It's great that you are taking the time to diversify your game cast by adding characters of Latin descent, but please I ask you to stop inserting random Spanish words into their largely English dialogue if you aren't going to put in the work to try and get it to sound natural. Code-switching (switching between languages within a conversation) and Spanglish are most definitely things that happen in real life, but getting this to sound right requires way more research and work than just having the character drop random instances of words like amigo, hola, cabron, or loco in a sentence. It sticks out like a sore thumb when its done wrong and it just contributes to an othering of the character.
If you are writing a piece of dialogue and you find yourself adding Spanish words, please stop and think about whether the situation the character finds themselves in is conducive to or necessitates some code-switching. Here are some good questions to ask yourself:
I'm going to post some recent examples below that prompted me to make this thread—I would love it if others can highlight other examples of what to avoid or even good examples to work towards.
NEO: The World Ends With You
Motoi #1
Motoi #2
Motoi #3
Valorant
Reyna
RedFall
Remi #1
Remi #2
Cyberpunk 2077
Jackie
Edit: I'm editing to add a note that some posters have pointed out that Motoi's specific use of Spanish might be purposeful as a means to characterize them as a type of show-off. I'm holding off on condemning the character itself until full release of the game, but keeping the links as an example of the type of Spanglish that seem to dominate media.
If you are writing a piece of dialogue and you find yourself adding Spanish words, please stop and think about whether the situation the character finds themselves in is conducive to or necessitates some code-switching. Here are some good questions to ask yourself:
- Is my character a first, second, or third-generation immigrant? If they are a first generation immigrant how long have they been in the country? The longer you've been in a new country the more assimilated you are, the less likely you are to see code-switching.
- Who is my character talking to? Do they understand Spanish at all? If they don't understand Spanish, does it really make sense for my character to code-switch?
- What situation is my character finding themselves in, is it a peaceful conversation at a coffee shop or is all hell breaking loose? The latter situation is a much more justifiable reason for someone to slip into speaking Spanish when in a panic than the former (as long as you've established that the character recently immigrated or has not had much time to assimilate, of course).
- What subject matter is being discussed? Simple topics like how was your day are less likely to have much code-switching vs conversations that are more technical where it might be easier for the character to communicate in their native tongue.
- What types of Spanish words is my character sprinkling into the conversation? Is it just basic words like hola and si? Or are they dropping idioms or phrases that flow better into a conversation vs their English translation/counterpart?
I'm going to post some recent examples below that prompted me to make this thread—I would love it if others can highlight other examples of what to avoid or even good examples to work towards.
NEO: The World Ends With You
Motoi #1
Motoi #2
Motoi #3
Valorant
Reyna
RedFall
Remi #1
Remi #2
Cyberpunk 2077
Jackie
Edit: I'm editing to add a note that some posters have pointed out that Motoi's specific use of Spanish might be purposeful as a means to characterize them as a type of show-off. I'm holding off on condemning the character itself until full release of the game, but keeping the links as an example of the type of Spanglish that seem to dominate media.
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