Gnusam Netor
SOC-13
Hello, new dude here (well not really)...
I just wanted to point out one thing that always "bugged" me about 2300AD. It's the word "kafer".
Now first of all, I didn't know the story behind the name and it was along time since i actually played 2300 (13 years ago I think). Still, the name buggers me.
Anyway, a couple of days ago I mentioned this to a friend while we were chit-chatting (or whatever it is called in English) about RPG’s, aging, employment and life in general. So I mentioned how the word sounded like the demeaning name for black Solomani originating from South Africa and how i thought this was "unfortunate".
And like how an angry cobra would snap he responded:
"Kafer is actually German for beetle."
And then his wife responded like an even angrier cobra and hence faster snapping:
"It's actually called käfer in German - it is spelled with an 'ä'."
(My german-language-center isn't often used and thus slow, but after some 10sec or so it kind of confirmed her statement.)
This lead to a complete new line of thought...
1.
IMO, for a non-english-fist-language-speaker, using a system written in English, specific words can be pronounced in two ways as a rule.
a. English pronunciation (KAY-fer)
b. Native (Swedish for me) pronunciation (KA-fer - where the 'a' would be p. like in Ambition)
So, certain words, like "New York", is an a-word
Whereas others, like "USA", is a b-word.
(Ok, neither is one singular word... but I think you understand)
The reason for some words being 'a' or 'b' can be flimsy, but "New York" is easy, it is close to impossible to pronounce it in Swedish with the spelling it has and also W doesn’t (formally) exist in the Swedish alphabet. "USA" being a 3 letter comb is also easy to explain why it belongs to 'b'.
2.
The difference between "kafer" and "käfer" is a big deal for a Swede (or a German I guess) since "a" and "ä" are two completely different letters and pronounced differently too. Even so it is understandable why the dots are left out in 2300AD. English speakers don't "see" them because the dots don't exist in their alphabet. I do it with French and their dimple-dinglythingy on the c-letter in "francais" so it's common.
(You don't know, so you use what you do know, to the best of your knowledge)
Now to make a long story short, the kafers (a mightily cool antagonist to Man i must say, I like them allot), should be spelled "käfers". If you are an English speaker and choose to categorize it as a b-word, you should try to pronounce it as "KE-fer" where the E is pronounced like in "Enterprise".
Well...apparently that is a lie, according to
http://www.napervillechorus.org/german.html
it is pronounced "KAY-fer", with a long "ä" wovel.
hmm...
(or maybe it's short? Then i am right and no lying is going on either.)
Ok, if you would like to pronounce it like how a Swede would pronounce a German word, then you better say "KE-fer".
corrected misspelling and such
I just wanted to point out one thing that always "bugged" me about 2300AD. It's the word "kafer".
Now first of all, I didn't know the story behind the name and it was along time since i actually played 2300 (13 years ago I think). Still, the name buggers me.
Anyway, a couple of days ago I mentioned this to a friend while we were chit-chatting (or whatever it is called in English) about RPG’s, aging, employment and life in general. So I mentioned how the word sounded like the demeaning name for black Solomani originating from South Africa and how i thought this was "unfortunate".
And like how an angry cobra would snap he responded:
"Kafer is actually German for beetle."
And then his wife responded like an even angrier cobra and hence faster snapping:
"It's actually called käfer in German - it is spelled with an 'ä'."
(My german-language-center isn't often used and thus slow, but after some 10sec or so it kind of confirmed her statement.)
This lead to a complete new line of thought...
1.
IMO, for a non-english-fist-language-speaker, using a system written in English, specific words can be pronounced in two ways as a rule.
a. English pronunciation (KAY-fer)
b. Native (Swedish for me) pronunciation (KA-fer - where the 'a' would be p. like in Ambition)
So, certain words, like "New York", is an a-word
Whereas others, like "USA", is a b-word.
(Ok, neither is one singular word... but I think you understand)
The reason for some words being 'a' or 'b' can be flimsy, but "New York" is easy, it is close to impossible to pronounce it in Swedish with the spelling it has and also W doesn’t (formally) exist in the Swedish alphabet. "USA" being a 3 letter comb is also easy to explain why it belongs to 'b'.
2.
The difference between "kafer" and "käfer" is a big deal for a Swede (or a German I guess) since "a" and "ä" are two completely different letters and pronounced differently too. Even so it is understandable why the dots are left out in 2300AD. English speakers don't "see" them because the dots don't exist in their alphabet. I do it with French and their dimple-dinglythingy on the c-letter in "francais" so it's common.
(You don't know, so you use what you do know, to the best of your knowledge)
Now to make a long story short, the kafers (a mightily cool antagonist to Man i must say, I like them allot), should be spelled "käfers". If you are an English speaker and choose to categorize it as a b-word, you should try to pronounce it as "KE-fer" where the E is pronounced like in "Enterprise".
Well...apparently that is a lie, according to
http://www.napervillechorus.org/german.html
it is pronounced "KAY-fer", with a long "ä" wovel.
hmm...
(or maybe it's short? Then i am right and no lying is going on either.)
Ok, if you would like to pronounce it like how a Swede would pronounce a German word, then you better say "KE-fer".
corrected misspelling and such