Localization suggestion for next time

[Willemdarke]

Accents have everything to do with your environment and surroundings during early development and have nothing to do with genetics.

For example, I'm from London, England. Virtually every race and ethnic group lives here and we all speak with the same accent (excluding migrants who grew up elsewhere, of course). Meanwhile people with long English ancestry who grew up in Manchester, for example, sound completely different.

Tural isn't a real world location, they don't need south American accents - they don't have them in other adaptations, so why do they need it in English only?? Japan are making their own fantasy rules like "Turali speak with Osaka accents!" (for example, I dunno), so why couldn't Turali speak with Icelandic accents in English, considering the only native Turali we knew pre-DT speaks like that? Surely the English studio located in the UK could have more easily flown Icelandic actors in and given them proper direction.

If they cared for browny points so much, they could have properly invested in scouting and hiring actual native South American speakers and flown them to the UK for the job.

I dunno, their approach in DT is so half-baked and disjointed to the point everyone speaks with different accents, and ones that sound super fake at that.
I don't blame the VAs themselves, as a series of weird decisions led to this bad outcome.

[MikkoAkure]

Not that I care that much, but I just think it's kinda funny that in their attempt to make their characters South/Central American "accurate", they instead undermine their own setting by making them a product of that time when Spain apparently conquered Tural [???]

It’s not just accents. Flour tortillas and bananas did not exist in America until the Europeans came.

Though on the other hand, the fantasy Europeans DID come to fantasy America 80 years ago and it’s explained that the popotos and tomatoes in Eorzea came from Tural via Limsan sailors so wheat may have gone to Tural that way. But doesn’t explain Mamool living off glowing space bananas for gods know how long…

[Eloah]

And for the record, I personally couldn't care where someone is from. Whether or not they can make a convincing voice for the role is all that should matter.

For the record, I am not saying accents are genetic, as an accent is gained through social osmosis, mostly. Second I agree that it shouldn't matter where a person is from, I was just pointing out how it seems the devs tried to cast VA's with indigenous heritages, at least in English. I doubt there would be many in the other languages. Third, I also was just trying to inform the OP that the VAs used are experienced. Lastly, I too understand blending in with every white person in the country. My friend like to joke with me that Puerto Ricans aren't real. We are some mythical creatures apparently.

You seem to view latin America as a single culture/language territory which is not. Not in culture and not in languages. Besides, save one actor born in Chile (who is not «of an ethnicity indigenous to the Americas» btw) but who lives in the US, all were born in the US, not all are fully fluent in Spanish and genetics are pretty irrelevant. This «blood is what matters» thing seems to be a very white American way of doing things. Also, the Spanish are not indigenous to the region and all the game references are to other cultures.

How and when did I give the indication that I viewed Latin America as a single culture. It is a region, nothing more. And usually refers to everything below the USA. So where was I wrong in stating the VAs I mentioned have Latin American heritage? And last I checked Chile was in South America. Also, I never once mentioned Spanish. Spanish really has nothing to do with Latin America. Just like French has nothing to do with Canada, but no one jumped there. Than again, we have yet to reach fantasy Canada, as we barely scratched the north.

I was merely pointing out to the OP, that the VAs used were experienced, and it appears that the Devs tried to use VAs with indigenous heritage. That's all.

The cultural aspects of this game as not expressed through language. If they were no one playing would understand anything. Everything is in the language of the user/client, with the culture expressed in alternate ways, so that the player can understand it.

I agree that it shouldn't matter where you come from, as long as you can do the job. But I never once implied it's what drove everything.

[MikkoAkure]

Lol, I did cringe a bit when they put flour tortillas in their Tacos al Pastor recipe, but I guess they were not gonna go and call the item a Gringa instead.

Speaking of tacos, I would not be in support of everyone having only various British regional accents for Tural and the rest of the game because of how people from that island pronounce the word “tacos”. That one line Krile had referring to them made me cringe so hard my soul separated from my body.

What’s worse is that Wuk Lamat told her what a taco is using the American pronunciation not even 3 seconds before so it’s obvious the VAs weren’t in the same room or conference with each other and couldn’t even hear other VA dialogue when reading their lines.

[Eloah]

What’s worse is that Wuk Lamat told her what a taco is using the American pronunciation not even 3 seconds before so it’s obvious the VAs weren’t in the same room or conference with each other and couldn’t even hear other VA dialogue when reading their lines.

Most recordings are done solo, that's pretty standard in the industry, barring a few exceptions, motion capture for example. In the example you gave, the VAs were probably recording in different countries as well, as the American voices were probably recorded in a studio in California.

[DiaDeem]

What’s worse is that Wuk Lamat told her what a taco is using the American pronunciation not even 3 seconds before so it’s obvious the VAs weren’t in the same room or conference with each other and couldn’t even hear other VA dialogue when reading their lines.

Yeah, Colin Ryan (Alphinaud) mentioned during one of his streams that for XIV, they record their all their lines separately. It'd also explain why Shtola sounds like she was recorded in a basement and then compressed to the 11th degree.

[Toutatis]

… it seems the devs tried to cast VA's with indigenous heritages, at least in English.
I doubt there would be many in the other languages...

How and when did I give the indication that I viewed Latin America as a single culture. It is a region, nothing more. And usually refers to everything below the USA. So where was I wrong in stating the VAs I mentioned have Latin American heritage? And last I checked Chile was in South America.

I was merely pointing out to the OP, that the VAs used were experienced, and it appears that the Devs tried to use VAs with indigenous heritage. That's all.

Yet you amalgamante everything, keep talking about heritage while everyone was born in the US (save one) and live in the US and treat Latam as a homogeneous region in your comments. If anything, the treatment of VAs in the game is very American culturally speaking.

Explain to me how choosing someone of Mexican descent born in Chicago has anything to see in any way with a character like Mablu (complete different region, language, ethnicity and culture)? How is that «native» to the region? It’s no different from choosing someone of Irish descent from New York to do the VA of an Inuk from Iqaluit.

Also, you use indigenous heritage very loosely. Spanish heritage is not indigenous heritage. The guy from Chile (and I like his work), isn’t indigenous.

If they want to go the origin route (which should not be a consideration) at least select actors from the concerned regions instead of pretending (and yes there are several actors that speak Quechua though, as Spanish, I think it irrelevant for a fantasy game that doesn’t even use the language).


On this we agree though:

I agree that it shouldn't matter where you come from, as long as you can do the job. But I never once implied it's what drove everything

That being said, I think that most of the VAs did a decent job.

[Eloah]

Yet you amalgamante everything, keep talking about heritage while everyone was born in the US (save one) and live in the US and treat Latam as a homogeneous region in your comments. Explain to me how choosing someone of Mexican descent born in Chicago has anything to see in any way with a character like Mablu (complete different region, language, ethnicity and culture)? How is that «native» to the region? It’s no different from choosing someone of Irish descent from Toronto to do the VA of an Inuk from Iqaluit.

Also, you use indigenous heritage very loosely. Spanish heritage is not indigenous heritage.

If they want to go the origin route (which should not be a consideration) at least select actors from the concerned regions instead of pretending (and yes there are several actors that speak Quechua though as Spanish, I think it irrelevant for a fantasy game that doesn’t even use the language).

On this we agree though:

Okay, I feel like you just wanna argue.

Where someone is born has nothing to do with their ethnic heritage. And how am I treating Latin America as a "homogeneous region". I just said it was a region, which it is, just like the Middle East, Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, all are regions.

And again, I never once said Spanish, you guys did. I've only ever said Indigenous American, which spans all the way from the top of North America to the bottom of South America.

Why are you trying to put words in my mouth?

[ReynTime]

No thanks.

Sorry but your voice actors suck at dubbing for japanese media. Actors and actresses from Europe and Australia put their heart into it.

[Toutatis]

Okay, I feel like you just wanna argue.

Where someone is born has nothing to do with their ethnic heritage. And how am I treating Latin America as a "homogeneous region". I just said it was a region, which it is, just like the Middle East, Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, all are regions.

And again, I never once said Spanish, you guys did. I've only ever said Indigenous American, which spans all the way from the top of North America to the bottom of South America.

Why are you trying to put words in my mouth?

Save perhaps one or two, none is of Indigenous heritage. Do you even know the meaning of the word?

About the actor from Chile that you mention, I corrected you by saying that he is not «of an ethnicity indigenous to the Americas». He is from Chile, true but not indigenous. Chilean is a nationality, not an ethnic origin. You are mixing things up.