Gamers generally get a lot of flak with people accusing them of being lazy, unfocused, and downright unpleasant at times. But quite frequently, incidents crop up that render these accusations false.
The latest of such incidents comes courtesy of the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla community where a bunch of the game’s fans came together to translate a foreign language i.e., the Kanien’kehá:ka dialogue spoken by Indigenous Native American characters in the game’s Vinland region.
Historically speaking, Vinland was an area of coastal North America that was discovered by Viking sailor Leif Erikson, and briefly settled by Vikings in 1000 CE. This was about 500 years before Christopher Columbus came along and “discovered” America.
In AC Valhalla, Eivor can unlock Vinland that exists about 200 years before historians believe Vikings first settled in the area.
At this point in time, the chief populace of Vinland belongs to the Kanien’kehá:ka a.k.a. the Mohawk people. They speak a language that Eivor doesn’t understand and Ubisoft keeps players at the same level by not providing any translations or subtitles in the game.
To ensure authenticity, the development team worked alongside Akwiratheka Martin, a Kanien’kehá:ka language consultant, who previously consulted with Ubisoft during the making of Assassin’s Creed III.
The AC Valhalla lovers at Access The Animus, as you will see in the video above, took up the task of unlocking the mysteries of the Kanien’kehá:ka. The team provides both, translations of the Kanien’kehá:ka dialogue, and some cultural background and context to help fans understand exactly what is going on in Vinland from the Kanien’kehá:ka perspective.
To ensure accuracy of all information, Access the Animus enlisted the help of the Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center, which was founded in 1973 to preserve and enrich the language and culture of the Kanien’kehá:ka.
The translations and additional information presented enlightens players on what exactly happens during the Vinland storyline. In the game, the region serves as a one-off survival adventure where players are stripped of most of their gear and are forced to leave what they have crafted upon departure.
While the game doesn’t provide much in terms of violent interactions between Eivor and the Kanien’kehá:ka, it won’t exactly surprise gamers to learn that the feeling of distrust and wariness between both parties is mutual. However, Eivor’s actions in Vinland linking all the way back with Assassin’s Creed Rogue and Assassin’s Creed III might come as a bit of a surprise.
This is not the first time that Access the Animus has translated a foreign language found in Assassin’s Creed – its first project was focused on the fictional Isu language that has featured in multiple titles in the AC franchise. Translating a fictional must have definitely taken a lot of dedication as employing all the tools that create real languages into a very comprehensive story set-up is quite a momentous task.
About Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Developed and Published by Ubisoft, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is the latest instalment in the Assasin’s Creed series launched in November 2020. The action-adventure, role-playing video game is available to play on Playstation 5/4, Xbox One/ Series X/S and PC.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla takes players back to the Vikings’ glory days around the 9th century through the eyes of a Viking invader from Norway named Eivor. By playing as Eivor, gamers must represent the clan and help fellow warriors in the battle against Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms. The game brims with phenomenal main quests along with noteworthy side quests. AC Valhalla will also embrace many new features like dual-wielding of various weapons and armours.
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