I’ve read a Steam discussion and other comments on the web about the verbs used in the German interface of Thimbleweed Park. I don’t know German but if I have understood correctly the issue, some verbs are not in the imperative form (please correct me if I’m wrong).
In the Steam discussion there is also a player that says that this choice is intended and somehow justified by what happens later in the game. If true, this would be an interesting aspect that I would like to understand.
Can some German fellow in this forum enlighten me about this topic?
Yes, this is true. For example the word “pick up” (or “take”): The imperative in German is “nimm” but TWP uses “nehme” (the indicative or the German subjunctive I).
Yes, the translator, Boris wrote somewhere in the TWP blog that this is intended. But he doesn’t said why and/or where it is explained - only that it will be explained in the game.
You are not alone. Even if I consider the ending of TWP, the use of the indicative makes no sense - at least for me.
btw: Other translations aren’t using the imperative form too.
Do you think that it would be possible that the verbs don’t use the imperative form because from a certain point of view the player is not giving commands to characters but he’s actually doing something else?
I’ve checked some screenshots of the Italian version and it uses the imperative form.
Yes. But that makes no sense: For example you are not executing the commands (by yourself), you give them the game or the computer(-program). So I can’t imagine a case where you actually not have to use the imperative.
I have to correct myself. There is one exception: If you (as the player) click on the chainsaw and “pull” it via drag and drop into the inventory, then you have picked up the chainsaw. (*)
But in TWP that isn’t the case: In TWP you click on “pick up” and the “chainsaw”. Then you lean back and watch how Ray picks up the chainsaw. So you just give the command for it.
(*) Even that is not 100% correct, because the program/game adds the chainsaw for you into the inventory.
Since it somewhat sounds like a southwestern german dialect my two best guesses are:
Elvis was from the south, so the analogy is to give him a southern german dialect.
When Elvis was in the military in germany it was in the southwestern area so this dialect is the closest to what he would have spoken had he taken up the language.
But those are just guesses. It would be still the first question I´d ask him, given the opportunity.
I think this was just some awkward accent and was chosen to be awkward. You know the German dub of “Airplane!” aka “Die unglaubliche Reise in einem verrückten Flugzeug”? The two black guys speak some kind of ghetto slang in English. In German the dub gave them hardcore Bavarian accent.
In the Steam discussion that I mentioned somebody wrote that they used the Support thread in that forum to report what they perceived to be a bug.
What about giving to them a link to the comments in which Boris stated that the translation was intentional, so that those players don’t treat the issue as a mistake and stop expecting the translation to be changed? It might “help” both them and the developers.
Even if I consider the ending of TWP, the use of the indicative makes no sense - at least for me.
“nehme” could be indicative or Konjunktiv I (= jussive mood).
Seems legit!