language

[Delssar]

Hello everyone, Iv been playing on Sarlona alot for the past little while and I notice alot of non-english speakers. Now I have no problem at all with this as Ghalla is one of my main servers and we have alot of europeans and its a mix of languages. The problem im having is, Iv had ALOT of people join my lfg's who are non-english speakers and converse in their language like I understand it, then get mad at me for not understanding them. Iv been yelled at quite a few times over voice in what I think is cantonese with rage quits following shortly afterwards. Does anyone else have this problem? I dont want to post lfg's for "english speakers only" because I hate the thought of excluding people, but I'd rather not get yelled at.

Any tips for a relatively new Sarlonian?

[Lavek]

lotsa chinese here,

no worries, they werent ragin at you, prolly were just talkin something or ragin at themselves

[Zipwire]

I would not worry about excluding anyone. I always see lfms posted with no quest and the description written in Chinese or language other than English.

It is your group, make so it gives you the best enjoyable playtime, not one that detracts from it.
Most people around the world playing DDO understand English, might not speak/write it that well, so it is easier in their native language.

You could try putting "prefer English in chat/voice" instead of "English speakers only". That way there is no exclusion and if they wish to use chat or voice they will use English, see how that works out for you.

[Hinedhel]

Being a speaker of several languages, and the leader of a Spanish-speaking guild, I always ask for permission to the rest of the party members to speak/write in Spanish (or French, or Portuguese, or Italian, or Galician) when I need to communicate extensively with one of the party members (when training a newbie, for instance). I always get that permission.

Last week I joined a party where 5 out of 6 guys were Spanish native speakers (European as well as American), but we all agreed to speak English only for the sake of the English-speaking guy. Not a problem, we had lots of fun and finished the quest easily.

In my experience, having lots of non-English speakers in Sarlona (I've interacted a lot with Chinese, Germans, Italians, Brazilians, Croatians, Spanish, Argentinians, and people from other places as well, using any language that suited us) only makes us maybe the richest of servers, and allows us to play at any time of the day because you'll always find someone ready for action (I love to play with Chinese and ANZAC people in my mornings / their evenings on local holidays). Anyhow, I always wondered: US people, Y U no learn other languages? Don't be lazy and do like the rest of us, join the multicultural wagon!

[FooWonk]

Most players on Sarlona can read English.

Those that can read English are not always able to understand spoken english. And for those that can there are still barriers to communication:

° With literally 100s of diverse accents, simple phrases can be unintelligible to non-native speakers (and occasionally even to native speakers).

° Idioms, similes and slang are not even shared across dialects, so using this sort of colorful language will almost guaranteed that non-native speakers will have no idea what you are saying.

° Talking too fast or not having clear breaks between words is another source of confusion to non-native speakers. When a native speaker is excited they speak faster; the non-native listener understands less; native speaker gets agitated and speaks louder and still faster; non-native listener gives up and rage quits.

I used to run my healer predominantly with a raiding guild that posted exclusively guoren LFMs. They were the only competent guild running raids during my playtimes (early mornings EST).

The language barrier was never an issue.

In the rare case that they needed to give me specific instructions, they'd type in English (e.g., "Arrwn heal horroth tank").

When I need to communicate with non-native English speakers I use clear, simple statements like "Xilige go West", "TRAP!", "I am shrining.". If you keep it simple, it is quicker to type and easier to understand.

[Hinedhel]

I would add one point to FooWong's list of tips to help others understand you: Speak louder. Not louder as in screaming to others, but louder as in using a non-whispery conversational tone, preferably with your microphone close to your mouth. Ladies (and some lads as well, but mostly ladies), I understand that you want to sound like a well-bred girl on your mike, but sometimes you speak SO low that you go under your capture threshold and the party only gets fragments of your speech.

[madmaxhunter]

On my LFMs I simply put "hear/understand voice chat". That not only covers non-english speaking players but those who feel speakers are "optional".

[Dozen_Black_Roses]

One other thing it just to be cognizant that the time you play may predominantly occupied by Chinese players. If so perhaps just typing in your lfm anything in english such as elite for bravery, or farming lvl 12 quests for xp, lets them know that this is an english speaker running the quest. This is why you will often see their flms say some phrases in chinese, such as guo ren, so they know it is a chinese speaking leader. No need for you to be exclusionary, as others have said many can read/type in English, just not speak it. Also many of us have cheat sheets to communicate certain key phrases in Chinese. Now if you see chinese phrases in an lfm it does not necessarily mean you can not join if you dont understand chinese, just send a tell saying I only speak english but know the quest, etc and more often than not you will be accepted.

Some lists that I use are:

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=170031 Look at the comments also though as there are some errors in the list.


Edit: These lists have come in handy on more than one occasions. Even on times where you have people that pretend to not understand anything as they want to do nothing. Much easier to call them on it.
http://ddosource.com/guide/vocabulary-chinese/

[elricken]

In all my time on Sarlona I've come across just a handful of players who can't read/write english. I wouldn't stress much about it, if they are Chinese, chances are they will zerg the quest for you in half the time regardless of what you do :D.

[Ilindith]

I'm french and I always speak english Q_Q

[Delssar]

Anyhow, I always wondered: US people, Y U no learn other languages? Don't be lazy and do like the rest of us, join the multicultural wagon!

Well, I dont know why the US people dont but, Im Canadian and I can speak english as well as a bit of french, german and russian, though dont ask me to write in it lol as I picked up the little bits here and there from Family and close friends.


And thanks for all the tips in the thread guys!

[gfunk]

Hello everyone, Iv been playing on Sarlona alot for the past little while and I notice alot of non-english speakers. Now I have no problem at all with this as Ghalla is one of my main servers and we have alot of europeans and its a mix of languages. The problem im having is, Iv had ALOT of people join my lfg's who are non-english speakers and converse in their language like I understand it, then get mad at me for not understanding them. Iv been yelled at quite a few times over voice in what I think is cantonese with rage quits following shortly afterwards. Does anyone else have this problem? I dont want to post lfg's for "english speakers only" because I hate the thought of excluding people, but I'd rather not get yelled at.

Any tips for a relatively new Sarlonian?

I just go into RP mode and pretend I'm questing with some hostile orcs.

RP is the new powergaming

;)

[LazyTigerLily]

I would add one point to FooWong's list of tips to help others understand you: Speak louder. Not louder as in screaming to others, but louder as in using a non-whispery conversational tone, preferably with your microphone close to your mouth. Ladies (and some lads as well, but mostly ladies), I understand that you want to sound like a well-bred girl on your mike, but sometimes you speak SO low that you go under your capture threshold and the party only gets fragments of your speech.

Actually it is not me, nor is it my mic. I have found that the voice chat program that DDO uses tends to not include a lot of my speaking range. It has led me to spend HOURS trying to correct the levels, but to no avail. I suspect that I am not the only one to have experienced this either, and your complaint makes me think it you have made this complaint of more than one person. Other programs have no problem with my voice, it is ONLY DDO that seems to have issues. Please do not blame the person's bits for a problem that is one with the software and not the person. Trust me there are a lot of times I would like everyone to be able to hear me clearly.

As far as the language issue, I would say that if you simply let them know you don't speak the language they are using people are generally totally willing to try and communicate important information in whatever the common language of the group is. It is very likely the folks you were grouped with knew one another or had some interaction in the past that their language of communication was previously understood. Really, the best way to indicate your language is to type something into party chat. When someone joins if you aren't sure a quick "hey we'll get started as soon as the party fills" or "going to wait 3 more minutes then start, full party or not" will go a lot further than not saying anything at all. That way you and the people in the party don't have to worry about an accent or dialect you or they may not understand. (Slang and colloquialisms in any language can be super confusing to a non native speaker!)

In short: Don't understand? Type something!

[MsEricka]

If you're the party leader, when someone joins your party say hello over voice chat. They'll get the idea that you speak english.

You could also add "english" to your LFM's but some people think that's rude. And lastly you could filter (read: decline) guilds that are known non-english players.

[QuantumFX]

You might want to try typing “I am an english speaker.” in party chat. Most of Sarlona’s Chinese playerbase understands written english better than spoken english.

[Dracey]

Iv been yelled at quite a few times over voice in what I think is cantonese with rage quits following shortly afterwards.

I'd like to point out that it's most likely Mandarin. I've never heard a fellow Sarlonian speak Cantonese, although that would be a nice surprise for me - I understand that dialect better than I do Mandarin :/

[TrinityTurtle]

It is an unfortunate event when this happens. The english speakers do this to non english speakers also, I've seen it more than once in my group. Some people just don't do well with people they can't communicate with I suppose, and we just have to put their names quietly in a list of people not to group with again and put the names of people who behave gracefully, whether we can understand them or not, on our lists of people to play with again. There is no real cure for this one other than that I'm afraid.

[Culver.Civello]

Never had a problem with non-English speakers. I commonly let Chinese players in my group. I constantly group with Pinoy (A Filipino Guild) and have an awesome time with them. A lot of them know English well enough to communicate... They do talk in whatever language they speak sometimes though just to tease me. lmao. But.. when I want things to get done without a hitch, I always go to them :p Even a lot of Chinese players seem to know enough English to get by.

[Zyerz]

Yeah... I joined this group the other day and they all spoke spanish. Luckily for me, I know spanish, but their lfm was in english (They shouldve at least put that the majority spoke spanish, since they all spoke to eachother by their real names)

I also had a similar thing happen to me a month ago. Joined this group that posted "Running multiple wizzy king runs" They were all quiet up until the first set of rotating traps, when they start talking in mandarin..... I assume. Most chinese players post "guo ren" on their lfm's to announce its a chinese speaking group, but not this one. In the end, I managed to finish 2 runs with them (with me not understanding a word they said). Then I left cause I had the impression they were talking to me, but naturally, I had no clue what they were saying, so I politely excused myself and left the group.... :confused:

[Galeria]

I am surprised you hear them speak at all- they usually don't.

The only time I hear them speaking is when they think everyone in the group is gou ren and then they chat up a storm.

But when someone speaks english over the mic or types that they don't understand Chinese, usually they all go silent. I've rarely heard more than a word or two over mic after that.

I've never grouped with them where they didn't type the basics that needed to be coordinated and I've never found them to be anything but polite overall.

Unlike many english speakers...

[achitophel]

I have to agree with Galeria. I always find it an entertaining and amusing group that i have no clue what is going on in. I hit them quite often as well. I don't mind when people start chatting away in another language, sometimes i can pick things up. Like Xie Xie, Ni hao / Han how or good ma. Best line ever from the Chinese lists is "wo na bao de dongxi!". The fact that someone put it in the list makes me lol.

They will only usually start chatting once you type something in Chinese. As for communication, the last one i joined i was told "Follow main objective". At the very least you can expect "Haste rage go".

Not enough French groups Distributed! Would love to hear some gallic nerdrage!

In hit a Spanish speaking group last life. They were good people.

If you want to learn about language barriers, try joining one of Iccir's groups.

[Arshan]

Not enough French groups Distributed! Would love to hear some gallic nerdrage!

[...]

If you want to learn about language barriers, try joining one of Iccir's groups.

Mix, epic LoB => win

[amsharkwei]

guoren=chinese

Actually,every chinese can understand some english words, If you want tell some one some thing,just speak slower
I can speak English \Deutcsh\zhongwen ,that's no problem

Because everyone know the quest,so we usualy talking about other things (not about the game)

My English score in LV4 is over 500, maybe my English is better than most Americans

[Ilindith]

guoren=chinese

Actually,every chinese can understand some english words, If you want tell some one some thing,just speak slower
I can speak English \Deutcsh\zhongwen ,that's no problem

Because everyone know the quest,so we usualy talking about other things (not about the game)

My English score in LV4 is over 500, maybe my English is better than most Americans

Or, judging by your post, just as bad.

[rayxiao]

i am the one who can read english but not good at spoken English . now i am trying to learn English with both write and speak . i love this game so much, not care which language it is . just have fun and be patient. let's explore the world in ERBON

[Kages]

I'm french and I always speak english Q_Q
Well that explains a lot. J/P LOVE YOU BROTHER!

[Ilindith]

Well that explains a lot. J/P LOVE YOU BROTHER!

French Canadian too. Even worse right?

[Tobril]

If you're the party leader, when someone joins your party say hello over voice chat. They'll get the idea that you speak english.

You could also add "english" to your LFM's but some people think that's rude. And lastly you could filter (read: decline) guilds that are known non-english players.



Unfortunately this happens a lot for easy stuff like shroud, ToD,
VoD, etc where not much communication is needed.

I’m not trying to single out MsE, but a lot of (often bad) raid
leaders deny people 1000% better than them due to language
barriers and/or racism.


Anything important can be handled by a couple of typed phrases: (pretend ToD assignments)

Tank1, healer1 – Judge
Healer2 - Jailer

Player1 – kite, player2 backup

Tank1, healer1 – Horoth
Tank2 – Sulu
Healer2 - group


New quests or quests with a lot of communication needs
can be an issue, I will admit to not playing with people
that require using text as I’m not good enough to type
and play at the same time.

[Tobril]

Anyhow, I always wondered: US people, Y U no learn other languages? Don't be lazy and do like the rest of us, join the multicultural wagon!


What language should USA people learn?

I studied German in school and ended up traveling to
Russia and Italy. Not many people spoke German in
those countries.


Had I learned Spanish instead I could have communicated
moderately well in Italy but still been screwed in Russia.


There is a high likelihood that I will run into an English
speaking person most places that I am likely to travel.

As such I find it hard to get motivated to learn other
languages for a brief trip. Lack of native speakers of
other languages where I live exacerbates the issue.
(aka I can’t practice on others much)


Even if I get ambitious and learn Spanish and Mandarin
in an attempt to cover a large portion of the world, I
could quite likely end up traveling to a place where no
one speaks those languages and STILL look like the
standard “Ugly American”. :(

[rdasca]

What language should USA people learn?

<snip>:(

lol, yep same problem:

Studied French in school (4 years studied ... number of times I have used any of it, twice)
Learned quite a bit of Chinese from a very nice lady, over five years she taught me phrases and whatnot; unfortunately, it is Taiwanese dialect, which is a bit different from Mandarin or Cantonese.
Married a Hispanic woman, family speaks Spanish ... err Tex-Mex, not much help there outside of the southern United States.

I also know a few phrases of Russian, German, Portuguese, and Italian (not enough to have a conversation, but enough to find food, drink, a bathroom, and get my face slapped in about 80% of the world)

My advice is do not worry about it, there are jerks all over the world, it is not about language or communication.

[Tyrande]

What language should USA people learn?

I studied German in school and ended up traveling to
Russia and Italy. Not many people spoke German in
those countries.

Ah, you could join the German LFMs on Wayfinder without a problem then?

I had people spoke to me in German in the Titan groups and I had to use help to understand what they were saying.



Had I learned Spanish instead I could have communicated
moderately well in Italy but still been screwed in Russia.


I am traveling to Italy & Greece in 3 weeks, my junior high school French is probably not going to help. However, I am getting an Italian phrase book and translation applet.



There is a high likelihood that I will run into an English
speaking person most places that I am likely to travel.


Perhaps easier just to get a language phrase book and google translate application on your mobile phone.



As such I find it hard to get motivated to learn other
languages for a brief trip. [...] “Ugly American”. :(

It was fun learning other languages. I observed that people tend to be a little friendier when you try their language. At least that was the case when I went to Japan, India and Quebec.

No, not "Ugly"... They meant "Stupid" as in non multi-lingual.

[Tyrande]

Good thing there are no monsters that require you to speak their language in order to trade and barter.

There was this funny scenario in the beginning "Storm of Zehir" where a bard tried to barter for passage and trade with the local monsters:

Before long, a tribe of goblins discovers the group after the wreckage of their ship from the storm, and the monster leader issues a challenge in an unknown language. One of the other passengers of the Vigilant, the bard Volothamp "Volo" Geddarm, claimed to speak the goblin tongue but inadvertently insults the goblins and instigates a battle.

e.g. Beholder says, "Your shape amuses me greatly!"
Adventurer says in beholder tongue, "You have these pretty tentacles and cute single eye and matches the color on my dual long epeen swords! Shall we barter in exchange?"
Beholder attacks and say, "Let me show you how they work in exchange", "Taste my eye beam! Taste my tentacles!"

[Dartwick]

If group was started by an English speaker its rather uncommon to hear much Chinese being spoken in chat.
For the most part Chinese players in an English speaking group just play their role and do it well. But they do do seem more likely to zerg and tend not to wait for other people to get organized before big fights.

But one of the groups I frequently run with always says "understand English - and just bumps anyone who doesnt.

[moops]

lotsa chinese here,

no worries, they werent ragin at you, prolly were just talkin something or ragin at themselves

Agree, they were prob on timer, not rage quitting.

Also just because an LFM says Guo Ren in it, doesn't mean they only want Chinese players, they are just letting you know that the group is Chinese or led by a person who can speak Chinese usually.

As for US people learning another language, I took 5 years of French, I remember maybe 10 phrases at that. I would've given anything to be able to learn Mandarin in school.

[MorningStarSE]

In all my time on Sarlona I've come across just a handful of players who can't read/write english. I wouldn't stress much about it, if they are Chinese, chances are they will zerg the quest for you in half the time regardless of what you do :D.

True facts.


I'm french and I always speak english Q_Q


French Canadian too. Even worse right?

No worries, you`re not the only one and it is not an illness.. :rolleyes: