Can we at least try to avoid anachronisms?

[Wyvern76]

For some reason I've always wanted to make a half orc bard named Snoop Dogg. Who sings songs like Gin and Juice.

Dead of night and the partys still jumpin
Cause my momma aint home
I got wenches in the ball room gettin it on
And, they aint leavin til the mornin (til the mornin)

Strollin down the street, smokin dust, sippin on gin and juice
Laid back [with my mind on my stags and my stags on my mind]


LOL, something like that.

[ThePaganKing]

I don't use old english most of the time, but I also don't use Dude or Sweet or such terms either. It is hard sometimes to really get into the RP when you have a bunch of people standing around saying, Dude, Sweet, Totally, Awesome, and such.

But, hey, if that is what you want to do, then have at it, I just walk away and do something else. If that is what you want to say or do, then its your right to do it or say it, but I can understand the point the original person who posted this is making.

[ipsissimus]

hey, don't forget "well that guy was a real hottie."

What are you gonna do, they're going to speak they way they're going to speak...I just can't take the stuttering after a while, especially when I know they speak without it on occasion.

If you stutter, keep it consistent please.

[Dark presence]

Well if you are bothered by modern anachronisms, I am even more bothered by ye olde english.

Firstly, no one I have ever seen use it actually knows how to properly use it, grammatically. I certainly don't either, but it still ends up being rather obvious if you figure out how they are using the words. Think of hearing someone say "Me has use me sword to cut you up." Thats painful to read, and the way people use thee's and thou's and the other stuff, thats how it usually ends up coming out, translated, based on how they use the words.

Secondly, and because of the first issue, it can be very hard to understand sometime. This especially happens when the speaker uses it irregularly and inconsistently. Because of that I greatly prefer modern language and all of its quirks and slang. If someone doesn't understand your character's slang, then you just chalk it up ICly to a local colloquialism, "Oh, I guess its just Amnish/Thayvian/Waterdhavian slang." Even though what you're typing may be modern, it makes perfect sense that local colloquialisms would be encountered in the realms. I'm sure we are all aware that people from different regions and cities usually speak English differently. And that makes it incredibly easy to understand and 'translate' into FR.

The third point is something someone else said. FR is not Medieval England, France, or Poland, or whatever else, it has its own history. English is a horribly irregular language, and is a direct result of the history that England has had. Common is supposed to be a pidgin language for trade and basic communication between people who don't speak the same actual language, say like Chondothan. So saying we should ideally speak Old English is a bit silly in itself, in my view, since it doesn't even fit the world.

Finally, it is a real exercise for some to make up a whole slew of "realmish" colloquialisms to use to add flavor, or even attempt to use Old English. Its not something I'm any good at, so I simply use what I know in an effort to bring flavor to my characters. And I know that other people understand what I'm saying. If your character comes from some common area like Waterdeep and starts speaking in a way that is extremely difficult to understand, you start to lose the immersion, especially if they are standing next to another character from Waterdeep who talks nothing like that.


So ultimately I prefer modern speech, as its easy to understand and use, and there is usually no reason there would not be a direct corollary for some modern anachronism in Realms languages, languages we don't actually know or speak.

[Rhifox]

I prefer the 'movie dub' approach to it. Your characters are all speaking modern English in order to allow the audience to better understand it. Realistically, the characters would be speaking whatever actual language exists. However, for the purpose of the audience's understanding, they simply hear a 'best translation' in modern English.

[Xanderleo]

*shrugs* Doesn't bother me so much, unless it's ridiculously modern and trendy. As someone also mentioned, this is a Forgotten Realms setting, not a Medieval England setting. Characters talk differently depending on their background and (hopefully) their stats.

Things like this are a slippery slope. Once you start plucking at it, you'll find a whole slew of other things "out of setting".

I just try to view such terms as my character would view them: weird or foreign.

[Xanderleo]

*narrows eyes at Dark Presence* I see striking similarities in our posts. Even down to vocabulary.

[Fajitaduke]

hey, don't forget "well that guy was a real hottie."

What are you gonna do, they're going to speak they way they're going to speak...I just can't take the stuttering after a while, especially when I know they speak without it on occasion.

If you stutter, keep it consistent please.

I'd rather not see consistent stuttering, it's distracting. Per the advice of some great writers (King, Card, Brooks, etc.), variations in speech only need to be dropped in at key points to add flavor and remind the readers they exist. Otherwise, you can rely on the reader to make it sound right in his or her head.

On ORPG may require the idiosyncracy to be used with greater frequency than a novel, sincethe other players aren't as familiar with a character in the game (as opposed to a character in a novel), and pointing out the trait in a bio would certainly be helpful, but no need to beat people over the head with stuttering, for instance.

First and foremost, a player's speech should be readable.

[GodBeastX]

Totally
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/totally
Origin: 1500's

Awesome
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/awesome
Origin: 1590's

Dude
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dude
Origin: 1880's

I don't see anything I'd consider modern day there.

Sorry, homie, I don't think any of the words are an issue in fantasy world. The problem is, people try to say what they think people should speak like. I speak and use that speech sometimes to remind people "Hey, I'm playing a game."

I think this comes down to the truth of it, we're here to play and enjoy ourselves. Pushing the borders of reality at times can be very fun and help people feel more at ease. I'm not trying to live an alternate life. And I don't need to feel like I'm trapped in the matrix instead of being in a game.

The fact this thread even exists bothers me, that someone say "Awesome!" to you can even make you feel like you have to post on the forums bothers me to no end. Lighten up and play the game. Too many hard-lined people around lately trying to hold me down. There isn't a day I login that people don't sit and whine to me about how some things need to change to be more like FR, getting all worked up and downright angry over the stupidest reasons! Who really cares if exigo don't spit on Red Wizards? Who really cares if Helm is the major religeon? Are you suddenly unable to RP now? Someone walked up to you and said "Awesome!" you want to turn off your computer or throw your keyboard now?

I'm here to have fun, it's too bad other people are here to critique and chastise.

[Rannarix]

I said those things in character because I was making a direct snide attack at the "God bless us on this day, the finest hour of my lord's cunnilingus" style of roleplay maintained by a fair amount of people.

Nobody but toffs spoke like that, and the common folk thought they were tossers for it. It's hardly runing immersion, since frankly, in ye olde tymes the common folk talked in mostly slang and rich dialect.

I apologise for having a different style of roleplay from yours, and I will, in future, desist from putting any sort of interest or variance in doing so.

[Blue_Wyrm]

I think the essential I've learned from this thread is to not create threads:

- Made from less than a dozen words
- Which apparently contains nothing constructive
- Which constitutes an attack at other people's roleplay
- Which makes no nuances in its assertion

Please remember that the more thought you put behind your arguments and explanations, the more likely you are to get sympathizers or realize that you shouldn't post the thread at all and hit Cancel.

[GodBeastX]

I think the essential I've learned from this thread is to not create threads:

- Made from less than a dozen words
- Which apparently contains nothing constructive
- Which constitutes an attack at other people's roleplay
- Which makes no nuances in its assertion

BINGO!

Or asks for Experience points

[Xanderleo]

Well, since I didn't create this thread would now be a good time to ask for experience points?

*puts out his hands and waits*

[ThePaganKing]

I think the initial point to this thread was not using old english or anything like that, but to at least stay in character and use more proper English. I have come across large groups at the crossroads or Exigo and I thought I was in the middle of the movie "Dude, Wheres My Car" or a skate board park instead of Sundren, A faerunian land. I do think that movie was funny, but is it appropriate for Sundren? I don't really care that much, I just walk away and find other RP spots, but it can ruin RP for a number of people.

Again, I am sure the intent was not to tell people to speak in ye old english, I for one would not wish that on anyone.

[deepshades]

The point of language is to allow the easy flow of exchanging ideas or information.

This is why I posted that bit about typos, if I can still understand exactly what you meant, taking up a whole 'nother line to correct just seems pointless.

About this language bit, I'd rather understand the character better. If they think something is awesome! Then I want to hear them say it. I don't want to read some old english paragraph about how hes taking off his boots.

My character is all about attitude, thats why I use things like sexy, hottie, stud, Fantastic!

Its hard to be peppy in old english and if half the people didn't understand your point or misunderstood it, then guess what . . .yup you failed at language AKA speaking.

It doesn't matter that you spoke the words correctly, if you failed to transfer your purpose or idea it was only so much random dribble coming from your mouth for all real purposes.

Unless your ash from Army of Darkness .. Claktu-Nerata-Vi*coughs*
Magical words are excluded from this example and must be pronounced correctly.

My two cents.