The editor might make a note and ask them to change it to “du”, but the German translator would be taken aback: “How can you use ‘du’ with a stranger?” “Who are you? How did you get ahold of our relic?” An English translator does not have to worry about what form of “you” to use, but a German translator would use the formal Sie. One more thing: while Russians consider the use of the formal you as a sign of respect or lack of acquaintance, Germans see the formal you as more about distance.įor example: a female NPC is intentionally interfering in a meeting of an enemy cult, while holding a relic that they are very interested in. But this only applies when directly addressing the user themselves, not the character that the user is playing as. Secondly, when speaking to the player through the in-game support system or the tutorial, Germans prefer to use the formal Sie. If there are inconsistencies in the source and the translation, it’s best to first ask the translator and then consult the client.
Firstly, you can’t just jump back and forth from formal to informal. You should keep a few things in mind when addressing a player or character. If an informal style is required, then the translator will, of course, use the informal du. If the client says that the player/character must be addressed formally, then the translator will use the formal Sie. Then, the German translator can work to pick the appropriate dialect for the character, adding some extra “spice” to the translation.įor German translators, the decision of what level of formality to use when translating texts for games depends, for the most part, on the client’s requirements. If a character in a computer game that was made outside of Germany is intended to be German, it would be helpful to clarify exactly what part of the country he or she is from. Plus, while in Germany, you go to the store to buy Tomaten and Kartoffel, in Austria you’ll have to look for Paradeiser and Erdäpfel. If it’s hard for Northern and Southern Germans to understand each other, what about the speakers outside the country, in Austria, Switzerland, and Luxembourg? Each of these countries has its own dialect of German, so it’s important to know what region you’re localizing for.įor example, in Austrian German, the gender or plural form of a noun might be different. The international community is helped in this by the so-called Hochdeutsch, the High German dialect that is generally accepted as the standard form of the German language. To this day, there are several dozen variants of these dialects, which can seriously differ from each other.
#AUSTRIAN VS GERMANY GERMAN KEYBOARD LAYOUT FREE#
Up to the 19th century, Germany was made up of separate duchies, kingdoms, and free cities, each of which had its own dialect. We can’t forget that Germany unified into a nation state quite late. However, it’s much more enjoyable to immerse yourself in a game world that is set up along your rules, your culture of language, society, and life. Today, we’ll examine what factors need to be considered to successfully launch a product on the German market.
Of course, it’s possible to sell games in English on the German-speaking market, as Germany has a fairly high level of English proficiency. It’s no surprise then, that many developers and content producers are trying to break into this market. In 2020 the German computer game market was the fifth largest in the world.
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