That would be the most "doable" solution -- to use English for majority understanding, but use culture terms here and there for atmosphere.
That is kind of what I'm doing with Kojima, too, though part of that is because I'm just not very consistent in sticking to one language. (I apologize in advance for my nightmarish organization of files.) But each shop also has an advertisement of welcome posted outside the door, since I don't know if I will be able to do dialog yet. Those handbills say things like, "Irasshaimase! Welcome to my shop. I sell this and that. Here's a little information about my business. Please come into this honya and have a look. Doumo arigatougozaimasu." Each handbill also has the tone of the owner's personality. So, example, the owner of the wafukuya is basically a tribute to modern Japanese culture -- she has blue hair worn in Chinese buns like Miaka from Fushigi Yugi, wears mini-kimono, and has a Kenshin tapestry in her sleeping area. (She's a goth-lolita/anime fan-girl.)
So, her greeting is what you would expect from anime, for anime fans. ("You will look so kakkoii~ in these kimono!") The toukou (sword smith), however, is very traditional and says things like, "I use skills handed down to me for five generations. At Tatsu Tetsu, we know your life depends on quality craftsmanship. It is an honor to serve you." But then you go to the magic shop, and encounter a cranky, old woman who starts her greeting with, "Kono kijitsuya ni ha ... DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!" ... And yet you walk in and she sounds pleasantly British. "He~llo~. What can I do for you today?" :lmao: Oh well. What can you do ... This is all just for fun and for the variety of players that I know have Kojima's first versions. (I'm half-tempted to put some Final Fantasy stuff in just for fun, too. I know people have made Cloud's clothing and Tidus's swords, and Corthian made Yuna's kimono.)
Or another way to drop language/culture hints ... I have turned stones into "carved inscriptions" by putting them in scroll slots. So, you see a stone at the temple and it says, "Something is engraved in this stone." Click on it, and get an Asian proverb. ... Like what I did with one of those bamboo notes I made for the team, so translation can be beneath it if original language is used. The only problem with using the stone as a scroll is that I can't figure out to change the texture of the scroll being read in menu, even though I've made a stone texture for it. But that is minor, in my opinion. The effect is nice, I think.
Anyway, we might not be able to do language to that extent with Akavir, but at least we can find common greetings and phrases from the cultures it's based on. I would be willing to help with that when we get to it. I speak only English, Japanese, and French, but we get some Taiwanese, South Korean, and Indian TV here, so I catch words with that sometimes and might pick up something. And looking up common greetings or phrases is easy. I think we could easily do this like Morrowind, where the voice acting isn't a worry, but the occasional words and customs remind us this a different province with their own language. :yes:
