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| Simlish | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Will Wright |
| Date | 1996 |
| Setting and usage | The world ofThe Sims franchise |
| Purpose | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
 Simlish written in Simlish | |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
Simlish is aconstructed language devised by game designerWill Wright for theSims game series developed byElectronic Arts. During the development ofSimCopter (1996), Wright sought to avoid real-world languages, believing that players would grow to show disdain for repetitive dialogue. For the release ofThe Sims,Maxis recorded hundreds of voice clips with unique cadences and emotional nuance.
Simlish is featured prominently within the franchise ofThe Sims and its spinoffMySims series. It has since extended to various video games within theSim series, includingSimCity 4 (2003),SimCity Societies (2007),SimCity (2013), andSimCity BuildIt (2014) of theSimCity series of games. Simlish appears as a language withinSpore (2008) andFiraxis Games'sSid Meier's SimGolf (2004).
While developingSimCopter (1996),[1] designerWill Wright explicitly avoided using real-world languages such that players could resonate with the emotions of the characters rather than their speech.[2] The initial dialogue team—comprising Wright, audio lead Robi Kauker, voice director Claire Curtin, sound designer Kent Jolly, and composerJerry Martin—began by using musical instruments reminiscent of the "wah wah" sound effect heard in somePeanuts animated specials. The idea to use musical instruments was quickly scrapped.[2]
Wright experimented with several real-world languages to use withinThe Sims, includingUkrainian,Navajo,Tagalog,[1] andEstonian, but faced difficulty in finding voice actors and developing a unique identity for the language; with regards to the Ukrainian language, itsSlavic undertone was unsuitable for the project. Simlish ultimately became a combination of these languages.[3] One voice actor based inSan Francisco, Stephen Kearin, recounted being given apidgin version ofSwahili andCherokee. Kearin then suggested he speak gibberish, and Wright agreed. Until 2006, Kearin and his female counterpartGerri Lawlor served as the Simlish actors.[2]
SinceSimCopter's release, Simlish has adapted. InThe Sims (2000), a trill is heard that resembles aSpanish trill, whereas later games have chosen to favorEnglish pronunciations.[4] Online Simlish dictionaries have emerged, signalling a departure from pragmatic uses.[5] According to Kauker,The Sims had 3,000 to 4,000 voice events split between Kearin and Lawlor. InThe Sims 2 (2004), over 50,000 lines of dialogue were recorded across a team of 11. ForThe Sims 2, Maxis usedMax developed byCycling '74 with thedigital signal processor (DSP) plugin MSP and the manipulation plugin Jitter, both by Cycling '74.[6]
Although Simlish is not intended to be a structured language, it shares several rules in how it is pronounced.[4][better source needed]
Simlish consonants are limited; while English permits three consonants in a row, such as in the word "strong", Simlish words may use up to two consonants sequentially. However, these consonants may be used in unorthodox ways in comparison to English, such asbwu.[4][better source needed]
| Labial | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||
| Plosive | p b | t d | tʃ dʒ | tɕ | k ɡ | |
| Fricative | f v | s z | ʃ | h | ||
| Approximant | l | r | j | w |
In Simlish, some vowels may become diphthongized. For example, /e/ may become /eɪ/, and /o/ may become /oʊ/.[4][better source needed]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i ɪ | u | |
| Close-mid | e | ə | o |
| Open-mid | æ | ʌ ɔ | |
| Open | ɑ |
The author of the linguistics blog Wug Life argued that thephonotactics of Simlish andEnglish were the same, allowing artists who speakSpanish to effortlessly translate their songs into Simlish due to the similarities in the phonotactics of English andSpanish. The post cites the lack of Simlish and English words that lack vowels, such as the wordvlk, which means "wolf" inCzech.[7]
The word "vou"[S 1] or "voo"[8] means "you" in English. The word "ah" can be used as a first-person subject pronoun, such asAh sha noop! "I should know!"[S 1]
To demonstrate personal possessiveness, the word "ma" can be used.[S 2]
In theindicative mood, the word "zerpa" means "there is" or "there's", as inZerpa stamby imba bweb. "There's a stranger in my bed."[9]
| English | Simlish |
|---|---|
| baby | nooboo |
| fire | fliblia |
| night | noop |
Several Simlish words are officially recognized, such asnooboo "baby" andfliblia "fire". English may be transcribed into Simlish, as was done to transcribeKaty Perry songs into Simlish.[2] For instance, the word "boo leyar" is equivalent to "boulevard", as are "par" to "park" and "crabbi car" to "credit card".[S 3] The word "like" is unchanged between English and Simlish.[S 1]
The most universally agreed upon greeting in Simlish issul sul (equivalent toaloha inHawaiian), which may be used for greetings or farewells. According to the developers, it was created as a spliced phrase[clarification needed].[2] Alternatively, the phraseo vwa vwaf sna "nice to meet you" ordag dag "goodbye" can be used.[10][12]
In the world ofThe Sims, text is often omitted from signs. Stop signs inThe Sims (2000), for example, do not have text and use a flat, white hand against a red octagon to depict the object. The Simlish alphabet does not match either theLatin or theCyrillic alphabets. The symbol for the Simoleon—a currency used throughout the series—is §. When writing texts,dingbats from theWingdings font appear.[13]
Simlish appears inSpore (2008),[14] developed byMaxis, as well asFiraxis Games'sSid Meier's SimGolf (2004).[15] An app forAmazon Alexa devices that understands Simlish was released in 2019.[16]Howard Jones produced a Simlish version of his song "Things Can Only Get Better." It can be found on CD 4 of the clamshell edition ofCelebrate It Together - The Very Best Of Howard Jones 1983-2023.[17]
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