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Message no. 1
From: Raven <florian.goll@******.UNI-WEIMAR.DE>
Subject: Things to do in Seattle when you are German
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 10:06:14 +0200
Hi

Another GMing question.

I sent my Players from Germany to Seattle. Unfortunatly none of them
speaks any English.
So what can I do with them in Seattle (told them to learn the language
from the beginning, but I'm only the stupid and ignorant GM :-))
Any suggestions, flames, comments????
Message no. 2
From: Rune Fostervoll <runefo@***.UIO.NO>
Subject: Re: Things to do in Seattle when you are German
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 10:07:24 +0000
> Another GMing question.
>
> I sent my Players from Germany to Seattle. Unfortunatly none of them
> speaks any English.
> So what can I do with them in Seattle (told them to learn the language
> from the beginning, but I'm only the stupid and ignorant GM :-))
> Any suggestions, flames, comments????

Well... if any of them has skillwires, a language chip would be a
good idea. Also, there ought to be pocket translators around. (Speak
into it in german, and out comes english, or whatever).



--
Rune Fostervoll

"But the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have,
Than fly to others that we no not of."
Message no. 3
From: Caric <caric@********.COM>
Subject: Re: Things to do in Seattle when you are German
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 05:22:22 -0700
| Hi

Hello. :)

| Another GMing question.
|
| I sent my Players from Germany to Seattle. Unfortunatly none of them
| speaks any English.
| So what can I do with them in Seattle (told them to learn the language
| from the beginning, but I'm only the stupid and ignorant GM :-))
| Any suggestions, flames, comments????

How about sub-titles ;-)

If any of them have chip jacks they could always pop a language chip in.


-Caric

"I was NAKED!!!!!!!!!!!"
-Blackjack our Racoon Shaman when asked why he ran away from one
particular fight."
Message no. 4
From: David Buehrer <dbuehrer@****.ORG>
Subject: Re: Things to do in Seattle when you are German
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 07:09:11 -0600
Raven wrote:
|
| Hi
|
| Another GMing question.
|
| I sent my Players from Germany to Seattle. Unfortunatly none of them
| speaks any English.
| So what can I do with them in Seattle (told them to learn the language
| from the beginning, but I'm only the stupid and ignorant GM :-))
| Any suggestions, flames, comments????

If the PCs willingly accepted a job in a foreign country then dealing
with the language barrier is their problem, not your's.

-David
--
/^\/^\/^\/^\/^\/^\/^\ dbuehrer@****.org /^\/^\/^\/^\/^\/^\/^\
"His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking
alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free."
~~~http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1068/homepage.htm~~~~
Message no. 5
From: Mike Elkins <MikeE@*********.COM>
Subject: Re: Things to do in Seattle when you are German -Reply
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 10:34:38 -0500
>Also, there ought to be pocket translators
>around. (Speak into it in german, and out
>comes english, or whatever).

Systems like that are already beginning to exist.
You can have a laptop that understands about
1000 phrases in English and will play them out in
any of four languages today; the U.S. Army has
some in Bosnia today. If you're feeling
generous you might consider this a rating 1
translation system. In 50 years I predict a rating
three system would be available for a hundred #.

Double-Domed Mike
P.S. this message was dictated using an
unnamed product that I helped write!
Message no. 6
From: mike.paff@*****.COM
Subject: Re: Things to do in Seattle when you are German -Reply
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 07:46:13 -0700
From: Mike Elkins <MikeE@*********.COM>
> P.S. this message was dictated using an
> unnamed product that I helped write!
>
LOL! I see Gurth's comment got you a little bit nervous.

Mike Paff
Message no. 7
From: "Fisher, Victor" <Victor-Fisher@******.COM>
Subject: Things to do in Seattle when you are German -Reply
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 10:56:05 -0400
>>Also, there ought to be pocket translators
>>around. (Speak into it in german, and out
>>comes english, or whatever).
>
>Systems like that are already beginning to exist.
>You can have a laptop that understands about
>1000 phrases in English and will play them out in
>any of four languages today; the U.S. Army has
>some in Bosnia today. If you're feeling
>generous you might consider this a rating 1
>translation system. In 50 years I predict a rating
>three system would be available for a hundred #.


Yeah, but these are definite Etiquette no-no's, in business
dealings. Or shadowbiz in general. Not only is there the slight chance
that some word or phrase can be misinterpreted by the machine, people
tend to think people using translators are 'slow' [I didn't say stupid],
and if they're of a devious sort, they can pull more over those people's
eyes [a SOP when fixers are doling out biz to runners, anyway]. Do you
really want to risk your life, cause of a typo?
And while some businesspeople would have no problem using
translators, there's groups like the Japanese, where it's a definite
no-no. Today, many of the problems Americans have with doing buisness
with the Japanese is an unwillingness to understand their language and
culture. [And the Japanese tend to be rather stiff necked about the
whole deal also, as Americans refuse to do biz in the 'proper' way]. The
benefit to knowing a person's language/culture, is that it gives you
valuable insight into how he thinks and works, insights you can use to
your advantage. And you don't end up committing fatal faux-pas' like a
certain US Vice President did, when he said, 'I'm learning latin, so I
can communicate with our latin american brothers.'. {not the exact
quote, but close enough so's you get the idea}.
I'd say using a translator to a person or group slightly prejudiced
by their use, would add a +1 or +2 to that person's Charisma based and
Etiquette rolls. In game terms, speaking a language from the short term
memory dumped down from a chip wouldn't incur this penalty, as it's use
is invisible to all but the most astute listeners.
And don't forget the necessary time lag, not from the machine
translating what you've said, but so's your original words and the
machine's translated ones don't run on top of each other [sort of like
when Radar and Colonel Potter on MASH would talk to each other :-]
Message no. 8
From: Spike <u5a77@*****.CS.KEELE.AC.UK>
Subject: Re: Things to do in Seattle when you are German
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 17:19:12 +0100
|
|Hi
|
|Another GMing question.
|
|I sent my Players from Germany to Seattle. Unfortunatly none of them
|speaks any English.
|So what can I do with them in Seattle (told them to learn the language
|from the beginning, but I'm only the stupid and ignorant GM :-))
|Any suggestions, flames, comments????
|

They could buy linguasofts.......
(That's a quick and easy method...)

If they don't have chipjacks, then translators will have to do....
--
______________________________________________________________________________
|u5a77@*****.cs.keele.ac.uk| "Are you pondering what I'm pondering Pinky?" |
|Andrew Halliwell | |
|Principal subjects in:- | "I think so brain, but this time, you control |
|Comp Sci & Electronics | the Encounter suit, and I'll do the voice..." |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|GCv3.1 GCS/EL>$ d---(dpu) s+/- a- C++ U N++ o+ K- w-- M+/++ PS+++ PE- Y t+ |
|5++ X+/++ R+ tv+ b+ D G e>PhD h/h+ !r! !y-|I can't say F**K either now! :( |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 9
From: david lowe <dlowe@****.COM>
Subject: Re: Things to do in Seattle when you are German -Reply
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 12:39:56 -0800
At 10:56 AM 6/5/97, Fisher, Victor wrote:

> And while some businesspeople would have no problem using
>translators, there's groups like the Japanese, where it's a definite
>no-no. Today, many of the problems Americans have with doing buisness
>with the Japanese is an unwillingness to understand their language and
>culture. [And the Japanese tend to be rather stiff necked about the
>whole deal also, as Americans refuse to do biz in the 'proper' way]

Oh yeah? I have a friend who is currenly living in Japan and working for a
large Japanese auto manufacturer (one of the big three BTW). He is a native
english speaker, and his job is to sit in at business meetings and take
notes on what was said, then he later explains to his employers what was
meant. My understanding is that this is common practice in Japanese
business. His employers may speak English, but they still use translators,
they are just more subtle about it.

D.
Message no. 10
From: Peter David Boddy <pdboddy@****.CARLETON.CA>
Subject: Re: Things to do in Seattle when you are German
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 15:41:05 EDT
Rune Fostervoll writes:
> Well... if any of them has skillwires, a language chip would be a
> good idea. Also, there ought to be pocket translators around. (Speak
> into it in german, and out comes english, or whatever).

You could have your characters get some sort of subliminal chips that they
could listen to on the flight over, sort of like the cassetes you listen
to while you sleep....or they could get a dictionary/common phrase
chip...still it's going to be very hard on them to NOT sound like a
tourist...=)...

Pete

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter David Boddy
Carleton University
Email address: pdboddy@****.carleton.ca
Email address: bx955@*******.carleton.ca
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 11
From: Marcin Serkies <yasiu@******.COM>
Subject: Re: Things to do in Seattle when you are German
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 22:07:50 +0200
At 05:22 AM 6/5/97 -0700, you wrote:

>| I sent my Players from Germany to Seattle. Unfortunatly none of them
>| speaks any English.
>| So what can I do with them in Seattle (told them to learn the language
>| from the beginning, but I'm only the stupid and ignorant GM :-))
>| Any suggestions, flames, comments????
>How about sub-titles ;-)
>If any of them have chip jacks they could always pop a language chip in.

Idea for new cyberstuff...

implant that is not translating language but showing subtitles on cybereyes
or more complex version on normal eyes :))) It`s made only for strange ppl :)

c-ya

yasiu
Message no. 12
From: Raven <florian.goll@******.UNI-WEIMAR.DE>
Subject: Re: Things to do in Seattle when you are German
Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 10:34:25 +0200
> Well... if any of them has skillwires, a language chip would be a
> good idea. Also, there ought to be pocket translators around. (Speak
> into it in german, and out comes english, or whatever).

No Skillwires in them, same with Chipjacks... Pocket Translator???
Does anybody have Stats for that???
Message no. 13
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: Things to do in Seattle when you are German -Reply
Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 12:48:12 +0100
Mike Elkins said on 10:34/ 5 Jun 97...

> Double-Domed Mike
> P.S. this message was dictated using an
> unnamed product that I helped write!

*grin*

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Well that's allright now, you don't listen to me anyway.
-> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version 3.1:
GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+(++)@ U P L E? W(++) N o? K- w+ O V? PS+ PE
Y PGP- t(+) 5++ X++ R+++>$ tv+(++) b++@ DI? D+ G(++) e h! !r(---) y?
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
Message no. 14
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: Things to do in Seattle when you are German -Reply
Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 12:48:12 +0100
Fisher, Victor said on 10:56/ 5 Jun 97...

> I'd say using a translator to a person or group slightly prejudiced
> by their use, would add a +1 or +2 to that person's Charisma based and
> Etiquette rolls. In game terms, speaking a language from the short term
> memory dumped down from a chip wouldn't incur this penalty, as it's use
> is invisible to all but the most astute listeners.

Not so sure... Translator chips tend to have the "by the book" version of
the language, which often differs quite a lot from regional variations.
Because of that, you can also end up using words the locals wouldn't,
still giving you away. (The Quebec section of the NAGNA gives an example
of a situation like this, recommending that people visiting Quebec get a
Quebec language chip rather than a French one.)

Also there's the question of whether a chipped language removes your
accent. I'd say it doesn't, since language chips aren't activesofts.

> And don't forget the necessary time lag, not from the machine
> translating what you've said, but so's your original words and the
> machine's translated ones don't run on top of each other [sort of like
> when Radar and Colonel Potter on MASH would talk to each other :-]

It was even better visible when Henry Blake was still around :)

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Well that's allright now, you don't listen to me anyway.
-> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version 3.1:
GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+(++)@ U P L E? W(++) N o? K- w+ O V? PS+ PE
Y PGP- t(+) 5++ X++ R+++>$ tv+(++) b++@ DI? D+ G(++) e h! !r(---) y?
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
Message no. 15
From: GRANITE <granite@**.NET>
Subject: Re: Things to do in Seattle when you are German -Reply
Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 16:21:12 -0700
Rune Fostervoll writes:
> Well... if any of them has skillwires, a language chip would be a
> good idea. Also, there ought to be pocket translators around. (Speak
> into it in german, and out comes english, or whatever).

Or you could go with something from an old issue of Ka*Ge

The Language Interpreter:
Basic Models translate between 2 languages. Advanced models can
handle up to 6. 3,000-Y- for the basic model. 500-Y- per additional
language handled at a time past the original 2. Availability
3+languages/4days. Street Index 1.75 Weight .1.

Language Modules:
Language rating 1-3 50-Y- per level
Language rating 4-6 100-Y- per level
Language rating 7-9 200-Y- per level
Language rating 10* generally not available.
Availability rating/2/36 hours. Street Index 1.25 Weight ---.
--------------------------------GRANITE"Rock Steady"
===============================================
Lord, Grant Me The Serenity To Accept The Things I Cannot Change,
The Courage To Change The Things I Can,
And The Wisdom To Hide The Bodies Of Those People I Had To Kill
Because They Pissed Me Off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ShadowRunner's Serenity Prayer

Further Reading

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