1 Month in impressions/criticisms...

[Noxifer]

I've never felt that Iceheart was an appropriate name for her, it implies things completely contrary to her character, and frankly has no positive connotations.

Hiding just in case someone hasn't finished the HW storyline yet (though there's probably plenty of spoilers already in this thread ^^; )...

Well, in retrospect, I can see how she supposedly shares the same spirit, the same 'heart' as Shiva, whose element is ice. And from there, I can see the positive connotation.

But no, without knowing the full storyline, I agree that there's little positive about it.

If you use the japanese client, each character's own way of talking is probably distinguishable enough that you can tell it's uniquely them before they finish talking.

Well, yes. But like I mentioned in a previous post I have Japanese audio but English client, since I'm far from fluent enough in Japanese (especially written Japanese) to be able to understand anything ^^; Sorry if I didn't make it clear enough in the post you quoted.

I think the Iceheart thing actuality makes sense, [...] The intentions of the people using the name (Thordian and his Knights) which are also clear, are also a factor.

Except it's not only the Ishgardians calling her that; it's her own people, too. Unless my memory completely fails me.

[Morningstar1337]

Except it's not only the Ishgardians calling her that; it's her own people, too. Unless my memory completely fails me.

Now THAT I can say is a mess up by the localization team. That or the heretics appropriating the insult as a show of defiance to Ishgard's will.

[KaedrianLiang]

24+ Months in impressions/criticisms...

dis game is gud. I'm doing everything that can be done. This game is keeping me busy while playing 40+ hours a week.

[kazeandi]

dis game is gud. I'm doing everything that can be done. This game is keeping me busy while playing 40+ hours a week.

Sure it's good. That's what the OP wrote. We're discussing the point he didn't find good here, which I find to be true and I laid out my reasons for thinking so.

[Linadae]

I'm sure it's been covered but as to the names with no vowels, I know (from reading the lore forums) that the entire Sea wolf naming conventions have been taken from the Old Norse/Scandinavian languages. And if you look at Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and other areas where Viking cuture flourished, you will note several major settlements, mountains, rivers, and volcanoes bearing names with no/very few vowels. And that is because in their language some consonants are considered vowels.

Much like in Japan how L and R and...I think...B and V (citation needed) are interchangeable.

Trust me, Koji-Fox is not messing with your brain. It's all in the naming conventions thread in the Lore Forums including his reasoning.

Also, Localization is more than just translation. There are jokes and references that Americans won't get or will be offended by. Same with the French and German translantions. Not everyone has been blessed growing up immersed in a second culture hell, many of us barely understand the one we were born into, (myself included). So these are things that have to be changed into something that the other countries could enjoy equally.

Lost in Translation isn't just a movie after all.

[Chiramu]

OP has never studied Shakespeare. The English localisation is good.

[Tenkuu]

OP has never studied Shakespeare. The English localisation is good.

Localization is not about language quirks, I couldn't care less how they talk. What I want is proper translation, and I believe localization in this case is an excuse for bad translation. Not that most of it is bad, just the important parts, which in a way is far worse than if the whole thing were bad, because then we could just commiserate about the whole thing sucking. We can't say that here, but the aspects of localization that have outright changed many characters' personality are rather disturbing. Japanese Haurchefant, for instance, is simply fabulous. You don't know what you're missing out on when you don't play with the japanese audio and, if you can, the japanese client.

[Noxifer]

OP has never studied Shakespeare. The English localisation is good.

Well, the thing is also that English is taught as a second language to far more countries than German, French or Japanese. Which means that most people who don't come from an Japanese-, English-, German- or French-speaking country are going to be running the English client, no matter how poorly they speak that language. And while yes, you can't always cater to those who aren't fluent, let's face it, there's no real need to make it overly complicated.

Also, most second-language courses don't go into Shakespearean English unless they're the more advanced classes. Most second-language classes tend to focus on the relatively current language.

[Dotsusama]

I'm with you on the localization sometimes. Instances where people have (like someone linked earlier) closely compared Midgardsormr's dialogue from both versions is one prime example. The second being Haurchefant's dealings with the WoL and even his own close ties at Camp Dragonhead... Go look up some 2.x translations on tumblr for Haurchefant some time, and if you are as attached to him as a lot of people are, you'll see a whole different side of him that way.

[Archaell]

Personally I prefer "I am eternal! I am immortal!" because there are other characters that are whiny as it is. How could you feel good about defeating somebody crying for their life? This way he seems more like a worthy foe.

Now for the "W" conversation. In Czech, Slavic language, we also call "W" double "V". We even pronounce it as "V". Also we pronounce almost every character the same way no matter the word. English is pain in arse to learn, because there is barely any connection between written and spoken form. I know that we can blame all the influences from Celts, Romans, French and Vikings (sounds better than Danish) etc. Still English could use a lil bit of reform. It would be nice if you guys finally decided if you want to write the way it sounds, or pronounce it the way it is written.