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  • The Auto Translator

    Hey everyone,

    I have been avidly reading your comments and suggestions about everything final fantasy, and feel a little bit wiser now. Despite the fact I am still fumbling around Vana'Diel a little, running into trees and suchlike... Anyway, this is my first post.

    My question is in relation to the auto translate function.

    I feel that generally, I have a pretty firm grasp on the concept, and have managed to successfully party with non-english speakers using it. (Not to mention using it with english speakers when I am too lazy to type out the whole place name...!!)

    So my concern is that the other day, I was in a town asking around for some help with a quest, and did a /sh {Help me out!}, only to be politely advised that in the japanese client, it means something along the lines of "I'm dead/dying, please raise me/save my life!"

    Does anyone know of any handy hints to consider when using the auto translator, both in parties and in general when communicating with non-english players?

    And any other tidbits would be much appreciated!

    Alshandra (aka Ash)



    http:// cerberusatemycookies.blogspot.com

  • #2
    Re: The Auto Translator

    there's a {please assist} which I think translate better for when you need help. Literally it translates to "please give me a hand" in japanese.
    There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot,
    but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence
    transform a yellow spot into the sun.

    - Pablo Picasso

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: The Auto Translator

      Didn't know about the {Help me out!} one but thinking about it, it certainly makes sense.
      Personally I'd say think carefully about any double meanings a phrase could have and don't assume that because it can be taken 2 ways in English the same applies in another language. Especially phrases with exclamation points. I see people use {all right!} a lot to mean the same as ok, but if you think about it, even in English 'all right!' (with a !) wouldn't mean ok.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: The Auto Translator

        =(Reward) refers to the beastmaster ability of giving treats to your pet, and doesn't mean cash-reward. I think someone's mentioned there's another 'reward' autotranslate phrase that DOES mean it...? Anyway, that's one of the big mistakes. It's -much- easier to, if you're offering money to people for something, just mention the amount of gil, followed by the letter G (for Gil).

        For example:

        /shout (Teleport: Holla) (Please) , 2000 G

        There's also the option of (Money) (You can have this). If you've sent gil recently, (Gil) actually shows up in your <tab> <item> menu.

        =(Help me out!) does indeed mean something along the lines of "Help!" , as in, I'm gonna die, save me please! . This is the other big big big Autotranslator mistake. If you're seeking members, (Looking for Members) is better. If you seek a party, (Looking for Party) is there.

        =Don't try to combine words to form something in English (except for fun with your LS mates of course). It won't translate into Japanese. Stuff like (May)(bee), Play that (Fun)(key) (Music) (White Mage), (Word) (up) (home key) (Peace) (Outpost) and so on.

        =(All Right!) translates, I'm guessing, to "Yatta!" , which is roughly "Wahoo!" or "Yay!" . If you want to agree to someting, (Yes, Please) might work better.

        =The Phrase (Pull Back) means to retreat a little ways. There isn't really an autotranslate phrase for 'pulling' the monster, or 'bring monster to party.' Might I suggest (Ranged Attack) >> <t> , or (Provoke) >> <t> instead?

        =In order to get item names into your autotranslate, you need to either have the item in your inventory already, or you need to find it in somebody's bazaar or on the AH and select it (you don't have to buy it). They need to be accessed by pressing <Tab> , then scrolling all the way down to <Items> , where you should see up to about 200 of your recently seen items. This is probably due to the wonderful fun-derful PS2 memory limitations that limit us so. Not everyone knows how to do this, so spread the word! If you're looking for particular items, it does no good to go "(Sword) NameofSwordHere (Sell?)" if you're expecting anything but English answers.

        =This isn't really autotranslator related, but in my experience, Japanese players, instead of using "Somenumber TNL," they use "@Somenumber" to denote how much experience they need to advance to the next level. Not just Japanese players mind you, lots of players from different countries use it. Just something to look out for if you've never seen it before.

        =(Hello!), I believe, translates to "Konnichi ha!" , that being "Good Afternoon!" . This, coupled with (Good Morning!) and (Good Evening!) make up the 3 main time-based Japanese greetings. If you care to do a little time zone conversion, you can use whatever's appropriate for someone else's time zone, or if not, use whatever's appropriate for your time zone. (Hello!) is fairly neutral though, so it's not something to worry over. (Nice to meet you) is time neutral as far as I know, so it's always good to use ^^

        =Use search comments to your advantage. Good things to put in there are your EXP to next level (Usually in the form of @Number >> NewlevelNumber), Subjobs available (SJ: Job, Job, Job), Areas available to you (if you're of the correct level range), and so on. The expansion names aren't in autotranslator (whee!...), so the common thing to do is something like (Lufaise Meadows) O for CoP, and (Al Zahbi) O for ToAU.

        =Oh yes, Circle means "Yes" , and X means "No" in search comments and speech. I know American Playstation controls would have you think those are switched, but in Japan, the control schemes are to where Circle button is accept, and X button is cancel. That's also why some localized RPGs have Circle as Accept instead of the 'normal' button, because it wasn't changed from the Japanese original. Anyway, use Circle to indicate you have something, and X to say you do not.
        Wevrain - Shiva

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: The Auto Translator

          There isn't really an autotranslate phrase for 'pulling' the monster, or 'bring monster to party.' Might I suggest (Ranged Attack) >> <t> , or (Provoke) >> <t> instead?
          there is the perfectly good [fish]

          or [fisherman] for the puller
          [main]@75 = BLM+WAR
          [sub]@37+ = NIN THF RNG WHM RDM

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: The Auto Translator

            Originally posted by Jenifa
            there is the perfectly good [fish]

            or [fisherman] for the puller
            I think [Fishing] would be better for pulling. [fish] probably translstes to "sakana", which is the noun for fish, not the verb, to fish.

            Sadly there are a lot of idiots out there who seem to fail to realize that Japanese is indeed different from English and you can't expect anyone to understand what you mean by "Peacock [Charm]", especially considering [Charm] is the BST ability, not an item.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: The Auto Translator

              Originally posted by PTT
              =(Reward) refers to the beastmaster ability of giving treats to your pet, and doesn't mean cash-reward. I think someone's mentioned there's another 'reward' autotranslate phrase that DOES mean it...? Anyway, that's one of the big mistakes. It's -much- easier to, if you're offering money to people for something, just mention the amount of gil, followed by the letter G (for Gil).
              Yes, there's now "(Reward)," which is the BST ability, and "(Reward:)," which is what you'd expect (note the colon).
              Ellipses on Fenrir
              There is no rush. If you're not willing to take your time, don't be surprised when no one wants to give you much of theirs.
              ,
              . . .

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: The Auto Translator

                "OK" is widely understood by Japanese players, so don't try to substitute an autotranslator for that. Also SJ works for Sub Job as thats not in the translator either. Don't forget that Japanese and English grammer are not the same, something which makes sense in english may not make sense in japanese. Keep it simple and don't go overboard, for the many phrases that are missing from the translator, or just to be polite and make an effort, try using;

                http://shigemo.com/FFXI/nihongo_guide.html


                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: The Auto Translator

                  Help me out! is in refence, I believe, to the /help command. At least, that's how I've always looked at it.

                  Another auto translater tip, if something is a full sentense (Can I have it?) it probably translates just fine.

                  If it is a single word that is lower case (please) then it probably translates fine.

                  If it is a single word with a capital letter (Reward) (Charm) (Attack) (Assault) (Deploy) then it is probably a game-term of some kind. For example, Reward and Charm are BST abilities. Attack, Assault, and Deploy are all pet commands (though Assault is also a type of mini-mission in the game, it was originally added to the auto-translate for the pet commad)

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: The Auto Translator

                    Oh, as for general tips...

                    Except for the handful of FFXI-specific abbreviations (WAR, SMN, SJ, etc.) and "ok," try not to abbreviate when you do use English. "You" not "u," "too" not "2," etc.

                    Using symbols (=, <, >, @) can help make things a little more clear when you're talking about order or function or something. (Enemy) #2 + (White Mage) (/heal) = (Enemy) (Attack) (White Mage)... (Enemy) #2 + (Fisherman) (Run away!) = (/heal) (No thanks.) (Trying to explain that when the puller has a link and is going to zone it, it's a good idea to stand up before he gets back to camp. I don't know if this works or not.)
                    Ellipses on Fenrir
                    There is no rush. If you're not willing to take your time, don't be surprised when no one wants to give you much of theirs.
                    ,
                    . . .

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: The Auto Translator

                      Or... (Enemy) x2! (Please) (provoke) x1; (Jumping to new area!) (Healing magic) (No thanks!)... but you know... semantics...

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: The Auto Translator

                        I think [Fishing] would be better for pulling. [fish] probably translstes to "sakana", which is the noun for fish, not the verb, to fish.
                        I think you should credit the JP's with more intelligence...
                        [main]@75 = BLM+WAR
                        [sub]@37+ = NIN THF RNG WHM RDM

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: The Auto Translator

                          Originally posted by Jenifa
                          I think you should credit the JP's with more intelligence...
                          They aren't a hive-mind, you know. I don't see what's so wrong about using [Ranged Attack]? It's what I use, and no one has ever been confused as to what I'm doing.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: The Auto Translator

                            (Trying to explain that when the puller has a link and is going to zone it, it's a good idea to stand up before he gets back to camp. I don't know if this works or not.)
                            i dont understand this ....!!

                            puller gets a link and decides to zone both? who needs to stand up? just the whm or ? and why wouldnt PT members not know to stand up anyway when fighting a monster?

                            its been a long week and i may be missing the point...

                            Double Post Edited:
                            They aren't a hive-mind, you know. I don't see what's so wrong about using [Ranged Attack]? It's what I use, and no one has ever been confused as to what I'm doing.
                            [fisherman] is the accepted term for someone pulling as there is other ways of pulling than [ranged attack] e.g provoke, magic, chi blast. Nothing wrong with [ranged attack] tho and yes people will understand you.

                            What is the hive-mind comment about with relevance to the quote you make?
                            Last edited by Jenifa; 07-07-2006, 06:41 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
                            [main]@75 = BLM+WAR
                            [sub]@37+ = NIN THF RNG WHM RDM

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: The Auto Translator

                              Originally posted by Jenifa
                              i dont understand this ....!!

                              puller gets a link and decides to zone both? who needs to stand up? just the whm or ? and why wouldnt PT members not know to stand up anyway when fighting a monster?

                              its been a long week and i may be missing the point...
                              Puller gets a link, and mages are healing (as mages are wont to do). Doesn't matter if the puller is trying to zone both, or just the link. If he runs past with a link or aggro in tow while the mages are healing, the mob in question will start attacking the mages instead of following him to the zone. So now the mages have to zone, too (unless of course Sleep is a viable strategy), so the whole party might as well zone.

                              I gave up trying to explain this when I couldn't even get it through the NA puller's head after about a dozen occurences in Garlaige.
                              Ellipses on Fenrir
                              There is no rush. If you're not willing to take your time, don't be surprised when no one wants to give you much of theirs.
                              ,
                              . . .

                              Comment

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