• Hi all. We have had reports of member's signatures being edited to include malicious content. You can rest assured this wasn't done by staff and we can find no indication that the forums themselves have been compromised.

    However, remember to keep your passwords secure. If you use similar logins on multiple sites, people and even bots may be able to access your account.

    We always recommend using unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication if possible. Make sure you are secure.
  • Be sure to join the discussion on our discord at: Discord.gg/serebii
  • If you're still waiting for the e-mail, be sure to check your junk/spam e-mail folders

Do they speak a different language in Unova than they do in the other regions?

G

GirlsILikeThem

Well-Known Member
The anime doesn't count, as it is quite possible they made it seem like people in Unova speak the same language for convenience's sake. Ash doesn't have the time or the patience to learn a new language.

However, it seems more likely that people in Unova MUST speak a different language than the people in the other four known regions. Unova is too far away for them to have the same language unless they were discovered by the ancestors of people from the known four regions and settled there. But even if this were the case, the language in Unova still would have changed quite a bit. For instance, they would have certain slang terms and dialects unique to Unova.

And speaking of dialects, it is highly doubtful that someone living in Fortree City in Hoeen speaks the same dialect as someone from Sunyshore City in Sinnoh. The people of Fortree likely have a very rural dialect. The dialogue that is shown on the games is put in the standard dialect of whatever language you are playing the game in, but I think this dialogue should be looked on more as cleaned-up dialogue than what they are actually saying.

It's just that it is not possible for everyone in the entire world to speak one language, and one dialect of that language. Sure there's scientific jargon, for those people who study Unown and such, but jargon is not enough to exhibit the language range of a world.

Of course, there are other regions left to discover (most likely). I do not count the non-main series game regions, such as Orre, as actually being part of the Pokemon world. Those regions are made for convenience sake, just like Ash "suddenly" knowing the language of Unova. But there has to be some variations of language. It just doesn't make sense for there not to be. ;023;
 
K

Kacho

You are next.
(what's the Ekans doing here?)

for anime, game, and manga, the creator uses one language for the sake of convention.

as for actual regions, different regions of a same country speaks different dialect, it's possible. In different parts of US, China, Japan, etc., people speaks different dialect.

as for language between all 4 regions. Even IF they speak a different language, they would probably speak a language that other generations can speak, I mean, trainers have to TRADE or BATTLE opponents.... think of it like internationalization of languages in pokemon world
 
N

Nessea

Johto trainer
I cant really say that seeing that i dont pay attention to small details like this. But if this matters at all about the placement of these regions, then i would lean towards the side of yes they do. I say this because, unova is based off of new york city, usa. So yeah that may be a reason why they speak a different language where as the other four regions are based in japan. I could be wrong about this but its just my opinion
 
Aegon

Aegon

Well-Known Member
Of course there's variation, but you seem to be forgetting that this is the Pokémon World. You're comparing it to the real world, when they are not alike, especially regarding aspects such as how the "countries" are united and their history. We don't know if certain regions were conquered by others, and if customs and language were imposed. It's impossible to be certain. Sure, one can theorise, but it all comes down to the fact that Pokémon is merely a game, and it's clear Game Freak has no plans to reveal the entire history of the Pokémon World (I sincerely doubt there is a complete, unquestionable version anyway).

So, yes, I'd definitely agree there are minor variations, but I wouldn't go so far to say there are language barriers present between the regions. They all seem to be fall under the same practices and major principles (a party or organisation in charge of the whole Pokémon World seems quite plausible), more or less, while featuring small, but noticeable, differences.
 
Y

Yata

The Prophet
I'd like to think they do, because like you guys said it's based off of new york instead of parts of japan. The games do have npc's that do speak french, german, and spanish... But yeah, convenience.
 
G

Gelatino95

Not a tool
Ripping apart this argument is going to be fun.

GirlsILikeThem said:
However, it seems more likely that people in Unova MUST speak a different language than the people in the other four known regions. Unova is too far away for them to have the same language unless they were discovered by the ancestors of people from the known four regions and settled there.
Click to expand...

It all has to do with history. Spain is incredibly far away from Latin America, yet they speak the same language because the Spanish set up colonies there at the beginning of the early modern period. On the other hand, Spain is bordering France, yet Spanish isn't the official language of France and French isn't the official language of Spain. For the most part, distance doesn't have a ton of influence on language groups.

But even if this were the case, the language in Unova still would have changed quite a bit. For instance, they would have certain slang terms and dialects unique to Unova.
Click to expand...

It's possible that these simply aren't reflected in the dialogue in the games. Accent, for example, can't be expressed through text. Also remember that in the modern age, the world is well-connected with communication technology, so languages are likely to be very similar. People in America and people in England both speak English in a way that's very hard to distinguich through text unless you can pick out certain terms that differ by region; as stated, these terms could have been neglected in the dialogue, or maybe there are subtle differences in language that you simply haven't picked up on.

And speaking of dialects, it is highly doubtful that someone living in Fortree City in Hoeen speaks the same dialect as someone from Sunyshore City in Sinnoh. The people of Fortree likely have a very rural dialect. The dialogue that is shown on the games is put in the standard dialect of whatever language you are playing the game in, but I think this dialogue should be looked on more as cleaned-up dialogue than what they are actually saying.
Click to expand...

What does "cleaned-up" mean? And also, if we're still in the game universe (as you've already dismissed the anime universe for these purposes) Fortree city is only a short walk from Mauville or Lilycove, two urban centers similar to Sunyshore, which can be reached in a matter of minutes on foot. It's unlikely that unique dialects would develop in such small areas.

It's just that it is not possible for everyone in the entire world to speak one language
Click to expand...

Anything's possible

Of course, there are other regions left to discover (most likely). I do not count the non-main series game regions, such as Orre, as actually being part of the Pokemon world. Those regions are made for convenience sake,
Click to expand...

Wouldn't it be more "convenient" to use an old region for a game rather than start a whole new one?
 
K

Kacho

You are next.
Gelatino95 said:
Fortree city is only a short walk from Mauville or Lilycove, two urban centers similar to Sunyshore, which can be reached in a matter of minutes on foot. It's unlikely that unique dialects would develop in such small areas.
Click to expand...

Or if you notice, a BIKE RIDE.
Do you see/remember all those bikers before and after Fortree?

It will be like walking from one end of a metropolitan to another
 
N

Notalwaysbalckanddwhite

Neighbor? Neighbor!
I think they speak one language but have different accents, because Ash already was able to talk to Juniper and Iris when he got there.
 
Y

Yata

The Prophet
Gelatino95 brings up quite a few good points. None of which I can really argue with. But I can say that what we term as 'convenient' is that every region invariably will seem to soak the same language as whatever real world region the game is distributed in. then they just don't address where all the foreign languages in the actual game come from.

I hope that made sense.
 
R

randomspot555

Well-Known Member
Well, we do know of the EXISTENCE of other languages in the Pokemon world. Lt. Surge is identified as "The Lightning American", a war vet, and in the Japanese anime, speaks Japanese with an American accent and sprinkles English words in with Japanese (though it's usually quick expressions rather than full sentences). Fantina is also from another "country" (though what country that is is anyone's guess). In the English games, she uses French phrases and in the anime (in both I think the JP and English dub) speaks with a French accent.

There's also that NPC in Platinum who speaks a random foreign language. In the JP game, I think he speaks Italian. In English, he speaks French.

But keep in mind this is a fictional world. LAnguage barriers just don't make sense in terms of all this. It's best to assume that the languae everyone primarily speaks is the same, but customs and society do vary.
 
P

PerseusRad

I see you. And you.
Well...

Kacho said:
It's GOOD. That's the whole point of "General Pokemon Discussion"
unless the discussion gets redundant and out of line, then mods will usually step in here.
Click to expand...

It is good, but also a little bad. I seem to remember there being a Debate Thread. Correct me, and apologies if I am wrong.
 
I

Indigoodra

Well-Known Member
Kacho said:
as for language between all 4 regions. Even IF they speak a different language, they would probably speak a language that other generations can speak, I mean, trainers have to TRADE or BATTLE opponents.... think of it like internationalization of languages in pokemon world
Click to expand...

How do americans battle the Japanese players?

Ohnoes, what a dilemma.
 
K

Kacho

You are next.
PerseusRad said:
It is good, but also a little bad. I seem to remember there being a Debate Thread. Correct me, and apologies if I am wrong.
Click to expand...

I think the debate thread is in Miscellaneous Section, totally not pokemon related :p

on another news, I doubt all people in the same region has the same festival/holidays/history. It just doesn't happen like that, as we all know.
 
F

Flame Mistress

Well-Known Member
But if they did have different languages, then the retired Rocket Grunt in Iccirus City (you know, the one who tried to revive Team Rocket after it shut down once and for all) wouldn't be speaking broken English, since Unkva appears to be his home region, right?
 
P

PerseusRad

I see you. And you.
Kacho said:
I think the debate thread is in Miscellaneous Section, totally not pokemon related :p

on another news, I doubt all people in the same region has the same festival/holidays/history. It just doesn't happen like that, as we all know.
Click to expand...

Heh. Sorry, I thought that I was probably wrong. Should have done my homework. It would be interesting, and even pretty cool. Inconvenience is a big factor as to why it's not.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top