Language Issues

> > >To bring this OT for GZG, I wonder how to simulate this in GZG
games 
> > >- difficulties (increased roll req'd) for support requests and
other 
> > >commo requests between nationalities? Or do we assume on board 
> > >translation AI takes care of all this in the future? 

> > We assume that everybody gets trained in "Standard English" during
Basic
> > Training, and we send the Scots, Irish, Australians, and anybody
from
> > Liverpool off for remedial English-as-a-second-dialect training...	
<duck>
 
> On a slightly less off topic note, what about the Spanish-speaking
> population of the NAC? The NAC controls S. America, remember...I'd
assume
> civil services would be offered in either language, but I'd think
English
> would be the military language. Spanish-language units are likely
(His/Her
> Majesty's Loyal B.A. Dragoons...) but English would be the operating
> language...

Probably it is an asset to be bilingual in the modern day NAC forces 
(English Spanish) at a minimum. Their may be high tech hypno teachers 
etc that help junior officers and NCOs pickup the other languages 
they need depending on what their basic is. I assume you'll have 
English units operating on primarily spanish colony worlds and vice 
versa. I think English would be the language of government, but high 
tech would make some sort of "universal language" translation 
probable for all docs (and speech to text and translated text to 
speech would make this possible for speech too). So I expect you 
would get service in any of the official languages of the NAC - 
English, Spanish, Welsh, and of course Broad Scots. (grin). 

The English used by most NCOs especially (who don't have pretentious 
affectations to speak in "pure King's English") and many other junior 
rnaks would probably be scattered with words picked up on different 
worlds in different languages - if they'd served on a Irish colony, 
probably littered with local Irish phrases. If they'd served on a 
South American colony, probably some Spanish or native SA Indian 
words picked up. 

But my point was, let us say we have come up with a scenario where 
an NSL Kampfgruppe has to work with the King's Own Puerto Plata 
Grenadiers - how do we simulate this in SG2?

I'd assume the following tasks might have modifiers attached:
- arty, air or casevac requests
- comms between units including loaning of actions and this includes
a roll instead of an automatic success if under 6", the fact you can 
hear the German officer doesn't mean you'll understand what he is 
telling you....

I think a fair modifier might be based on troop tech. If we assume 
first line troops with first line equipment, software and AI, the 
modifier might be cut to a +1 (simply put, even computers will 
sometimes blow a contextual translation). If the force is not equiped 
to state of the art, maybe a +2. If the force has really old gear, or 
no translator, maybe a +3. 

Comments? 
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Thomas Barclay		     
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