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How can my character understand languages of races he didn't even know existed?


Pahomi

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It seems that all characters, even smugglers and bounty hunters who are usually just thugs can understand languages of species they never even knew about. I am a Star Wars fan but not the hardcore type. What explanation is given in the lore that explains how everyone talks with each other so casually? I mean how can my characters understand Gree , Rakata or Esh-Ka? How the hell can people understand Wookies? I mean in the BH story, we have a Wookie give a gosh darn speech. It was so ridiculous to hear him groaning with the subtitle being a carefully worded intelligent speech. I mean I know Star Wars is not sci fi and more fantasy but still, even fantasy needs to make some sort of sense, right? Edited by Pahomi
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Well at least on the Commando story , if you have Vik with you , your character explains that he knows all the languages from all the species on the Republic. You get the dialog when you meets the Gand . Now ,even as incredible as that is, it still doesnt explain how u know languages from just completely Xeno races .
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The only one that really doesn't make sense is Inquisitor seeing as they were a slave.

 

Jedi are taught a whole bunch of languages early on. Warrior came from a prestigious family and probably had top-notch education. Agent and Trooper are likely required to know a lot of languages to conduct their jobs as a spy and special forces. Smuggler and BH probably picked them up along the way to better help out with their dealings.

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well, we do know something like universal translators exist. Your character in Kotor 2 had one. Its modeled after an HK droid vocabulator, and its called the sonic imprint sensor (Which exists in game as a crafting resource too).

 

If Sonic Imprint Sensors became widespread enough in the 300 years since Kotor 2, then that would explain it. If not.... Translator Microbes.

 

I should also point out that you have a protocol droid on your ship who could be providing real time translation through your comlink. Protocol droids often know millions of languages, and C-3PO was able to translate languages he'd never heard before by comparing them to others.

 

I suppose they could do what they do in the Star Wars movies and have no subtitles when your character doesn't understand the language and have the protocol droid translate what they say, but do you really want that? Do you?

Edited by spencer_
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Well at least on the Commando story , if you have Vik with you , your character explains that he knows all the languages from all the species on the Republic. You get the dialog when you meets the Gand . Now ,even as incredible as that is, it still doesnt explain how u know languages from just completely Xeno races .

 

It is not possible to learn all the languages, there are millions of them. For the Jedi this could be explained by a Force power: Comprehend Speech, this enables him/here to understand the language tough not necassery to speak it

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There are many ways to explain how your character can know many languages.

 

1. Jedi/sith can use the force to understand languages.

 

2. Everybody else, well they can learn them, or have a translator droid, or most of them can carry tech that are a universal translator that does it for them.

 

3. or just to be funny, could shove a small yellow fish down your ear like in hitch hiker's guide to the galaxy.

Edited by TalonVII
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Actually, the real simple answer is that it's a game, not a simulation. This means the focus is on building a fun, engaging game, not in dutifully reproducing every last (often tedious, frustrating) detail. Same reason you don't see a toilet in your ship either. But . . . they must have some kind of facilities for those long trips, wouldn't you think?
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I always figured these characters had implants installed in their brain that made languages easier to learn.

 

As for why you understand Rakata, Esh-Ka, among other languages. The Rakata did briefly enter the known galaxy between the two KOTOR games, only to die out. If the Republic understood that they, "made claims" to have invented the hyperdrive and once ruled the galaxy, I think the Republic (and by extension, the Empire) would know their language at least to a certain degree.

 

Esh-Ka I got no explanation for.

 

Same with Mass Effect: how is it they have the technology to instantly translate alien languages to human language for Commander Shepherd to understand while keeping it matching the lip flaps and not even making a single mistake with the syntax and grammar despite giving no time to hear the speech before translating it?

 

Sometimes you need to let things go.

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While the Rakata did invent the hyperdrive and once ruled most of the galaxy, their withdrawal from the galaxy was so complete that no trace of their language or culture was left, we know from Kotor that this was at lleast partially deliberate. This means translators would have no reference to work on.

 

And while translator device have existed, we know by Luke's time they we not in use. since they used C3-P0 as a translator for virtualy every language. So the question is whether the Kotor translator was a one off or not. And since everybody else is understanding everybody else with ease, irrelevant or technology level, such as

 

a fleshraider on tython who wants to become a Jedi

 

It is probable that the language barriers were just ignored

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Well us common thugs, :mad: visiting different planets and dealing with a multitude of peoples, would probably pick up a language or two in our travels.

 

Also with a droid on every ship I can assume we have some form of translation device which connects us to the ship or droid. Might even be a stand alone system you wear in you ear.

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And while translator device have existed, we know by Luke's time they we not in use. since they used C3-P0 as a translator for virtualy every language.

I never saw Han using C-3PO when talking to Chewbacca and he has quite a conversation with Jabba with no apparent translation at all (though of course it's possible that he could understand both wookie and hut, given his relations with both species).

Edited by Negranit
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While the Rakata did invent the hyperdrive and once ruled most of the galaxy, their withdrawal from the galaxy was so complete that no trace of their language or culture was left, we know from Kotor that this was at lleast partially deliberate. This means translators would have no reference to work on.

 

In Kotor 2 there is an item that has a description that either implies or states outright that the Rakata that Revan encountered re-entered the universe during the time between games. So there would have been some encounters with them to base a translation off of.

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This was one thing SWG had right, I loved having to learn languages from other people before I could understand them. The RP could easily be put back into games like this by giving you a choice of a few languages you knew before the story starts, and you have to learn the rest as you go. But the RP is taken out of every game these days.
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lol there is Basic language, or not? universal one.

 

but you can talk in Sith or Jawa languages, if you wanna. like in real world, you should learn at least more or less universal english, but you can also know persian or latvian language:D

 

And if you met some ancient, mysterious race, they can use own technology to understand, or telepathic Force talk like jedi ;)

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While the Rakata did invent the hyperdrive and once ruled most of the galaxy, their withdrawal from the galaxy was so complete that no trace of their language or culture was left, we know from Kotor that this was at lleast partially deliberate. This means translators would have no reference to work on.

 

And while translator device have existed, we know by Luke's time they we not in use. since they used C3-P0 as a translator for virtualy every language. So the question is whether the Kotor translator was a one off or not. And since everybody else is understanding everybody else with ease, irrelevant or technology level, such as

 

a fleshraider on tython who wants to become a Jedi

 

It is probable that the language barriers were just ignored

 

Not entirely true, Han Solo was able to talk to Greedo and Jabba without a translator in ANH.

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Well,we can assume that Jedi and Sith are taught a wide variety of languages as part of their training in youth so they can understand the various species in the galaxy.The same can be said for the military and ops groups so they can understand how to work with and understand different species languages.Smugglers and Bounty Hunters just pick it up on the go I guess since they travel around the galaxy the most
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