyn (daughter)

In other words, "Sea Wife, daughter of Blue Fish"

You will see the "old language" used in a lot of Sea Wolf names. The Hellsguard, on the other hand, in an attempt to better adapt to Eorzea, sometimes choose to 'translate' their names from the old language, which is why you will, every now and then, see an NPC named Grizzly Gnat or Immodest Mouse.

I know this is just the tip of the iceberg, but I hope it helps. I'll try to provide more details when I can. Maybe we can even release a dictionary of known Old Roegadyn words.

Stuff like this is why localization should be on the dev tracker. T_T

[Anonymoose]

Fhwdgads!

You need to know that there is at least one person who got this joke, and it made my day. Everybody to the limit.

[Rowyne]

I sorely wish this kind of information was in game. Via a library book, quest, codex, or some sort. My eyes will no longer glaze over Roegadyn names.

[cyborgmermaid]

As a linguist, I wish I had found this thread earlier so I wouldn't be necro-bumping it, because I love this sort of stuff (language, etymology, etc) to death. Looking at the Roegadyn names, I always tended to think they were derived from an old Germanic language by the way they look. The unfortunate bit about having no voice acting throughout the game makes me have to guess pronunciation though. Could you perhaps shed some light on this? I've been pronouncing Roegadyn names like one would (or at least how the scholars think one would) Old English. Am I close the mark in guessing this?

[Fernehalwes]

From the depths of the Seven Hells, a post rises once more to wreak havoc on the Localization forums. (cue dramatic riff)

When pronouncing Roegadyn names, you can, for the most part, follow the rules of English. There are, however, some exceptions, so I'll cover a few of those here.

Vowels:

AE: Somewhere between the 'e' in 'egg' and the 'ai' in 'air' depending on the consonant that follows it
Aerg (ambitious) would be pronounced like 'airg'
Aent (duck) would be closer to 'ent' (rhymes with 'sent')

Aergaent (ambitious duck)

Y: A long 'e' such as the 'ea' in 'eat' or the first 'e' in 'Steve'
Alyr (alder) would be pronounced 'ah-leer'
Blyss (blossom) would be pronounced like 'bleece' (rhymes with 'fleece')

Alyrblyss (alder blossom)

OE: An 'ooh' sound such as the 'ue' in 'blue' and the 'oo' in 'I pity the foo'
Broen (brown) would be pronounced 'broon' (like 'broom')
Loef (leaf) would be 'loof' (rhymes with 'goof')

Broenloef (brown leaf)

Consonants:

PF: Closer to an F than a P
Pfym (five) would be 'fim' (rhymes with 'slim')
Skapf (sheep) would be 'skaff' (rhymes with 'staff')

Pfymskapf (five sheep)

TH: More like a hard 't' than a soft 'th'
Thosin (grey) would be 'toe-sin'
Sthal (steel) would be 'stall'

Thosinsthall (grey steel)

W: A 'v' sound rather than a soft 'w'
Wyzn (white) would sound like 'vee-zin' (thanks Viridiana!)
Wilf (wolf) would sound like 'vilf' (rhymes with 'filth')

Wyznwilf (white wolf)

G: Almost always hard (like the 'g' in 'guilt' but not the 'g' in 'page')
The 'gin' in Swygyn (silent) would be NOT be pronounced like the drink 'gin' but like the 'gin' in 'begin'
Agat (amber) would be 'ah-got'

Swygynagat (silent amber)

J: A 'y' sound like in 'year' and 'yummy'
Jungh (young) would be pronounced 'yoong'

H: When paired with a vowel (before or after), almost always silent
Smhid (smith) would be pronounced 'smid' (rhymes with 'kid')

Junghsmhid (young smith)


Like I mentioned before, we hope to make available a Roegadyn dictionary and pronunciation guide sometime before the launch of 2.0. Until then, I hope this helps clear things up somewhat.

[Viridiana]

OE: An 'ooh' sound such as the 'ue' in 'blue' and the 'oo' in 'I pity the foo'
Broen (brown) would be pronounced 'broon' (like 'broom')
Loef (leaf) would be 'loof' (rhymes with 'goof')

Perfect chance to be a smartass and say it's pronounced like "aloof," but no. . .

W: A 'v' sound rather than a soft 'w'
Wyzn (white) would sound like 'vizin' (rhymes with 'prisim')
Wilf (wolf) would sound like 'vilf' (rhymes with 'filth')

Wouldn't that actually sound like "veezin"?

Anyway, thank you very much for another post shedding light on the lore of the world!

[Catapult]

I like the traditional Germanic pronunciations coming through. ^_^

Of course would this also mean that the deity Nald'thal should be pronounced as "Nald-tal" accordingly? Or are we getting into cross-cultural differences? The Hellsguard Roegadyn are native to the mountains surrounding Ul'dah after all.