Miniguide to Autotranslate: Usage and potential pitfalls

[Sadana]

Hm... Yes, but there's a difference in English between "No problem" as in "I did this for you and you don't need to thank me" and "No problem" as in "It's ok. I don't mind that a mistake was made."

We also need all the stuff that starts with "The" to have the "the" removed from the auto translate phrase book. >< There's like three or four tabs for dungeons and it's awful tedious to click through them all. Noooo clue why they left that in there. (example: "The Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak" instead of "Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak" which would pull up the dungeon's name right away. >< )

[Sylkis]

Hm... Yes, but there's a difference in English between "No problem" as in "I did this for you and you don't need to thank me" and "No problem" as in "It's ok. I don't mind that a mistake was made."

We also need all the stuff that starts with "The" to have the "the" removed from the auto translate phrase book. >< There's like three or four tabs for dungeons and it's awful tedious to click through them all. Noooo clue why they left that in there. (example: "The Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak" instead of "Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak" which would pull up the dungeon's name right away. >< )

Actually I found one.
{Don't worry about it.} -> {気にしないでください。}
It seems to fit both situations.

[Sadana]

Actually I found one.
{Don't worry about it.} -> {気にしないでください。}
It seems to fit both situations.

Awesome! Thanks for finding that one!

TBH Japanese people aren't that bad in English. My language input are 99% of the time in EN and I play full screen, so I'm usually lazy to go out and change IME to type in Japanese. Usually I'd just say "I'm sorry" and they would reply "np".

Some of them even use "wb" when I return from a 90k. Most of the basic net abbreviations, they can understand.

Well, kind of like people in the States, you get some who are fluent at more than one language and many that aren't. I've met both on Atomos.

[Khyra]

Awesome! Thanks for finding that one!
Well, kind of like people in the States, you get some who are fluent at more than one language and many that aren't. I've met both on Atomos.

Yeah it varies widely. Most Japanese only learn English in school (previously about 6 years worth, now they get a little more exposure earlier). The older they are the more likely they are to have forgotten it, unless they work in a job where they would use it (like at a hotel). Conveniently for FFXIV, most will be better at reading and writing than speaking (since the tests prioritize vocabulary and grammar over conversation).

But the majority of Japanese I know could not, for example, easily read and follow this entire thread. (When I'm in Japan I'm mostly in a more rural/suburban area with very few foreigners, so most people have no day to day use for English. My wife is Japanese and her English is getting pretty good, but most of her family and friends have difficulty with it. Especially when speaking.)

On the other hand, if you went to Tokyo and mostly stayed in foreigner-friendly areas, or hung out with college students at a top university, your impression will be very different

[Ooshima]

Hm... Yes, but there's a difference in English between "No problem" as in "I did this for you and you don't need to thank me" and "No problem" as in "It's ok. I don't mind that a mistake was made."

TBH Japanese people aren't that bad in English. My language input are 99% of the time in EN and I play full screen, so I'm usually lazy to go out and change IME to type in Japanese. Usually I'd just say "I'm sorry" and they would reply "np".

Some of them even use "wb" when I return from a 90k. Most of the basic net abbreviations, they can understand.