‘The Sims 4’: What Language Are Your Sims Really Speaking?
Simulation games are popular among gamers, and they can cover a wide variety of topics. Some have remained fan favorites over the years. One well-known franchise is The Sims. The Sims 4 came out on PC in 2014, and the Mac-compatible version was released in 2015.
Plenty of recognizable items and features have carried over from game to game. One of which is the way sims speak to each other during interactions. The virtual people have their own set of distinctive words and phrases.
‘The Sims 4’ lets players control virtual lives as they see fit
The Sims 4 is the fourth major installment to The Sims franchise. Maxis developed the game, but Electronic Arts published it. So far, there are 10 expansion packs available. The most recent one is Snowy Escape, which came out in 2020. There are 18 stuff packs and nine game packs to add flavor to the base game as well.
Much like the previous titles, The Sims 4 is a simulation game. Players can create sims to look like themselves or other people. A person can control every aspect of a sim’s life, including their career, relationships, and personality traits. The moodlets can lead to new options for interactions.
The game also comes with cheat codes for the player to use for an easier playstyle. A common one gives players plenty of money to buy expensive houses and items from the store. Someone can edit relationships or enable objects to overlap with one another. Those on a PC, PS4, or Xbox can use cheat codes to unlock fun things.
What is the language all the sims are speaking?
Since The Sims 4 is a life simulation game, there is going to be dialogue. Like the previous installment, players can hear their sims talk, but all the words sound like they are speaking gibberish. The unintelligible dialogue makes it easier for anyone to insert themselves into their character. Perhaps, that is what creator Will Wright planned for the game.
Players know the fictional language as Simlish, and they can pick up certain phrases. The most common ones are “sul sul,” “nooboo,” and “dag dag.” The language may sound weird for someone who is new to the franchise, but fans have come to love the way their sims speak. Players have multiple options on how they want a voice to sound.
Even though players do not know what the character is saying, they can get a basic understanding based on the tone. Body posture and inflection can indicate if the words express anger or playfulness.
The Developer made Simlish distinct from other languages
When The Sims 4 released, fans were disappointed by the lack of content in the base game compared to the previous title. Some of them may not have a positive outlook for a potential sequel. However, one thing does remain the same, and that is Simlish. The simulation game does not have subtitles to translate the language.
Fans have been able to recognize what some of the words mean. For example, “sul sul” means hello in The Sims world. It is almost like Simlish is its own unique language.
According to The Verge, Wright spent a lot of time crafting Simlish to separate it from existing languages.
At first, voice actors had to read Ukrainian and Navajo words as they appeared on the page. Next, the developer tried an altered version of Swahili and Cherokee, which did not work either. The breakthrough happened when an actor spoke gummy English.
Simlish has more in common with baby talk than English, but English-to-Simlish translations exist despite there being no official dictionary.
