English translation lacks charecter compared to other translations

[Naviah009]

After looking around I noticed that in other languages(dialogue wise) the npcs in game have much more character to them though the English translation makes them sound very bland or even cold, for example the French Haurchefant is much closer to the wol and expresses this. While in the English version isn't anywhere close. I kind of wish there could be better translations added rather than the npcs been stripped down charecter wise.

[Enkidoh]

This has been already argued and debated repeatedly in the past and SE's own statement on the subject is that a lot of the characterization, writing and dialogue in the Japanese version simply does not translate very well due to cultural differences between Japan and other countries like the USA if a 1-1 translation was done (this is from interviews with Michael Christopher Koji-Fox, the head of FFXIV's Localization team), hence instead they 'localize' the game to make it more suitable for another country's culture.

An example is Haurchefant's affections for the player are indeed more subtle and understated in the English language version, but they are there (because for US audiences it was considered that Haurchy would just come across as more perverted instead of simply affectionate if they played his character straight like he was in the JP version) - but some of the more heavier aspects have slipped through (the 2014 New Year's Event for instance had Haurchefant, in a not very convincing disguise, outright state he wants to ride the player's character like a horse! ).

Either way, this is something SE have already explained about and will not be changing.

[Anselmet]

Haurchefant aside, a lot of characters are held back by the archaic English that they use in our translation. I'm not sure why they picked 1700s English, because I feel the average English speaker would have issues understanding some of the word usage. And therefore because its not modern day English I feel the older out of date English make characters seem more bland or cold when its not really the truth.

I've also heard that Alphinaud is more animated and enduring in English than in Japanese. So I guess that is something. Doesn't change the fact that we are being held back by English flippin George Washington would be rocking.

[Kurando]

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Also the thing is that old fashioned English whether it be Shakespearean, Medieval, pre-war etc are actually quite popular in the media. I mean it's not difficult to find TV shows, movies or games where old English is greatly used, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, The Queen, Dragon Age, The Witcher etc, the list is quite large and as long as there is a market for it, companies will use it to their advantage.

Would FFXIV be better with modern English? Personally no and that's what I like about it. I hear modern English day to day so to experience a different type when playing a game is nice, and besides it's either that or we get stuck with US English in everything... we don't want the badly dubbed anime treatment for a game like this.

[Anselmet]

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Shakespearean English is not that common in usage unless you are watching a Shakespearean play/movie. Medieval English is NOT very intelligible with modern English at all in fact, and is why we do not use it in media. Urianger is sort of Shakespearing when he speaks... if it were on steroids. However, the titles you listed are all in modern English. Downton Abbey takes place in the 1910s and the Queen just a few decades later. Game of Thrones, the Witcher, and Dragon Age is just the Queen's English. It may get tweaked in some cases, but its actually English still being spoken right now and cannot be considered an older form of English. But my point is, that ffxiv uses an English a few centuries older and that can sound overly flowery or bland which was what the op was complaining about.

Here's a little comparison for you. I'm using a scene from John Adams and they read an actual proclamation from King George III followed by the actors discussing it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JTxVHQAp8w. Now compare this to a simple scene between Aymeric to Emmanellain https://youtu.be/hl9AWSWBp94?t=1929. The English is very similar from how sentences are constructed to vocab usage. Of course this is not consistent nor is it perfect in ffxiv, but that is due to it being difficult to emulate when you are a translater pumping out hundreds of pages every few months. Now let me compare this to a scene from Downton Abbey just so everyone can see how 1700s English is quite different from the Queen's English https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHu6bmcx1cg. The speech is very posh but its not the same English that is used in the John Adams video or Aymeric's.

Of course, ffxiv does not stay in 1700s English all the time. The translators tend to fail at consistency because characters like say, Lyse, tend to speak more modernly. But I feel the majority of the cast uses vocab and sentence structures like Aymeric.

Also, I think that if we used English like Downton Abbey or the Queen, the dev team would have accomplished a better translation because simply put, its easier. I am not advocating for the use of modern day US English at all. I think that the softer sounding British English is a better fit for the fantasy genre. But the issue is because ffxiv tries to use 1700s English it puts a slight language barrier for many who play this game. While you might be good at listening to this type of English due to different exposures, my roommate is an average joe who constantly asks me 'what does this word mean'. Hell, my girlfriend who is not a native born English speaker at first had a hard time with ffxiv's English. She is now a pro at it, but it takes some exposure. But because we are using an English that is three centuries old, it can make them sound bland. That is my point and ultimately the ops issue.

[Kurando]

Perhaps you just hear English a certain way and that's your perception of it, which is fine. I mean my examples that I provided are ones where I can really hear subtle differences which either are not in much use any more or are limited to certain areas. I noticed you said that GoT, The Witcher, Dragon Age is the Queen's English, but that's not completely true. There are a multitude of dialects throughout the said titles that they do not fall under the Queen's English rule, after all the UK has more than one or two accents. The likes of Cersei or Morrigan speak nothing like the Queen, the only thing that someone may think they do is in the way they deliver their words. Downton Abbey also has a certain type of elucution when it comes to English because of the period it is set in was greatly influenced by social class/standing, these days that's less so the case. The show definitely does not represent actual more modern English though, and the Queen's English itself is much different to what you'd find on the street.

I understand what the OP was saying, and that the way the characters are delivering their speech doesn't always translate their emotion, but we also need to consider that it can be intentional because of cultural differences. So yes some regions may expect more emotion whilst others will find it comfortable, I'm more the latter but that's just me.

[MelodyCrystel]

This has been already argued and debated repeatedly in the past and SE's own statement on the subject is that a lot of the characterization, writing and dialogue in the Japanese version simply does not translate very well due to cultural differences between Japan and other countries like the USA if a 1-1 translation was done (this is from interviews with Michael Christopher Koji-Fox, the head of FFXIV's Localization team), hence instead they 'localize' the game to make it more suitable for another country's culture.

Okay, I didn't know SE admitted that, but... I call this statement they made simply idiocy.
->I'm a German-player who uses a native dub for the game - and when I compare stuff we know from the Japanese version with our German texts, then the devs ARE able to translate the story pretty solid. So, I see no reason for doing an odd job in case of the English version, when German and English share noticeable phrases / word-puns.

Like a FC-comrade once said (German player who prefers playing the game in English): It feels like the authors behind the E-version have written their own story.

[Anselmet]

Okay so I feel you don't understand what I am saying. There is a significant difference between early modern English (the John Adams clip I showed you) and modern English (everything basically after the 1800s). Queen's English, along with any dialect within England, American, Australia etc spoken today are all modern English. While you are correct that there are different dialects that are being used in GoT or the Witcher, it does not change the status that they are using a modern English. Of course, not everyone in ffxiv sounds like Aymeric. Limsa Lominsa is a good example, however, they are trying to mimic a style of 'pirate English' which I am not entirely sure ever existed.

Just fyi, this isn't something that I am just hearing, this is something that I actually actively study. This is from a historical stand point, not just this is my ears. And as for the Queen's English, it is an upper class form of English that is used in Downton Abbey and GoT. I never said that ffxiv or these shows used it excusively, so I am not sure why you are bringing this up. I used it because it is one of the most common English language styles that is used in your examples. Also the Queen's English is also known as Received Pronunciation which is known to be spoken by the upper class, or how you would put it social class/standing. So yes, those in Downton Abbey speak received pronunciation, for example. Also I've used actual documents written in Revolutionary era with words and phrases that are used in ffxiv in those videos. I can even link a video that goes on about tyranny and calamities put in such a way that you might think that the devs actually plagiarized.

Don't get me wrong, I find the translation fine. Adequate, even. But because of the large amounts they have to translate they should not have used early modern English. They should have used the English style in your examples. Once again, early modern English does not equal modern English. Queen's English or any dialect being used since the 1800s is modern English. The closer we get to today, the more comfortable the listeners will be. Also, because the type of documents I read daily, I am very comfortable with early modern English and I can sense it a mile away when people try to emulate it.

[Naviah009]

Ah what I meant wasn't really aimed at phrases that could be hard to translate more emotions And such (the horse thing made me laugh when I first read it) there are seven quests where npcs were written to be sad about something or angry yet the dialogue reads as if they do not care instead of portraying thier emotion.

[MistakeNot]

Don't get me wrong, I find the translation fine. Adequate, even. But because of the large amounts they have to translate they should not have used early modern English. They should have used the English style in your examples. Once again, early modern English does not equal modern English. Queen's English or any dialect being used since the 1800s is modern English. The closer we get to today, the more comfortable the listeners will be. Also, because the type of documents I read daily, I am very comfortable with early modern English and I can sense it a mile away when people try to emulate it.

Very little of the English used in FFXIV is Early Modern English. A few characters use some variant of that - Urianger being the prime offender - but the vast majority of characters in the game use modern English with a few archaisms here and there.

As a non-native speaker of English I have no problem understanding any of the English in the game - except for some of Urianger's speech which sometimes can be problematic to comprehend.