Dear Localization team,
I would like to raise awareness of an ongoing, current issue with the localization which has been making the dialogue harder to read. This is due to an accidental use of 'they' in several places where 'it' would have been the correct word to use.
Accidental use of 'they' has happened in the following categories:
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1) The use of 'They' to refer to Systems, Concepts and States
I would like to start with a line from the beginning of patch 7.5, to show that this is still an ongoing issue. In it, G'raha Tia states:
Quote:
"[...] I have no doubt that Alexandria will provide much-needed support for their neighbor."
If G'raha had instead stated that the people of Alexandria will provide support to their neighbor, then this would be a correct use of 'they'. Instead, G'raha refers to a state as a whole, which is an 'it'. The state of Alexandria is not a plural.
2) The use of 'They' to refer to Animals
An animal is either a he, a she, or an it. An animal is never a 'They'.
This showed most clearly in a Quote by the Stray Feline in the White Wraith quest:
Quote:
(While referring to the Seikret mount) "My, would you look at that... It seems they've grown fond of you."
In its current form, this is simply incorrect grammar. The correct line would have been "It seems it has grown fond of you."
3) The use of 'They' to refer to Known Characters and Voidsent
Enuo is a Voidsent in FFXIV. In FFV, he was a great mage, specifically referred to as male. This has strong parallels to Cloud of Darkness as a returning character.
Quote:
"Wielding the boundless power of the void, they rise from depths unfathomable─the dread sovereign Enuo!"
Voidsent have followed specific gender rules in the past. Voidsent are either an 'it' because they are undefinable like a Voidsent Bomb - or they are a 'he' or 'she'. Cloud of Darkness as a returning character is a 'she' and no reason was given for deviating from this with Enuo.
In FFV, Enuo is strictly referred to as a 'he'. As there is no indication in the original Japanese text that the FFXIV writers changed this as part of some character overhaul, he should still be referred to as a 'he', not a 'they' - just like Cloud of Darkness.
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I hope some attention will be paid to this issue. It would very easy to resolve some of these things, especially the referral to beasts and concepts such as states as 'they'.
Continue reading...
I would like to raise awareness of an ongoing, current issue with the localization which has been making the dialogue harder to read. This is due to an accidental use of 'they' in several places where 'it' would have been the correct word to use.
Accidental use of 'they' has happened in the following categories:
- Use of 'They' to refer to Systems, Concepts and Governments (not the people within)
- Use of 'They' to refer to Animals
- Use of 'They' to refer to Known Characters
-------------------
1) The use of 'They' to refer to Systems, Concepts and States
I would like to start with a line from the beginning of patch 7.5, to show that this is still an ongoing issue. In it, G'raha Tia states:
Quote:
"[...] I have no doubt that Alexandria will provide much-needed support for their neighbor."
If G'raha had instead stated that the people of Alexandria will provide support to their neighbor, then this would be a correct use of 'they'. Instead, G'raha refers to a state as a whole, which is an 'it'. The state of Alexandria is not a plural.
2) The use of 'They' to refer to Animals
An animal is either a he, a she, or an it. An animal is never a 'They'.
This showed most clearly in a Quote by the Stray Feline in the White Wraith quest:
Quote:
(While referring to the Seikret mount) "My, would you look at that... It seems they've grown fond of you."
In its current form, this is simply incorrect grammar. The correct line would have been "It seems it has grown fond of you."
3) The use of 'They' to refer to Known Characters and Voidsent
Enuo is a Voidsent in FFXIV. In FFV, he was a great mage, specifically referred to as male. This has strong parallels to Cloud of Darkness as a returning character.
Quote:
"Wielding the boundless power of the void, they rise from depths unfathomable─the dread sovereign Enuo!"
Voidsent have followed specific gender rules in the past. Voidsent are either an 'it' because they are undefinable like a Voidsent Bomb - or they are a 'he' or 'she'. Cloud of Darkness as a returning character is a 'she' and no reason was given for deviating from this with Enuo.
In FFV, Enuo is strictly referred to as a 'he'. As there is no indication in the original Japanese text that the FFXIV writers changed this as part of some character overhaul, he should still be referred to as a 'he', not a 'they' - just like Cloud of Darkness.
-------------------
I hope some attention will be paid to this issue. It would very easy to resolve some of these things, especially the referral to beasts and concepts such as states as 'they'.
Continue reading...