@lordofcalamity found an unused line in Wingul's last scene from the game script data... and it's absolutely breaking my heart 😭
This is gonna be a bit hard to explain because we're dealing with three versions of the lines here: Long Dau (and its literal English rendering), the Japanese translation of the Long Dau line (more literary + sometimes adds/alters meaning a bit since Long Dau is simple English/omits stuff by design), and the English localization (translation and adaptation of the Japanese line).
For context, after the party's last fight against Wingul, he reactivates his booster in a last-ditch attempt to stop them. However, the booster backfires and as it's going out of control, we have the following exchange :
Rowen: Could this be a reaction to the booster?
Wingul:
(LD) Mi! Tiaus us miti… bāeti us kūlulūmug tun’! [No! This is not... what is killing me!]
(JP) 違う、俺はこんなものに…… 殺されるんじゃ……ない ["No, I am not... being killed by something like... this."]
(EN) No! I could never fall prey to a mere tool!
On its own like that, it sounds like Wingul is lamenting the fact that his booster is going to be the thing that kills him, when he was probably hoping to die in battle. So, the English localization works well in this context.
However... it turns out that this line wasn't meant to stand on its own, but had a following one (in bold below), that alters the meaning of the exchange a little bit:
Rowen: Could this be a reaction to the booster?
Wingul:
(LD) Mi! Tiaus us miti… bāeti us kūlulūmug tun’! Gaius... emud aus udun'el... edin bāeti... potis tun tī n'mud... [No! This is not... what is killing me! Gaius... and his ideal... are what... puts me to end...]
(JP) 違う、俺はこんなものに…… 殺されるんじゃ……ない。 俺を殺すのは……そう……ガイアスの理想……ガイアスだ…… ["No, I am not... being killed by something like... this. The one that kills me is... yes... Gaius' ideal... It's Gaius..."]
He's basically reframing his death as not due to the booster, but to (his own dedication to) Gaius and his ideal.
If we'd gotten the full line, maybe the localization would have been a little different to make it fit better with the second part, though I guess it could still work if we translate the second one this way: "No! I could never fall prey to a mere tool! My cause of death will be... Gaius and his ideal..." or something like that?
(Note, there isn’t an official localization of that line because the English script removed the unused lines; an audio file does exist for the English version, but since he’s speaking Long Dau here we don’t know what he would have said in English...)
Anyway Wingul is very tragic yes ;A;
Incidentally, there was another unused line in this scene, this time from Elize. After the fight but before he reactivates the booster, Wingul shows his determination to not back down: "But I'm not finished with you! I must help His Highness achieve his vision!"
Which, in the game, is followed by Leia asking "Why push yourself to the limit?" (To which Wingul replies "Silence!")
In the raw script and voice files (including the English localized ones), however, Elize speaks between those two lines, making the dialog like this:
Wingul: But I'm not finished with you! I must help His Highness achieve his vision!
Elize: Stop it, Wingul! You'll kill yourself!
Leia: Why push yourself to the limit?
Wingul: Silence!
A sweet moment of Elize showing concern for her booster senpai. I'm a bit sad that's the one they decided to remove, because it's more meaningful than Leia's. But, well, now we know it exists :p
At first, we were thinking of having him speak a real Asian language in his boosted state. However, implementing that would have been difficult, so we went with a fictional language. I suppose the players had varied reactions to Long Dau. During recording, I personally thought it sounded a bit like a language from South-East Asia. I was pretty satisfied with the result.
Scenario Team, ToX Official World Guidance Book p.75
If the Long Dau elite have their own language, there must be other tribes who have their own language too.
The guide says Gaius picked up Long Dau by fighting with Wingul but a couple of battle lines don't seem enough to reach the level of fluency Gaius seems to have. He must have had actual lessons and practice from Wingul.
I wonder if the Chimeriad can understand it somewhat. I kind of like the idea of them understanding a couple of basic things (like when he calls them to link etc) but that when he speaks actual sentences etc they don't understand much they like responding to what he says anyway based on what they guess he means or what they make up in their mind.
Wingul: U baemuti tī kūlul tiaisun' waetis!
Agria: I totally agree.
Wingul: ...Do you even know what I just said?
Agria: Yep, you said "His Highness is soooo hot!" I couldn't agree more.
Wingul: ...
Long Dau is the court language of Long Dau nobility and Wingul's mother tongue. It is an oral language without a writing system, though there exists a dictionary in circulation, most likely written out phonetically in Rieze Maxian. Only the elite of the Long Dau tribe are allowed to speak it, but Gaius has learned the language thanks to Wingul. Rowen has also studied some of it when he was young. They are the only ones who can still speak it.
Long Dau Guide
Long Dau, like Melnics in Tales of Eternia, is based on English. It basically takes English phonemes and replaces them by others to create a unique-sounding language. As it was created for a Japanese audience, the official Xillia guides all use katakana in their conversion tables, and Melnics guides and Long Dau translators on the internet have been simply romanizing this katakana, from what I have seen so far.
I have tried to come up with a system that would be a little closer to English, though with a couple of borrowings from some Japanese romanization conventions, which I will explain here.
This is only my personal system, though, so if you prefer to use the more common system or this cool little online translator, feel free to ignore this post.
This is the chart I am personally using. English is in pink and Long Dau is blue.
[Note: vowels should be pronounced like in Japanese.]
How to form a word in Long Dau?
All you have to do is take a word in English and replace the letters with their equivalents.
Example: "you": Y→ya, O→i, U→o = "yaio"
What's the matter with "n'"?
The Long Dau sound of the English E is a syllabic n, like the Japanese ん/ン. The apostrophe serves to indicate it is different from the n that replaces the English V.
What's the matter with those "(u)"?
The u is used before other consonants, but is replaced by a vowel when followed by it.
Example: "hello": H→a, E→n', L→l(u), L→l(u), O→i
Since a consonant (l) is following the first l, the u is kept. But the second l is followed by a i, a vowel, so the i replaces the u.
Therefore, "hello" in Long Dau is H→a, E→n', L→lu, L→l, O→i = "an'luli"
[Note: Sometimes Wingul adds a u before a vowel despite the Fan's Bible guide advising to integrate the vowels. This is probably a usage thing, in the same way that in English you can say "don't" and "do not" or that some spellings vary with different kinds on English - it depends on the speaker and the situation. In that sense, both "an'luli" and "an'lului" would be correct, though the former is recommanded because it is clearer.]
The u is usually dropped at the end of a word, or when consonants can flow well together, but usage may vary.
Example: "yes": Y→ya, E→n', S→s(u) = "yans";
"spot": S→s(u), P→p(u), O→i, T→ti = "spiti"
What's the matter with "ji"?
Following the rule explained above, the English word "do" would logically become "di" in Long Dau. However, the Long Dau di is used for the English R. In Japanese the difference is made by writing DO ヂ and R ディ in katakana - the former being pronounced like "djee" and the latter like "dee".
The simplest thing is probably to simply write the vowel two times, but that has a tendency to make words longer. For that reason, I recommand the use of a diacritic sign (accents etc) to indicate one vowel is supposed to be there two times. I personally use macrons (ū), but all sorts of marks can be used depending on what's available on your keyboard: ù, ú, û, ü, ũ, ů, etc. For those who have no way to make those signs easily, I propose using an apostrophe like with the n': u'. Or just simply double it: uu.
The distinction is important especially for I/u, as "u" is used for most consonants, but also for C/wa, W/ba and Y/ya when followed by H/a: R/di and T/ti when followed by O/i; and Q/yo when followed by O/i. It helps make the distinction between two similar words.
Example: "cat": C→wa, A→e, T→ti = "waeti";
"chat": C→wa, H→a, A→e, T→ti = "waaeti", or "wāeti", "wa'ati", etc.
Some Rules
Names and Elympion words stay the same. You say "Milla" and "spyrix", not "Tūlule" and "spuyadiuz". "Booster" and "Link" exist in Long Dau, however: "Bīstin’di" and "Lūmuk".
Keep sentences as simple as possible. What matters for the meaning is the given translation, not the actual English rendition of the Long Dau.
For example, in the game, Wingul once says "I planned on capturing you, Maxwell. But it'd be easier killing you." The actual Long Dau line? "Maxwell, sun'n'tus n'esūn'di tī kūlul." ("Maxwell, seems easier to kill.")
That's because turning everything into Long Dau would make sentences way too long and confusing. For that reason, the Long Dau part should use short English words as a base (for example, use "see" instead of "visualize", "good" rather than "delicious", etc.) and not contain all the information if there is too much. The true message can be conveyed in the translation in the subtitles or your fanfic's author notes.
The guides also say that we can drop syllables to shorten words (ex. "wāen'" instead of "wāemuwan'" for "chance"), but don't give rules for it. It could be treated like a kind of slang.
Contractions do not require an apostrophe (which we are already using for n' anyway). So "I've" would be "Unun'". Although, the guides recommand to not use contractions (and so use "U aenun", "I have", instead).
"Baiba!" ("Wow!") is a handy word that Long Dau (and Melnics) speakers seem to use to convey various emotions, like surprise, excitement, etc.
Examples
From the game:
"Elize, watch your tongue. You should know to respect your elders.": "Elize, saiba situn' din'spun'wati tī yaiodi sopun'diuidi." ("Elize, show some respect to your superior.)
"No! I could never fall prey to a mere tool!": "Mi! Tiaus us miti... bāeti us kūlulūmug tun'!" ("No! This is not... what is killing me!)
"For Gaius!": "Hidi Gaius!"
"You shall not pass!": "Mi imun’ puesusun’s!" ("No one passes!")
"Ilbert... Only Gaius is worthy to rule the world.": "Ilbert… Imuluya Gaius waem tidioluya lun'ed tiaus baidilud." (Ilbert… Only Gaius can truly lead this world.")
"Perhaps you finally know how I feel.": "Yaio saiolud kumiba… buya miba…" ("You should know... by now...")
Other examples:
"Hello. My name is Wingul.": "An'luli. Tuya metun us Wingul." ; or simply "An'luli. Um Wingul." (Hello. I'm Wingul.)
"I'm hungry. I want to eat Gaius dumplings. They are delicious.": "Um aomugudiya. U baemuti tī n'eti Gaius dotuplūmugus. Tian'ya edin' gīd." ("[...] They are good.")
"I once wrote a song about them, but Gaius decided to ban it.": "U badī e simug, boti Gaius bemumun'd ut." ("I wrote a song, but Gaius banned it.")
"Baiba!"
(Ulul stīp fīlumug edīomud miba xP)
References
Tales of Xillia Official World Guidance Book, p.32
Cyclone: Tūmwan' tī! (Mince to!) [Mince them to pieces!]
Lightning Nova: Bun' din'edoya! Tiestin' tian' lūguatimūmugus! Lightning Nova! Yaiodin' fūmūsuan'd! (Be ready! Taste the lightnings! Lightning Nova! You're finished!) [Be ready! My blade is lightning! Lightning Nova! You're finished!]
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I love how the translations the guide gives are sometimes so different from what he's saying XD
It's normal, though - Long Dau works best with short and simple sentences/words. The true meaning is meant to be conveyed in the accompanying translation, while the Long Dau part should be as simplified as possible.
Was asked to describe the English th sound. The first thing that popped into my head was tia. I think I may have been using Long Dau a little bit too much...
