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Funny actually, I had a kid come up to me in the store last Friday asking me what the price was of Eiland van Bloed, the Dutch version of the WHFB starter. Ask me about Island of Blood and I'll jump to it, but that kid really had me stumped.

With all of this 'Everyone should speak English!', how come no-one has posted a John Cleese related joke yet?*


* Apologies for non-Brits, I will wait for someone to post the appropriate quote/you-tube link.

My hovercraft is full of eels?

xruslanx wrote:
Do you have a source for "gw fudging their grammar more often than that"? Or is that just another one of those "gw don't proof read codexes" statements?

Mostly hyperbole. It does happen though, and I remember more than one argument where people mistranslated rules because of strange sentence structures. Even minor grammar mistakes can throw someone with out extended knowledge of a language off track. YMDC is a testament to how unclear rules are and how easy it is to interpret a word in six ways - adding a language barrier in between doesn't exactly make it any better.

I haven't read the entire thread - just first and last pages - so this may be something of a rhetorical question, but.

Has anyone *actually seen* any of the new boxes from one of the omitted countries or had them in their hands? Personally? It may well just be that there are now separate box designs with different languages on them. This wouldn't make much sense if GW handle all their own printing, but if they outsource then they're likely to use printers local to that country, in which case it makes sense to have separate designs. That way you can squeeze more pictures on the back, where all the legally required information is.

 BrookM wrote:
Funny actually, I had a kid come up to me in the store last Friday asking me what the price was of Eiland van Bloed, the Dutch version of the WHFB starter. Ask me about Island of Blood and I'll jump to it, but that kid really had me stumped.

I really hate it when they translate names into Dutch. I don't mind if the content itself is translated (even though I prefer to read in English, which is weird since I'm a native Dutch speaker). Just be happy they haven't called Warhammer 'Oorlogshamer' yet...

 Super Ready wrote:
I haven't read the entire thread - just first and last pages - so this may be something of a rhetorical question, but.

Has anyone *actually seen* any of the new boxes from one of the omitted countries or had them in their hands? Personally? It may well just be that there are now separate box designs with different languages on them. This wouldn't make much sense if GW handle all their own printing, but if they outsource then they're likely to use printers local to that country, in which case it makes sense to have separate designs. That way you can squeeze more pictures on the back, where all the legally required information is.

I believe that someone on page 4 stated that they had a new box with all the usual languages on the box (but not on the cover).


Your lesson for today if you choose to accept it is to read the whole of the thread in future or like me read the first, penultimate and last pages then you too can be a smart arse like me!

 Malika2 wrote:

 BrookM wrote:
Funny actually, I had a kid come up to me in the store last Friday asking me what the price was of Eiland van Bloed, the Dutch version of the WHFB starter. Ask me about Island of Blood and I'll jump to it, but that kid really had me stumped.

I really hate it when they translate names into Dutch. I don't mind if the content itself is translated (even though I prefer to read in English, which is weird since I'm a native Dutch speaker). Just be happy they haven't called Warhammer 'Oorlogshamer' yet...

We usually recommend the English starter anyway, depending on age, as aside from a fething starter, nothing else is in Dutch, so why the feth bother anyway?

 BrookM wrote:

 Malika2 wrote:

 BrookM wrote:
Funny actually, I had a kid come up to me in the store last Friday asking me what the price was of Eiland van Bloed, the Dutch version of the WHFB starter. Ask me about Island of Blood and I'll jump to it, but that kid really had me stumped.

I really hate it when they translate names into Dutch. I don't mind if the content itself is translated (even though I prefer to read in English, which is weird since I'm a native Dutch speaker). Just be happy they haven't called Warhammer 'Oorlogshamer' yet...

We usually recommend the English starter anyway, depending on age, as aside from a fething starter, nothing else is in Dutch, so why the feth bother anyway?

What I loved about Dutch media/publishing was that most of the time they wouldn't dub/translate stuff into Dutch. Cartoons, tv shows, and movies stayed in their original languages, meaning people actually learned English for example (I don't believe high school really is the best place to learn a different language). When I go to a bookstore and I want to buy a book that's originally in English, I want to be able to buy that one, not some translated version. Lots of stuff goes lost in translation. A friend of mine, kinda a nutter, is basically learning all sorts of languages, just to be able to read the literature. He learned German to read Kafka, Spanish for Garcia Marquez, and is now learning Russian because he wants to explore Dostoyevsky. Maybe that's a bit insane for most of us, but still...

Now I'm not saying that GW shouldn't translate their content anymore, they should. Go for it, if they can reach those audiences by doing so. But for me personally, I doubt I would have spoken/read/written English as well as I do now if it weren't for all those films/books/shows/cartoons/games/etc that were in English.

That's all nice and well, but not all countries (inhabitants) are skilled in the english language, so translation need to be done, if all the rulebooks would only be in english they could kiss a large market goodby.

 Jehan-reznor wrote:
That's all nice and well, but not all countries (inhabitants) are skilled in the english language, so translation need to be done, if all the rulebooks would only be in english they could kiss a large market goodby.

I noticed that...especially since you clearly haven't read the rest of my post(s)...

 Malika2 wrote:

 BrookM wrote:
Funny actually, I had a kid come up to me in the store last Friday asking me what the price was of Eiland van Bloed, the Dutch version of the WHFB starter. Ask me about Island of Blood and I'll jump to it, but that kid really had me stumped.

I really hate it when they translate names into Dutch. I don't mind if the content itself is translated (even though I prefer to read in English, which is weird since I'm a native Dutch speaker). Just be happy they haven't called Warhammer 'Oorlogshamer' yet...

Duistere Wraak....
Eek.

Can't we find something else to post about than this garbage? So what, maybe GW didn't like the look of the extra wordings
on their products. Get over it.

This tread is a waste of time.

dlight wrote:
Can't we find something else to post about than this garbage? So what, maybe GW didn't like the look of the extra wordings
on their products. Get over it.

This tread is a waste of time.

For the benefit of those here who don't have English as a first language, I should point out that you probably meant 'thread' in that final sentence.

 Pacific wrote:

dlight wrote:
Can't we find something else to post about than this garbage? So what, maybe GW didn't like the look of the extra wordings
on their products. Get over it.

This tread is a waste of time.

For the benefit of those here who don't have English as a first language, I should point out that you probably meant 'thread' in that final sentence.

*applauds*


Not everyone can speak English, you know. America is not the world.

 thenoobbomb wrote:

 Malika2 wrote:

 BrookM wrote:
Funny actually, I had a kid come up to me in the store last Friday asking me what the price was of Eiland van Bloed, the Dutch version of the WHFB starter. Ask me about Island of Blood and I'll jump to it, but that kid really had me stumped.

I really hate it when they translate names into Dutch. I don't mind if the content itself is translated (even though I prefer to read in English, which is weird since I'm a native Dutch speaker). Just be happy they haven't called Warhammer 'Oorlogshamer' yet...

Duistere Wraak....
Eek.

Yeah, another one that's no longer stocked IIRC.

 BrookM wrote:
I demand to know why GW is ignoring Esperanto damn it!

Interlingua or GTFO!

What exactly are we debating/arguing about in here now?

Because this one's getting close to that edge...

There might an interesting discussion about GW's translating policy and quality which might be salvaged from this, but that would probably be better off in Dakka Discussions. As News/Rumor this seems to have run its course...

Just saying, the site in German has the correct words for you:
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/armySubUnitCats.jsp?catId=cat440272a&rootCatGameStyle=wh40k

Expugnatorgarde-Trupp der Space Marines

The box might not have it but I am positive anyone in the hobby can navigate the world wide interwebz and use the site to help guide their purchases or to help pinpoint new boxes.


(Not sure if anyone had checked the site yet, just thought I'd drop this in here if it is in someway helpful).

 Krinsath wrote:
Maybe they figured since English steals liberally from every language in the world, most people will be able to figure it out?

You do realize the vast majority of new words in the world over the hundred years are English in origin, right?

Well, American. English is a dead language.

 Jstncloud wrote:
Just saying, the site in German has the correct words for you:
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/armySubUnitCats.jsp?catId=cat440272a&rootCatGameStyle=wh40k

Expugnatorgarde-Trupp der Space Marines

The box might not have it but I am positive anyone in the hobby can navigate the world wide interwebz and use the site to help guide their purchases or to help pinpoint new boxes.


(Not sure if anyone had checked the site yet, just thought I'd drop this in here if it is in someway helpful).

So what about impulse buys then? Especially if you don't know if your Space Marine Codex can actually field this unit that looks so cool.

Alpharius wrote:What exactly are we debating/arguing about in here now?

We are currently waiting for the official confirmation coming with this weeks releases.
And we are trying to understand, why GW is raising another hurdle to buy their products, this time for foreign language markets.

Veteran Sergeant wrote:You do realize the vast majority of new words in the world over the hundred years are English in origin, right?
Well, American. English is a dead language.

I really hope this was meant as a joke.

 Jstncloud wrote:
Just saying, the site in German has the correct words for you:
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/armySubUnitCats.jsp?catId=cat440272a&rootCatGameStyle=wh40k

Expugnatorgarde-Trupp der Space Marines

The box might not have it but I am positive anyone in the hobby can navigate the world wide interwebz and use the site to help guide their purchases or to help pinpoint new boxes.

"Dear owner of a foreign language local gaming store: If your customers are confused by the new boxes we provide, just send them to our new, soon to be enlarged webstore. Thanks!"

If the images in the White Dwarf are anything to go by, the captain and libby clams both go for the minimalist approach.

 frozenwastes wrote:
I am finding it amusing that the majority of the people who dismiss this as a non-issue are from primarily English speaking countries.

Preeeetttyyyyy much this.


OT:
Also, when did 19.1% became 1/6? If you round it off, it would be closer to 1/5, or is math not relevant anymore?

China is only 1/6 of the world, the other 5/6 find English a *lot* easier to learn than Chinese.

I'm assuming English is your primary language and you were raised by English-speaking people so it's natural for you to find English easier to learn.

I have been raised by non-English speaking people and I learned English as my secondary language. I'm currently trying to learn Mandarin (and Japanese, but that's another thing entirely) and it is easier to learn than English. Maybe you don't think about it because you were raised in an English speaking environment, but English has weird grammar rules with exceptions to exceptions (seriously, more than one "house" is "houses" but more than one "mouse"... "mice"? And why are you "on" a train when you're clearly "in" it?!). Have you ever tried looking at it from a non-English speaker's perspective? I mean in this very thread it seems to me that native English speakers are having a hard time with English (hats off to you for pointing that out, Pacific!)

Here's some reading for you in case I haven't quite made my case (hah!):
http://www.xamuel.com/10-reasons-why-english-is-hard-language/

TLDR: English is a hard language to learn. We're forced to learn it because it's everywhere but to a non-English speaker like me who have learned or are learning other languages, those languages are easier. And Mandarin is a fething complicated language, but English is worse.

English harder than Mandarin Chinese?

I might have to close this thread now...!

 Alpharius wrote:
English harder than Mandarin Chinese?

I might have to close this thread now...!

Heartserenade is from the Phillipines. It's possible that he grew up speaking Fillipino/Tagalog.

Yeah, people exposed to different phonemes than those present in English can often grasp the tone differences in Mandarin far more easily than native English speakers. The sounds of the language you grow up with have a massive impact on what languages are easier and harder to learn. And then add in that English does not have consistent rules as it is a amalgam and bastardization of a bunch of other languages.

The times I've been to Europe, I've noticed that many, many products have a huge variety of languages on them. It's really, really strange to remove them.

I am a native English speaker, and I also know Japanese, and have studied Chinese and Russian as well. I would say that, for most native speakers of Indo-European languages (almost every European language, plus Indian subcontinent languages, Farsi and related central Asian languages and more) Chinese is certainly much easier than Japanese. And Russian is somewhat easier than Japanese, but maybe as hard as Chinese (though not to Slavic native speakers like, say, Serbians or Czechs).

That said, I think it is puzzling that GW has done this, for the reason I mentioned before: it doesn't save them money to remove the foreign text, and doesn't lose them money to keep it. It's possible that it might lose them money to remove it, if it does make the language barrier a problem for potential customers.

-C6

Could it be an issue of unexpected demand? Perhaps for the US and UK market, they're going with more minimalistic boxes and they simply ran out of the boxes with all the different languages on them and are shipping things out with the English & French only boxes? Or perhaps it's entirely accidental.

It's such a nonsensical decision given that they a) translate the stuff anyway for their online store b) already have the design work done with boxes with multiple languages and c) can get a better price per box from the printer if they're all one batch of the same thing.

This just makes no sense.