recipes

The Cantonese language (or the lack of it) in games

Admin

If you're not familiar with Chinese, have you ever wondered why game localisations tend to have two language options?

There's Traditional Chinese, which refers to the original Chinese characters that have been in use for centuries in reading and writing, commonly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, as well as in many overseas Chinese communities. Then there's Simplified Chinese, the simplified characters introduced in Mainland China since the CCP came into power in the 1950s, which is the country's official language.

That's why localisers usually cater to both Traditional and Simplified Chinese when it comes to translating text. However, when it comes to audio languages, it appears that only Mandarin, China's official language, is taken into consideration, while neglecting Cantonese, the second most commonly spoken Chinese language. As someone of Cantonese descent, I obviously have a bias here, but it nonetheless had me wondering why this language gets left out in games.

Read more


Older Post Newer Post


Leave a Comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published