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I started to realize this a while ago, for obvious reasons. German words, and especially German sentences, do not work in 40k background. For some words, it works, such as Krieg, or Eisenstein, but anything more intense than that looks completely out of place. To give a fanfiction example, the world name Todth works well, but it breaks down once you have a poster like this:

Poster made by Skaerkrow – this is not for me or my fluff, it's an example


it doesn't work.

I think it might be the style or appearance of the language that doesn't fit with the rest of the 40k style. Language and otherwise, it's been something that I've struggled with. In response to the issue here, I've also been making up different in-universe words. I think part of the reason that it seems like a good idea, because I've seen a lot of people say so in other places, is because of the militaristic stereotype. It starts out seeming like a great idea, but ends up not being one.

The German language makes anything look and sound cooler.

I like to think the OP has just had an epiphany.

How long has it taken?

 Inquisitor Ehrenstein wrote:
I started to realize this a while ago, for obvious reasons. German words, and especially German sentences, do not work in 40k background. For some words, it works, such as Krieg, or Eisenstein, but anything more intense than that looks completely out of place. To give a fanfiction example, the world name Todth works well, but it breaks down once you have a poster like this:



it doesn't work.

I think it might be the style or appearance of the language that doesn't fit with the rest of the 40k style. Language and otherwise, it's been something that I've struggled with. In response to the issue here, I've also been making up different in-universe words. I think part of the reason that it seems like a good idea, because I've seen a lot of people say so in other places, is because of the militaristic stereotype. It starts out seeming like a great idea, but ends up not being one.

Everbody knows you struggle with German , be it language or appearance..
So why do we need your anti-German threads again?

Which is odd, considering the Imperium supposedly speaks Gothic which is an old German form.

It just feels out of place since most of the stuff is Roman/Greek/Latin in nature. At least most of the imperial stuff.

I think Canadian would look more ridiculous eh

Why does this need a thread? Did you just realize that the 40k universe does not speak German? I am honestly confused.


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 1hadhq wrote:
Everbody knows you struggle with German , be it language or appearance..
So why do we need your anti-German threads again?

Also, agreed with 1hadhq.

Nivek5150 wrote:The German language makes anything look and sound cooler.

This is what I'm taking about. In many cases it does, but it seems not to translate into 40k that well. For doing one's own thing, it can be fine, but it doesn't fit well with the rest of the 40k theme.

Grimtuff wrote:I like to think the OP has just had an epiphany.

How long has it taken?

This was a long time ago. I've been going through the process of removing gak from our own articles. It's horrific to read. There is some comfort knowing that it wasn't all me. Most of it was... Some of the worst names came from someone who was banned from the Sturmkrieg project way back in the day.

This happened within a few months of learning German.

CaptainGrey wrote:It just feels out of place since most of the stuff is Roman/Greek/Latin in nature. At least most of the imperial stuff.

I'm guessing that's what it is.

MarsNZ wrote:I think Canadian would look more ridiculous eh

LOL



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 ph34r wrote:
Why does this need a thread? Did you just realize that the 40k universe does not speak German? I am honestly confused.

No, but that is a good point for anyone who wants to have literal German in their army. It's highly unlikely that the language would be the same. Maybe a civilization could make it through with an old language intact, but I'd want a very good backstory as to why that happened.

 Inquisitor Ehrenstein wrote:
No, but that is a good point for anyone who wants to have literal German in their army. It's highly unlikely that the language would be the same. Maybe a civilization could make it through with an old language intact, but I'd want a very good backstory as to why that happened.

Because they would all be Grammar Nazis

Please explain, I don't see quite where that poster uses the word 'Todth'.. I see something that says "My Emperor, My Life." but that's all I can make from it, not too fluent in Das Deutch.

Just for the record: The above sentences are not German, they just use German words in an incomprehensible way. Native speakers can only guess what it shall mean. Using a Roman alphabet doesn't help. Let's just say, Nazi references look bad most of the time.

You should see Polish translantion of a word Waaaagh! as a Polish native speaker first and then decide if German in 40k is really that bad...

Shadox wrote:

 Inquisitor Ehrenstein wrote:
No, but that is a good point for anyone who wants to have literal German in their army. It's highly unlikely that the language would be the same. Maybe a civilization could make it through with an old language intact, but I'd want a very good backstory as to why that happened.

Because they would all be Grammar Nazis

LOL. I think the French would be more likely to do that.

xraytango wrote:Please explain, I don't see quite where that poster uses the word 'Todth'.. I see something that says "My Emperor, My Life." but that's all I can make from it, not too fluent in Das Deutch.

The poster doesn't use the word Todth on it. Even if you could read German, you wouldn't be able to understand it. I did an evaluation on my user page. When he posted it, many German users told him far too politely that it didn't make any sense; I don't think they made the point.

Kroothawk wrote:Just for the record: The above sentences are not German, they just use German words in an incomprehensible way. Native speakers can only guess what it shall mean. Using a Roman alphabet doesn't help. Let's just say, Nazi references look bad most of the time.

I agree. I came to the same conclusion when I tried to understand what it said. I thought it was just my own difficulties in German that stopped me from reading it. Apperently I got it right. I'd like to know what Aufgabe ist vorgeschieben. Task has been before-written is what I come up with. I think it suffers from the old problem of people who don't know German at all thinking they do, usually because they've heard Nazis in popular culture and think it taught them German. Those people are the reason I hate German I; far too many of them there, and they're weird.

So do you think it would have been better if he had used the Cyrillic alphabet or something like that? I sent SkaerKrow a message saying that he should rethinking using Tiger tanks and what looks like an SS symbol on the side of one of them, and he said he was going to go through with it because in his mind a Tiger tank isn't "political" and therefore isn't a Nazi thing.

He can do what he wants as long as the hobby stores and websites he uses let him. I can just have Aschknas, Rotstein, and Valhalla stomp all over Todth.

Plumbumbarum wrote:You should see Polish translantion of a word Waaaagh! as a Polish native speaker first and then decide if German in 40k is really that bad...

Wow... What is it? If you can explain it.

Have you ever considered changing fonts?

 Arcsquad12 wrote:
Have you ever considered changing fonts?

I did try to do that. I couldn't get the font added to the MW extension I was trying to use.

What did you have in mind?

I was going to use a Russian font, but I'm not sure if that would be good for everything.

I'm just saying that, from a compositional perspective alone, that poster is rather horrific. Hard to read black text on an extremely bright red background hurts the eyes. Tone down the Red and up the contrast between the black text. Finding a better font, preferably one that fits with the 40K setting would work better.

 Arcsquad12 wrote:
I'm just saying that, from a compositional perspective alone, that poster is rather horrific. Hard to read black text on an extremely bright red background hurts the eyes. Tone down the Red and up the contrast between the black text. Finding a better font, preferably one that fits with the 40K setting would work better.

Thanks. Unfortunately though, I can't change it because it's not mine.

 Inquisitor Ehrenstein wrote:

Plumbumbarum wrote:You should see Polish translantion of a word Waaaagh! as a Polish native speaker first and then decide if German in 40k is really that bad...

Wow... What is it? If you can explain it.

That's hard. It's like written Waaaaa, the baby crying sound or sth. It's not that much how it sound but how it looks, really silly. You know written in English it looks like a war cry, translated so badly to Polish it just makes the codex childish and stupid in that parts.

Plumbumbarum wrote:

 Inquisitor Ehrenstein wrote:

Plumbumbarum wrote:You should see Polish translantion of a word Waaaagh! as a Polish native speaker first and then decide if German in 40k is really that bad...

Wow... What is it? If you can explain it.

That's hard. It's like written Waaaaa, the baby crying sound or sth. It's not that much how it sound but how it looks, really silly. You know written in English it looks like a war cry, translated so badly to Polish it just makes the codex childish and stupid in that parts.

Wow. That's bad.

You said it yourself, you hate German... 'Nuff said, close thread..

It looks a lot better that the German/Jewish/Russian hybrids you were pawning off as the most origonal things ever 6 months ago...

Hmm, Im sureprised i was able to read part of this, my german must be paying off.

Jaeger wulf wrote:
You said it yourself, you hate German... 'Nuff said, close thread..

No. I said the language doesn't work in 40k.


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 SoloFalcon1138 wrote:
It looks a lot better that the German/Jewish/Russian hybrids you were pawning off as the most origonal things ever 6 months ago...

German-Russian is probably a lot more original than 90% of German Warhammer armies out there... There are also no Jews in the Sturmkrieg Sector because no one worships Yahweh. [sarcasm]Not sure where that came from.[/sarcasm]


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 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Hmm, Im sureprised i was able to read part of this, my german must be paying off.

You might have read the one legible line. Native speakers say it's random German words thrown onto a page.

Of course languages would look silly in 40k

38-39k years in the future means the languages are probably quite different than todays. Heck it only took about a few decades (or a few hundred I guess depending on the historical context) to go from normal english to jive

You just need to change the font. Blackadder ITC looks pretty cool. Everything looks better with some script.

 Grey Templar wrote:
You just need to change the font. Blackadder ITC looks pretty cool. Everything looks better with some script.

It's not my poster though. While that would help, it doesn't change the fact that everyone who can read German can see that it doesn't make sense. I have a translation, what I could make of it, on my userpage.


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 kenshin620 wrote:
Of course languages would look silly in 40k

38-39k years in the future means the languages are probably quite different than todays. Heck it only took about a few decades (or a few hundred I guess depending on the historical context) to go from normal english to jive

That's one of my dominant reasons. Unless people have conceptions of "pure Germans," they shouldn't have a problem with changing their civilization.

If you think German doesn't work in 40k you should see Swedish! Thank the Emperor we use the English BRB.

Me and a friend started translating some random stuff spontaneously one day; we couldn't stop laughing.

MarsNZ wrote:
I think Canadian would look more ridiculous eh

Sorry aboot shootin' your guys, eh.
Instead of Rough Riders, there can be Sorry Riders, with Mooses.

Yeah, I think a lot of languages don't really translate well. But then again, few languages work everywhere all the time.

 xSPYXEx wrote:

MarsNZ wrote:
I think Canadian would look more ridiculous eh

Sorry aboot shootin' your guys, eh.
Instead of Rough Riders, there can be Sorry Riders, with Mooses.

Yeah, I think a lot of languages don't really translate well. But then again, few languages work everywhere all the time.

LOL

I'm specifically talking about people who write their stuff in English but use German as an in-universe language, not people who actually write their fluff in German. If it's intended for a German website, it's fine, as long as that's the native language it's being written in. But when people think it's cool to write in German, it looks like crap. Part of the reason I'm turned off of it is because of the one guy we kicked out of the Sturmkrieg project, and he wasn't willing to change his in-universe language because it wouldn't be "pure German" enough. That, among other reasons, is why we kicked him out.