There are many mistakes in the Japanese voice lines, and this issue has been pointed out before but was ignored by Gaijin developers. As a native Japanese speaker, I’ve highlighted and corrected them below though I haven’t gotten to all of them yet. I’ll try to add the rest when I get the chance.
“Add to Squad”
日本語
ローマ字
英訳
任務につけます
ninmu ni tsukemasu
Assigning to the mission.
→ いつでも行けます
itsudemo ikemasu
Ready to deploy anytime.
イエッサ
iessaa
Yes, sir!
→ 了解であります
ryōkai de arimasu
Roger that, sir!
“Change Equipment”
日本語
ローマ字
英訳
正しい決断ですね
tadashii ketsudan desu ne
That’s a wise decision.
→ ご判断感謝します
gohandan kansha shimasu
I appreciate your judgment.
指揮官、いい選択です
shikikan, ii sentaku desu
Good choice, Commander.
→ 流石の采配です、分隊長殿
sasuga no saihai de arimasu, buntaichō-dono
As expected of your command, Squad Leader.
指揮官、うん、ずっといいですよ、指揮官
shikikan, un, zutto ii desu yo, shikikan
Yeah, that’s been a solid pick all along, Commander.
→ 賛同であります、分隊長殿
sandō de arimasu, buntaichō-dono
I concur, Squad Leader.
“Following Orders”
日本語
ローマ字
英訳
了解
ryōkai
Roger.
→ 了解であります
ryōkai de arimasu
Understood and ready, sir.
“Cancelling / Refusing Orders”
日本語
ローマ字
英訳
それはできない、無理です
sore wa dekinai, muri desu
I can’t do that. It’s impossible.
→ できませんでした、申し訳ありません
dekimasen deshita, mōshiwake arimasen
I failed to carry it out. My apologies.
“Chat Commands”
日本語
ローマ字
英訳
無理です
muri desu
That’s impossible.
→ 無理だ
muri da
No way.
すみません
sumimasen
I’m sorry.
→ すまん
suman
Sorry. (informal)
お見事だ
omigoto da
Well done!
→ 見事だ
migoto da
Nice work!
“Capture / Defend Objective”
日本語
ローマ字
英訳
統制点アルファを〜
tōseiten arufa o~
Securing Control Point Alpha.
→ 統制点エーを〜
tōseiten ē o~
Securing Control Point A.
*Note: While “Alpha” is the formal equivalent, “A” (*エー / ē) sounds more natural to Japanese players. Similarly, “Bravo” and “Charlie” can be replaced with “B” (ビー / bī) and “C” (シー / shī) for better localization.
I have a question about this, is it fair to guess that this is modern slang (and more importantly, borrowed English)? If so I think something more time appropriate would be better, I don’t know any Japanese so if there are other more modern things here as well similar alterations should probably be made.
I do appreciate wanting to keep things as correct as possible, if the current voice lines are wrong in some way to a native speaker (even when taking into account more, older and dated speach) then of course alterations should be made!
What I want to emphasize most is that many of the English-derived loanwords in Enlisted’s Japanese voice lines sound unnatural. Take “heddoshotto,” for instance—it comes from the English “headshot,” but that term only really became common in Japan in the 2000s with the rise of FPS games. It’s unlikely that most Japanese soldiers during the Pacific War would have known or used a term like “heddoshotto.” There are quite a few other English words similarly adapted into Japanese that just wouldn’t be naturally used by most native speakers.
Some lines also contain serious grammatical issues. Even when the actors’ pronunciation is technically correct, the phrasing is clearly awkward, which makes the delivery feel unnatural.
Another important point is how Japanese speech often shifts depending on social relationships. Many of the lines under “Change Equipment” ignore these nuances. I once saw a discussion among German speakers about the subtle connotations of Kopfschuss—but compared to that, the Japanese voice lines feel far less thoughtfully crafted.
I know exactly how you mean. Though there might be one instance that could be excluded from the borrowing of English words, that being:
Clearly, very close to the English “Yes Sir”, and I expect that isn’t a coincidence. But there might actually be a reason to still have this in the game, that being the history between Japan and the British Empire.
I’m not saying that this is the case, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this term was adopted after English speaking military attaches used it, similar to how Japan adopted many other Western military aspects during the turn of the 19/20th centuries.
The Imperial Japanese military differed significantly in character between the Army and the Navy. Because of this, it’s possible that the Navy soldiers jokingly used loanwords like “yes sir.” However, it seems that Enlisted primarily features Army soldiers, not those from the Navy.
Before writing my post, I carefully reviewed several publicly available online sources, and I found that English words were scarcely used in their speech. Most of the Army personnel were ordinary civilians drafted through conscription, and it’s likely they had little familiarity with English.
Pre-WWII Japan’s military was influenced not only by Britain but also by countries like Germany, so some German-derived terminology might have existed. That said, many foreign-derived words were paraphrased by intellectuals and replaced with expressions that sounded more naturally Japanese.
It’s also worth noting that during the WWII, there was a widespread movement in Japan to eliminate foreign languages, and the military was likely influenced by that effort to some extent.
The Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), as the successor to the Imperial Japanese military, inherited quite a few military terms but also adopted many English words due to the strong influence of the U.S. military. Some of the sources I reviewed discuss the differences in spoken language between the Imperial military and the JSDF, noting that the former tended to favor a much stricter, more formal style of speech.