Multilingual Character vs Only-Speaks-Bad-English Me

[IxenArcanissar]

Forumers,

We recently ported over our characters from 3.5e to 5e, so my character (named Lukas) is a Theurge of Life Wizard who venerates the Red Knight. I'm also the only caster in our group of 4, which is oddly a unique experience in my D&Ding as a player. I'm literally the guy enabling the party to do cool things like teleport or go invisible, as well as keeping them alive. In a lot of ways, my character is a larger-than-life has-an-answer-for-everything sort of dude. Lukas is also gifted linguist, and he's mastered 6 different languages. His entire spellbook and his entire notetaking system is written in Celestial (a decision I made a long time ago). There is more depth to this character and his interactions with the party than any other character I've ever imagined, and we have a good thing going where basically I am the moral center of the party (I'm neutral good).

The issue that I have is that I feel like my language conveys I'm just playing "myself as a wizard," not roleplaying another person. Frankly, that's not fair to the character. I can't do accents (also Lukas doesn't really have one, in my head), and I only know English. I took a little bit of Spanish in high school, but so did almost everyone I'm playing with, and me suddenly trying to bring Spanish as a new exotic language into the game would be a little odd. Instead, I'm looking at using Latin for Elvish, and a conglomeration of different "fake languages" to exemplify Celestial.

Does anyone have any tips for bringing a multilingual character to life when you only speak one language as a person? Has anyone done something similar and maybe can shed some light on what they did? At this point I'm just writing down some nouns in the other languages that I want to use, as well as some nicknames from the other languages for the rest of the party members that I want to pepper into my conversations with them.

Thanks so much, guys!
IxenArcanissar (<------ that means "Pyromancer" in 3.5 Greyhawk's Draconic language!!!!)

TLDR: My character is a master of multiple languages, but as a player I only speak one language. How can I convey that my character is a gifted linguist when I only know English? Tips, advice, or stories from your table that are related to the subject would be appreciated.

[PhantomSoul]

If we're putting aside the option of putting on different accents (they don't need to be existing ones / ones you've heard!), one option might be to change speech register or to use different types of words to reflect the language you're speaking. For example, you could use complex phrases and syntax with a lot of latinate/longer words in English when you're relaying what your character says in celestial, but something more normal and natural for you when speaking common.

Ex.
Celestial: Following inordinate amounts of effort on the part of my stalwart companions, the captive has been liberated.
Common: After a ton of effort by the party, the man is now free.
[Other]: My awesome gang did crazy lots of work and we freed the guy.

[DeathEatsCurry]

When speaking any of the languages primarily, just clarify you're doing that, maybe by describing what you want to say rather than saying it.

When you're talking in Common, drop the occassional word from another language. Just think up some stuff, or use the books to figure out some cool stuff. Instead of calling them an idiot, you might call them the Dwarvish word for idiot. Instead of saying splendid! you might use Celestial for that, etc. It could be a fun way to sprinkle some uniqueness to your linguist without having to learn a bunch of conlangs, or coming across as annoying (via accents).

[Armored Walrus]

No need to use Latin for Elvish, since there already is an existing Elvish language. Google elvish translator and you'll find a ton of sites that allow you to translate English into Tolkien's Elvish. There are also a few Black Speech lexicons that can give you some English to Mordor conversions if you happen to speak infernal or abyssal, or maybe goblin.

Chaotic Shiny ( http://chaoticshiny.com/langreplace.php ) has a nice option for simply typing in an English phrase and then it will shift vowels and consonants to spit out something that sounds harsher or more melodic.

[scalyfreak]

Speaking from the perspective of someone who does speak two languages fluently, I don't understand why someone would sprinkle their conversation with words the others involved in said conversation do not understand.

There are very few notable exceptions: If the English language doesn't have a word for what I want to convey, I will grab a word that does, regardless of language, and then immediately attempt to explain the word's meaning in English.

Or, if i don't know the English word for something, which happens sometimes when discussing very specialized topics (botany, cooking, power tools, automotive parts, etc), I might blurt out the word I do know, followed by a lame joke about how frustrating it is that I still come across language barriers at my age.

But throughout regular conversations, once the human brain has switched into the "English Gear" switching in and out between languages actually becomes annoying for me because it requires more thought and effort on what I am saying, and it makes it harder for me to listen to the person I'm talking with. It doesn't add anything for the person I'm talking to either, so why do it at all?

Now, if you want to play your character as casting all his spells in Celestial, while speaking Common with the group, that might require you to learn a few words to use as a part of roleplaying the character, but that's separate.

My main point is, just because your character knows multiple languages doesn't mean you the player needs to speak a different one for each of them. Observe how multi-lingual individuals in our real world you act and speak, and pattern your character after that.

[Hathorym]

I have been thinking about the same issue as my character speaks 8 languages. I am going to try folded index cards with each language written on a side. Then I'll place it in front of me when speaking a language other than Common to convey what language I am speaking. It will also help the other players know whether or not they can understand me.

[Segev]

I do different voices - not really accents - to represent tone of an overall language. Well, maybe accents, when I can and it seems "natural" to represent a language in question.

Generally, though, you don't need to. Just say, "Bob says this in orc," before saying what Bob says. To bring the character to life, play up understanding all those languages, and maybe make up bad puns that aren't even puns, but claim the ywork if you know 2 or 3 of the langugaes.

Some of my smuggest moments were when I caught on to puns that only work if you have a smattering of Spanish and Japanese (the first of which I used to speak conversationally, and the second of which I have just enough words of to recognize when subtitles take liberties with transliteration) as well as English. I'd give examples, but they elude me at the moment.

[Beelzebubba]

Every time you speak a language other than Common, clear your throat and use both hands to form "air quotes" next to your head.

Speak Elvish with a John Cleese Monty Python and the Holy Grail French accent.

Dwarvish, a drunk Scott.

Orcish, a surly Russian.

Celestial, do it in a sing-songy falsetto.

Halfling, pretend you just took in a lungful of helium.

...

Your table will love you for this.

[scalyfreak]

Some of my smuggest moments were when I caught on to puns that only work if you have a smattering of Spanish and Japanese (the first of which I used to speak conversationally, and the second of which I have just enough words of to recognize when subtitles take liberties with transliteration) as well as English. I'd give examples, but they elude me at the moment.

I can't remember any of mine either. They're not nearly as fun when no one else understands them though...

[Segev]

I can't remember any of mine either. They're not nearly as fun when no one else understands them though...

To be fair, I found them funny because I noticed them in other works.

I think they mostly appear in webcomics, which tend to have a large overlap amongst their writers with anime fans, I've noticed.

[Vogie]

Some ideas of things that you can do, using some existing IPs that most people - the other players, would be familiar with

Common - Normal Speech
Dwarvish - Gimli-style, Halted, gruff, Sounding aggrevated
Elvish - Like an Upper Class British person, sounding like everything is below you, very polite.
Undercommon - Like a lower class British person, where it's all fine and kind of amusing
Giant - Loud, Abrupt, points out the obvious. Sounds like the Father from I married an Axe murderer or Drax from Guardians of the galaxy
Gnomish - liberal application of large words, like the idea of technobabble but applied to everything
Goblin or Orcish - varies wildly depending on your world's depictions of goblins or Orcs.
Halfling - The Hobbits on LOTR, almost childlike.
Abyssal or Infernal - Speaking while growling or rolling Rs with a low voice. Almost growling, even at a whisper.
Celestial - Similar to the above suggestion, like listening to any Patrick Stewart Character. very verbose & precise.
Draconic - Smaug-like, Mix of Elvish & Undercommon, Where everything is below you, but it's amusing to you
Deep Speech - Sounds like Chanting, almost poetic, add random consonants
Primordial - Like the Elcor from Mass effect, or the Adem from Kingkiller Chronicles . Monotone, with the emotions are stated before and after the sentence.
Sylvan - Similar to Mab from the Dresden Files - Like a lawyer or politician, avoiding lying by never saying anything specific.

[IxenArcanissar]

My main point is, just because your character knows multiple languages doesn't mean you the player needs to speak a different one for each of them. Observe how multi-lingual individuals in our real world you act and speak, and pattern your character after that.

Part of the point of me asking for advice on this is because I only know English - in other words, I have zero idea how multilingual people in our world use language, as I've only encountered a select few and the ones I did encounter only used English because that is all I know! Circular reasoning, but it makes sense. ;)

Also, what you said makes sense. It's possible that bringing other languages (gibberish to the other players) into the mix will not help make my character more real. It's possible that it will just make everyone stop and say, "Really, dude?"


Every time you speak a language other than Common, clear your throat and use both hands to form "air quotes" next to your head.

Speak Elvish with a John Cleese Monty Python and the Holy Grail French accent.

Dwarvish, a drunk Scott.

Orcish, a surly Russian.

Celestial, do it in a sing-songy falsetto.

Halfling, pretend you just took in a lungful of helium.

...

Your table will love you for this.

I appreciate your thoughts, friend, but I can't do accents. Like, I'm quite terrible at them. I know this after long, long hours of trying and failing to sound French for theatre in high school.
Sadly, an option like this is mostly out of the question - although I might be able to do the Celestial one. The Halfling one would be friggin hilarious the first time and obnoxious the rest.

[Cybren]

Have you tried getting the basketball from space jam and having people with fluency in the language you want to learn touch it, causing their talent to be drawn away and stored in the ball?

[IxenArcanissar]

Have you tried getting the basketball from space jam and having people with fluency in the language you want to learn touch it, causing their talent to be drawn away and stored in the ball?

Uh.... no. That might be my problem. :P

[Armored Walrus]

I get scalyfreak's point in that most people want to speak in order to be understood, so will use the language of the listener if they know it. However, it depends on the character you're portraying. Many people sprinkle foreign phrases into their speech in order to seem worldly or learned, or some other adjective.

"He has a certain je ne sais quois."
"Hasta la vista, baby."

Hell, English speakers borrow from Latin and Greek all the time, and most of us only know the common phrases, like quid pro quo, etc. (oh, and et cetera, for that matter) So I think there's reason for you to be thinking about sprinkling some of those phrases in.

[scalyfreak]

Part of the point of me asking for advice on this is because I only know English - in other words, I have zero idea how multilingual people in our world use language, as I've only encountered a select few and the ones I did encounter only used English because that is all I know! Circular reasoning, but it makes sense. ;)

You've probably seen them in movies or TV shows though.

Look at the Lord of the Rings movies. The character Aragorn was actually raised by elves, so naturally he is fluent in Quenya. However, he only speaks it with other elves, for example with his fiancee. With the hobbits he speaks the common tongue, and with Legolas as well, since not doing so would exclude the rest of the group from what is being said.

Now, if Legolas and Aragorn were captured by poorly educated orcs and needed to secretly plot their escape, I'm sure they would do so in Quenya in order to keep the orcs from learning of their plans.


I get scalyfreak's point in that most people want to speak in order to be understood, so will use the language of the listener if they know it. However, it depends on the character you're portraying. Many people sprinkle foreign phrases into their speech in order to seem worldly or learned, or some other adjective.

I deliberately try to avoid that, at all times, because I worry that people who don't know me will think I'm a pretentious snob... :smalltongue:



"He has a certain je ne sais quois."
"Hasta la vista, baby."

Hell, English speakers borrow from Latin and Greek all the time, and most of us only know the common phrases, like quid pro quo, etc. (oh, and et cetera, for that matter) So I think there's reason for you to be thinking about sprinkling some of those phrases in.

True. The phrases you suggested are common enough though that most English speakers recognize them and understand the meaning. If you replace your first example with, "he has a certain pondus", very few English speakers would understand what you mean...

[JackOfAllBuilds]

One idea I've had is if players know different languages (like my friends, one knows Japanese, one knows Spanish, one knows French) take one of the languages their character knows, and use one for the other.

Example, French for Elvish. Then use text-to-speech translation apps

[Laserlight]

My wife is fluent in several languages and will shift between French and English in the same sentence...if the other person is fluent in both. Otherwise she just uses the language the other person can understand.

I don't think you really need to do much. "I curse the drover in Orcish" or "I speak to the high priest in Celestial" or "I say Thanks in Elvish" should get the point across. If you want more, you could develop a phrase that signals what language you're using. "Praise be to the Exalted Sun, we need a resurrection spell, Reverend Father" signals Celestial, for instance. "Curse you, by the black fang of Ragnak!" for Orcish.

[PhantomSoul]

My wife is fluent in several languages and will shift between French and English in the same sentence...if the other person is fluent in both. Otherwise she just uses the language the other person can understand.

That's my experience too (I'm a simultaneous bilingual and have always lived in largely bilingual areas) -- you occasionally even get slip-ups where you use the 'wrong' language and don't notice, often triggered by either the subject or based on people talking in one of the languages (or something similar) in the background.

It's also definitely felt to be quite rude to knowingly and intentionally use a language you know the whole group can't understand (if there's a language that would work for everyone and/or the goal isn't for someone to get more language practice).

[Armored Walrus]

I deliberately try to avoid that, at all times, because I worry that people who don't know me will think I'm a pretentious snob... :smalltongue:

Doesn't mean OP's character should. I'm just trying to answer OP's question. Depending on the character he's trying to portray, I gave him some options as to how he could go about sprinkling "foreign" words into his character's speech.

Everyone saying "Just say 'I say in Dwarvish ...'" I think is missing the point as well. OP asked for ways to incorporate words that sound like the languages the character knows might sound. Why dumb it down? I think he could have figured out how to handwave it on his own.

[scalyfreak]

Doesn't mean OP's character should.

Doesn't mean he should not either.

It was more a roundabout way of suggesting that a character who desperately wants to be seen as learned and worldly may suffer some some IC backlash from the more short-tempered members of the party if he chooses to take this route.

[LeonBH]

Have you tried getting the basketball from space jam and having people with fluency in the language you want to learn touch it, causing their talent to be drawn away and stored in the ball?

Holy crap, someone made a Space Jam joke. I love it.

To the OP: I speak 3 languages and I plan on playing with friends in 2 weeks' time, but as the DM. Planning on using a language in such a way that the players hear the words they can't understand, and having a translator immediately explain to the party what it means.

[scalyfreak]

Someone in my D&D campaign made space jam jokes earlier today. I'm officially freaked out.

:smalleek:

[IxenArcanissar]

Everyone saying "Just say 'I say in Dwarvish ...'" I think is missing the point as well. OP asked for ways to incorporate words that sound like the languages the character knows might sound. Why dumb it down? I think he could have figured out how to handwave it on his own.

Just because my Int doesn't quite match my character's 20 Int score, I had actually figured this out. That's how I've been doing it so far.


Doesn't mean he should not either.

It was more a roundabout way of suggesting that a character who desperately wants to be seen as learned and worldly may suffer some some IC backlash from the more short-tempered members of the party if he chooses to take this route.

The goal isn't to seem more worldly, although that's probably how it would come across to the party. Hm... I will try sprinkling some obscure tongues into the gameplay tonight and let y'all know how it works. Thanks everyone!

[Segev]

There is an episode of Stargate SG-1 where the team winds up in Cold War-Era USA, appearing in a highly secure government warehouse. Guards are upon them almost immediately. One of them says something in Russian to the team, and Daniel Jackson - who speaks something like 11 languages fluently - instinctively responds, "Niet."

<Colonel O'Neil> Daniel, what did he ask you? *mildly concerned/annoyed*
<Daniel Jackson> He asked if we were Russian spies. I said 'no.'

After a beat, he gets an "oops, I just screwed up big time" look.


Though that's a "bad" situation for it, that's the kind of thing that can happen with a multilingual person: they hear the language and respond instinctively in it, not even realizing they've spoken a "different" language than they normally do because, hey, it parsed for them.

[Beleriphon]

For any draconic I can only suggest checking out Thu'um from Skyrim. The whole language has around 640 words spoken in the game (fus roh dah!), and other written material in the game but its enough to come up with a few short phrases.

https://www.thuum.org/translator.php

A few examples:

Fus ro dah - Force balance power

Or a more D&D thing:
Mul suleyk - strong ability (basically a character's strength score)
Dun suleyk - grace ability (dexterity score)

Thu'um is aweasome for draconic because that's basically what it is. It helps there's a pretty well developed writing system too boot.

https://www.thuum.org/learn/grammar/alphabet.php