PlaneShift
Gameplay => General Discussion => Topic started by: darhark on December 09, 2007, 11:00:25 pm
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Preved. I'm almost totally new to Planeshift (well, my first and last login took place in fall 2006 or even 2005, don't remember really, with no one online), and after a long period of looking for any really RP-oriented MMORPG has decided to try again. BUT there is a little problem. I'm not an english-speaker, therefore i can speak english and sometimes someone can actually understand what am i trying to say, but when it comes to RP... you know. I tried Illarion someday and started as an outlander bard, but soon noticed that people, still trying to be patient, soon becomes nerveus about my speech. I can understand - maybe a story of outlander bard is quite in the bounds of RP and i can speak RP because of that, but what about /my and /me commands? Not anyone can even understand WHAT am i doing, and sometimes me myself cannot cleanly see what someone else is doing! Plus - a great drop in atmosphere of a game. So i had to quit. I understand that not all PS players talk english good enough to fit roleplay requirements. It would be nice if you share your experience on subject.
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I'm not natively english either but I've gotten several compliments about my english being better than native english speaking people. :P For me it's a result of online chatting, games, movies and maybe a little bit of school. Anyway, I can understand your issues. I've been in roleplays with people whose english isn't so good and sometimes it can be a bit hard but I try to stay calm and not blame them for it. They can't help it and at least they try. So usually I ask in brackets when I don't understand them.
I'd say keep it up though and let people know, maybe even ask for advice on how to use the language better? Interaction is the best learning school for languages. ;)
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it can be a bit hard but I try to stay calm and not blame them for it.
I stab'em!
That may be a joke >.>
But really, just take some time, don't push yourself too hard and feel encourage to ask people questions in /tell. There are many people who don't speak english well. The important thing is trying ... and being willing to learn.
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That includes some people who have gone on to become GMs by the way so you are in good company. :)
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I use FREE-TRANSLATOR.com. Just type it in, choose language, and it will have be very accurate.
Although I am a native english speaker. I just use it for school.
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What is your native language?
For german people, I recommend http://dict.leo.org and http://dict.tu-chemnitz.de - and you will find a lot out there.
You will probably even find a guild with people speaking your native language, and helping you to develop your english skills.
Practice teaches you best. Use it, try it, learn it. [ And if you are out of clue, ask OOC how to say it properly; together with your friends you will manage it. ]
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I think you should be fine to continue your role-playing here. You have a good premise for why you cannot speak well and I think others should be patient with you.
PlaneShift should be a place where you can grow and learn.
I would say hang around and learn more english, the players will likely be patient with you.
There is always the alternative option of learning one of the player made languages and using that to aid you in communicating.
I say give it some time.
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I definitely say stick with it, i have several friends who do not speak english natively...one or two who barely speak english at all, and we still manage to have a lot of fun IG. If I have trouble understanding them or vice versa, we just let each other know and try to rephrase what we said so the other can understand.
My point: You should give PS a good try regardless because there are plenty of other players who are in the same boat as you, and you can still make great friends and have a good experience with the game :)
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You could even RP that. Perhaps your character doesn't speak the language everyone else speaks. Like you are from a far away town where the language is different. Unless your an Ylian. Then it might be more of a reach, but you could have been raised in an elf town or a dwarf town or something. You could do something like occasionally stating "/me mumbles something in a language you don't understand" indicating that you are struggling to get accross what you are trying to say in a language you are not used to.
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Mordaan's suggestion is a bit of a stretch, but for the rest, I agree... just hang in there.
I'm often considered an RP snob, but it's not that difficult to differentiate between people who don't speak English and people who are just too darn lazy to put any effort into making the RP realistic. If you're lazy, I have no sympathy. If you don't speak English well, then that's not your fault and you can't be blamed for it. Keep trying. I know several people who've improved from only decent English to impeccable mostly from playing this game... Cyl comes to mind.
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Coming from a great role player that you are, Mordaan, you should be commended for that idea. Good job!
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Coming from a great role player that you are, Mordaan, you should be commended for that idea. Good job!
Nobody likes a yes-man, Leama.
Also, the idea is, in my opinion, over-complicated. It makes things harder on darhark than just doing his best at normal RP. Also, it doesn't take into account the fact that he has trouble stating his actions, as well... Not being able to understand what someone is doing can't be written off as them speaking a different IC language... Don't get me wrong, there are elements of the idea that are brilliant, but I don't think it's terribly practical all-in-all.
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Meh, was just an idea. :)
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Actually Mordaan those were my thoughts exactly when I read through this thread. It is possible in the way I see it in my head for someone to play a character who cannot speak the native language well to RP that out. It just isn't going to be easy unfortantly.
I agree pretty much with the rest of the posts in the thread. Just keep trying and be patient. There are going to be players who are not so willing to roleplay with you darhark only because they may not understand how to interact with you. You will find though that there are alot of roleplayers who will be willing to help you with your language barrier. I think if you stick it out long enough you will find your english will improve as well as your spelling. PS in it's own way is a learning tool to over come language barriers. I hope you stick around, I hate to see anyone left out.
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Thank you for your answers. I have to say i feel myself quite comfortable in PS. There are some difficulties, for example writing an ingame book will be a hard work, but i think i can make it.
I'm russian. Don't know if there a russian folk in PS except me myself, but that does not really matter already ))
Buy the way i wonder - so many people in ru.net mourns for a good RP MMORPG and still playing those terrible UO shards. My be a "Tech Demo" sounds a little scary ))). Offtopic. Someday i've tried to make people join Illarion, maybe even to add some fresh stream onto it, but had no success.
You could even RP that. Perhaps your character doesn't speak the language everyone else speaks. Like you are from a far away town where the language is different. Unless your an Ylian. Then it might be more of a reach, but you could have been raised in an elf town or a dwarf town or something. You could do something like occasionally stating "/me mumbles something in a language you don't understand" indicating that you are struggling to get accross what you are trying to say in a language you are not used to.
As i said, i've tried this, it helps in conservations buy not in actions. And after all i really don't like an idea of RPing something just because i can't do either. That is not a good way to do. I'm trying to RP a writing adventurer right now ::)
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to me the standard of English is outweighed by willingness to learn and I'm sure once you get addicted your skills with the language will rapidly improve
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to me the standard of English is outweighed by willingness to learn and I'm sure once you get addicted your skills with the language will rapidly improve
I'm kinda living example :]
When I appeared, more then an year ago, I wasn't nearly able to manage a correct sentence.
And now... See ^_^ Though I have occasionally a bit of grammar troubles, my English improved dramatically.
Not even using dictionary in background.
Keep trying, chat a lot and it will go :) Good luck.
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to me the standard of English is outweighed by willingness to learn and I'm sure once you get addicted your skills with the language will rapidly improve
Exactly.
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English is a dreadful language for learners. Particularly in spelling. Bernard Shaw's example of how you can spell fish as ghoti is a perfect (if slightly exagerated) example. ‘Gh’ can stand for ‘f’ (enough), ‘o’ can stand for ‘i’ (women) and ‘ti’ can stand for ’sh’ (nation).
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Then it is a great fortune that Laanx blessed us with no need in knowing those things when playing PS %))
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You play without using the English language. That is actually amazing!
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Ehh :oops:. Nope. It's simply i don't need to know how it actually sounds. I know it already thouth. Almost.
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It's ok, Parallo doesn't understand English either, but it doesn't keep him from RP!
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Parallo: French is even more surprising, regarding the differences between written and spoken language (think of "Bordeaux" for example).
From my experience, the hardest part about different languages are differences to your native language in grammar. Vocabulary and pronounciation are nothing compared to the "different feeling" of a foreign language.
In german we have a common note about the "gerund" form of continuity:
Always remember: Gerundium is no mineral!
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I myself am a native English speaker, but I have many friends who are not. For instance, my guild leader, when he was first recruited (by mel O.o :D ) was, frankly, lost in terms of English, but over the past two years I have known him, he has gone from being constantly corrected by me (I'm a language "Nazi" when it comes to guild mates) to constantly correcting me! Several of my other friends have gone from incomprehensible speakers to expert orators. :D
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Just an advice: Ask your English-speaking guild mates or associates in game to help you. I, for example, appreciate any help and do not feel offended when someone is correcting me. Being in a guild where only English is spoken does help a lot, too. I would also like to thank Izzabella here for helping me to improve my English so many times.
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i'm taking spanish 2 and i try to aid spanish speakers as best i can...i know there's another klyros out there implementing it as a lost language...in terms of player-to-player help planeshift is second to none...really...and if you habla espanol...and i make a mistake....feel free to bite my friggin head off....
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Hello. I totally see what you mean, and there is (it's only my point) only one solution for your problem. It's practicing. Watch american films in VO(ST), chat on IRC (#planeshift@Freenode ;D), read books in english, eat english, drink english, wee english.. :-X
I'm natively french-speaker and I've learned english since I was 8. (I've stopped my studies at 20). Now I'm 25 and I know I still have a lot of work to speak (at least write) english fluently. I can feel it gets better but it's work like I've written up there.
Don't discourage you and make it work.