The Zion tribal languages are pidgin languages spoken by the tribals in Zion Canyon, such as the Sorrows, Dead Horses, and White Legs.
Background[]
In the centuries following the Great War, tribes formed amongst many of the survivors in the American Southwest, and some tribes have even created their own pidgin languages. One such tribe is the Dead Horses, who Joshua Graham believes are the descendants of refugees of a place called "Res." Their language originates from English, German, and Navajo.[Non-game 1][Non-game 2][1] Meanwhile, the Sorrows, another tribe in Zion Canyon, have a language which is descended from Spanish and English.
Variants[]
Appearances[]
The Zion tribal languages appear only in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Honest Hearts.
Behind the scenes[]
- Joshua Sawyer was responsible for including German elements in the Zion tribal languages, including that of the Dead Horses.[Non-game 2] While motorcycle touring through the American Southwest, he noticed many German, French, and Dutch tourists, which gave him the idea of the refugees and tourists blending their language together.[Non-game 3] He also mentions that the White Legs' and the Sorrows languages include elements of Spanish.[Non-game 4][Non-game 1]
- The pidgin languages used by the tribal groups in Zion was actually done in an effort to cut costs, so that many of their voice lines wouldn't need to be localized.[Non-game 5]
References[]
- ↑ The Courier: "Do they speak... our language?"
Joshua Graham: "Most don't. It's been hundreds of years since the war. They've developed their own languages. Take the Dead Horses. We think they were originally refugees from a place called 'Res,' east of the Grand Canyon. They speak a combination of Res and a language spoken by travelers who were visiting Res when the bombs fell. Over time, the two languages blended. I was a translator years ago, but it's hard to keep up with all of the tribal variations."
(Joshua Graham's dialogue)
Non-game
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Question: "Trate de preguntar en español? OK. ¿Qué idioma es el idioma de los Dead Horses basada en? La idioma de los Sorrows se basada en español, por supuesto. Pero no puedo entender qué idioma de los Dead Horses se basada en." (English translation: "Can I try to ask in Spanish? OK. What language is the language of the Dead Horses based on? The Sorrows' language is based on Spanish, of course. But I can't understand what language the Dead Horses is based on."
Joshua Sawyer: "El idioma de los Dead Horses se basada en alemán, inglés, y navajo, pero la morfología del navajo es irreconocible." (English translation: "The Dead Horses language is based on German, English, and Navajo, but Navajo morphology is unrecognizable."
(Joshua Sawyer Spring.me) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Question: "Is It correct that the tribals are descended from vacationers at the time of the Great War? I swear I hear a little German in the Dead Horses and Spanish in the Sorrows, but I also hear another language(s) mixed in and spoken by either tribe as well."
Joshua Sawyer: "Yes. Joshua Graham explains that they speak languages from a place he calls 'Res' mixed with languages from people who were vacationing in Utah."
(Joshua Sawyer Formspring post 19 May 11) - ↑ Fallout: New Vegas 10th Anniversary Charity Stream (reference starts at 2:47:49)
Joshua Sawyer: "'Am I responsible for the Zion native language having German elements?' Yes. Because when I did motorcycle touring through the American Southwest, I noticed a lot of German... and French tourists. And Dutch tourists. And so my idea was that German... a group of German tourists wound up with these refugees and their language just blended together." - ↑ Question: "What did JG say to Salt-Upon-Wounds in Latin?"
Joshua Sawyer: "It wasn't in Latin. It was in the White Legs' tribal language, which includes elements of Spanish (hence the common Romance language roots with Latin). Also, *~ mysteries ~*"
(Josh Sawyer Formspring answers) - ↑ Joshua Sawyer on Something Awful forums: "Even the pidgin languages the tribes speak in Honest Hearts were just an attempt to keep costs down. All of the DLCs feature very few speaking characters because Fallout games have localized text and VO. That includes background characters and their reactive barks, so we made pidgin languages for the tribes so they wouldn't need to be re-recorded. Of course, the tribes were also supposed to be multi-ethnic, so you'd see white Dead Horses, black Dead Horses, etc. And again, Daniel was supposed to be Asian. It was incredibly frustrating to get halfway through production only to discover that making ethnic variants for every tribe would completely blow the already limited in-game memory limit. It wasn't a problem of 'Ah, this will take more work,' but, 'The game will crash as soon as this area loads.' "