Will the local people in Kugane speak "Olde English"?

[Tajha]

Like "prithee", "pray", "t'is t'was t'would", "needs", "confound it" "ere" etc.
I really hope they don't, because I can't stand the overuse of olde english in this game. I know it's a personal preference but i really find them cheesy. Nobody talks like that, and it's hard to read.

And since Hingashi is somewhat of an eastern-asian themed place, i really hope the localization team stop pulling that olde English thing again on the indigenous people's speech. Just... just please for once let the npcs talk normally.
T'would be great if the translation in Stormblood is loyal to the original Japanese writing. (And i really hope there won't be any "Haurchefant personality difference" problem this time around)

[Lukha]

First: Olde English is actually a totally different language from Modern English, which is what both we and the inhabitants of Eorzea speak. If they spoke Olde English, most of us wouldn't be able to understand a word they said.

That said, while the slightly archaic Modern English used in the localization is one of the few things I am 100% on board with (provided the information relayed is the same), it would be nice, and indeed I will expect the people of Doma to speak a different dialect (or even several, depending on how large the area is), just as people from different parts of Eorzea speak differently from each other. And given Koji Fox's unique sense of humor, I wouldn't be overly surprised if that different dialect ended up being plainer English; even I would have to snicker a little at the culture with the heaviest Japanese influences being translated to be closer to every-day English than the more Westernesque ones.

[Jonnycbad]

People always confuse Old English with Early Modern English.

Old English

On þyssum geare man halgode þet mynster æt Westmynstre on Cyldamæsse dæg 7 se cyng Eadward forðferde on Twelfts mæsse æfen 7 hine mann bebyrgede on Twelftan mæssedæg innan þære niwa halgodre circean on Westmyntre 7 Harold eorl feng to Englalandes cynerice swa swa se cyng hit him geuðe 7 eac men hine þærto gecuron 7 wæs gebletsod to cynge on Twelftan mæssedæg 7 þa ylcan geare þe he cyng wæs he for ut mid sciphere togeanes Willelme ..

Early Modern English

I came down hither not half so well pleased as I went up, with an engagement upon me that I had little hope of ever shaking off, for I had made use of all the liberty my friends would allow me to preserve my own, and 'twould not do; he was so weary of his, that he would part with't upon any terms. As my last refuge I got my brother to go down with him to see his house, who, when he came back, made the relation I wished. He said the seat was as ill as so good a country would permit, and the house so ruined for want of living in't, as it would ask a good proportion of time and money to make it fit for a woman to confine herself to.

Modern English

In this year the monastery at Westminster was hallowed on Childermas day (28 December). And king Eadward died on Twelfth-mass eve (5 January) and he was buried on Twelfth-mass day, in the newly hallowed church at Westminster. And earl Harold succeeded to the Kingdom of England, as the king had granted it to him and men had also chosen him thereto and he was blessed as king on Twelfth-mass day. And in the same year that he was king he went out with a naval force against William

[Zetsumei_Tsunarashi]

We have yugiri and now also gosetsu as example of how people from this region speak, and it doesn't seem to deviate much from the norm imo.

[Tajha]

Thank you for pointing that out!

[Tajha]

Thank you for the example!

[Tajha]

I myself found the use of this archaic early modern english in this game very distracting and breaks my immersion.
If it's Dragon Age, or any other western RPG, i'm completely fine, but FFXIV is a very japanese ACG-style work, in its Japanese version it conveys so many typical anime tropes and speech styles, archaic english just can't do the job. Just imagine watching Naruto with archaic english subtitles, or Sword Art Online, or any other japanese anime.

[Tajha]

Also, there is another bad habit that the EN localization team always had, which is twisting the original text and turning it into something inferior.

One example is during one of the cutscenes in patch 2.5, Ser Aymeric introduces his old friend Estinien to the adventurer for the first time. Now in the japanese version, after Aymeric's introduction, Estinien replies:

"Enough small talk, Aymeric."

It sounds pretty simple, right? But this is important because it quickly establishes two things:

1. Estinien has a no-bullshit personality.
2. Estinien and Aymeric has a very intimate relationship, they go way back, because he calls Aymeric's name directly, without any official titles.

So in just one short sentence, the japanese writer successfully creates a vivid image of a typical no-nonsense veteran, and the player can quickly catches the overall setting of the character, and will even start to imagine the relationship and story behind the two ishgardians.

[Tajha]

However in the English version, Estinien's reply to Aymeric becomes:

"...you flatter me overmuch, lord commander."

By the gods, I don't think I need to point out how bad this change is, but I'll still do it.

First of all, it completely betrays the original text. In the japanese version, Estinien at no point said anything about Aymeric flattering him. And he did not address Aymeric as lord commander.

By butchering the translation like this, the localization team successfully turned a potentially interesting character into a bland, boring, ass-kissing footman. If not for his black dragoon armor I don't think he will leave any impression in the player's mind, because we don't need to see another official-respecting normal loyal soldier in this game.

[Enkidoh]

It should be stressed again that your belief about FFXIV's writing that the JP language version is the 'prime' version that the English language version is then 'translated' from is simply not true. There is no 'original Japanese text' that the English language version of the game is translated from. The JP and English versions of the game are actually written hand in hand with each other, each version actually taking ideas and concepts from the other (that is why Michael Christopher Koji-Fox is not only credited as co 'World Content Creator', but also Head of Localization,he not only leads the English writing of the game, he helps with developing the game's lore as well). The times when something might differ in dialogue is because how it is written in Japanese might lose context when it is written in English, and so it is rewritten to compensate for cultural differences.

The Shakespearean-style dialogue is unrelated to translation, it is an example of world building, to show that Hydaelyn is not Earth, but a totally different world with it's own culture, and especially that Eorzea is at a level of development somewhere in equivalence to our own late Renaissance/'Age of Exploration'/early Industrial era period.

Incidentally, in specific regards to the Domans/Kuroganese speaking in 'English' too, there is actually a lore reason for that - the Echo. One of the aspects of the Echo is that some Echo users (such as the player's character) have what is called xenoglossia, the ability to perceive and understand other languages without having learned to speak and read them normally. So to an Echo user like the Warrior of Light, a Doman would be speaking in 'Eorzean' when to the Doman they're communicating in Doman (or whatever the Doman's native tongue is).

So I do not see SE changing this I'm afraid.