ScarletKilometers (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
scarletkilometers) wrote2021-12-13 12:41 pm
scarletkilometers) wrote2021-12-13 12:41 pm
Entry tags:
Language in the Pokemon world
Rambling language headcanons below the cut
Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh all speak the same language, which is the setting's equivalent of Japanese. All four regions have their own distinct-but-mutually-intelligible dialects, and the Sevii Islands has a pretty distinctive accent as well. The Kantonian dialect is the one that's treated as the "default" internationally, being the one taught in textbooks etc. In Alola, the dominant dialect is actually the Johtonian one bc of all the Johto expats that settled in Ula'Ula (tho over the years it's evolved into being its own unique dialect).
Unova, Galar, Alola, and Orre all speak the setting version of English, predominantly, and the regional accents more or less match up with their irl counterparts. Both English and Japanese are spoken widely enough that every named character speaks at least one and most of them speak both. (This is me handwaving the lack of observable language barriers in the anime and Pokemon Masters lmao)
Hawaiian Creole English observably exists in the game's canon, but the native Alolan language is fairing a bit better than its IRL counterpart, with several members of the Gen 7 cast speaking it competently. it's not a skill that every Alolan citizen would inherently have, tho.
The modern Johtonian dialect has pretty much the same array of connotations in pop culture as Kansai accents do IRL, but the Alolan dialect is derived from a more archaic version that outside the Johto region is mostly associated with frilly period dramas, which made a Real Interesing Experience for the Kanto-born Gen 7 protagonist.
Faux-Japanese fluency in Alola is high enough that the gen 7 protag not knowing any English in the beginning wouldn't have impeded their progress all that much, but both of mine at least knew the basics and Charlize made a point of speaking English for the most part during her island challenge. Since most people would respond in the language they were addressed in she didn't actually hear what the Alolan dialect even sounded like until like halfway through her challenge. Imagine Guzma trying to be threatening while speaking in a really contrived Ren Faire accent and you'd have a pretty good index of how she reacted the first time she heard it. Kukui defaults to the Kantonian dialect bc he studied there and Burnet defaults to it bc that's what she studied in college, so she wouldn't have heard it from them either. Meanwhile Ami switches between languages pretty casually and has a bad habit of embedding words from other languages when she can't think of the right one in the language she's currently speaking, which is Real Fun for Hau bc his Japanese is EXTREMELY basic.
Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh all speak the same language, which is the setting's equivalent of Japanese. All four regions have their own distinct-but-mutually-intelligible dialects, and the Sevii Islands has a pretty distinctive accent as well. The Kantonian dialect is the one that's treated as the "default" internationally, being the one taught in textbooks etc. In Alola, the dominant dialect is actually the Johtonian one bc of all the Johto expats that settled in Ula'Ula (tho over the years it's evolved into being its own unique dialect).
Unova, Galar, Alola, and Orre all speak the setting version of English, predominantly, and the regional accents more or less match up with their irl counterparts. Both English and Japanese are spoken widely enough that every named character speaks at least one and most of them speak both. (This is me handwaving the lack of observable language barriers in the anime and Pokemon Masters lmao)
Hawaiian Creole English observably exists in the game's canon, but the native Alolan language is fairing a bit better than its IRL counterpart, with several members of the Gen 7 cast speaking it competently. it's not a skill that every Alolan citizen would inherently have, tho.
The modern Johtonian dialect has pretty much the same array of connotations in pop culture as Kansai accents do IRL, but the Alolan dialect is derived from a more archaic version that outside the Johto region is mostly associated with frilly period dramas, which made a Real Interesing Experience for the Kanto-born Gen 7 protagonist.
Faux-Japanese fluency in Alola is high enough that the gen 7 protag not knowing any English in the beginning wouldn't have impeded their progress all that much, but both of mine at least knew the basics and Charlize made a point of speaking English for the most part during her island challenge. Since most people would respond in the language they were addressed in she didn't actually hear what the Alolan dialect even sounded like until like halfway through her challenge. Imagine Guzma trying to be threatening while speaking in a really contrived Ren Faire accent and you'd have a pretty good index of how she reacted the first time she heard it. Kukui defaults to the Kantonian dialect bc he studied there and Burnet defaults to it bc that's what she studied in college, so she wouldn't have heard it from them either. Meanwhile Ami switches between languages pretty casually and has a bad habit of embedding words from other languages when she can't think of the right one in the language she's currently speaking, which is Real Fun for Hau bc his Japanese is EXTREMELY basic.