appropriation of a culture

[Frances Karttunen]

The following will soon appear in the SSILA Bulletin

INDIAN LANGUAGES TO BE INCORPORATED INTO COMPUTER GAME

Heriberto Avelino (avelino at ucla.edu) writes us that, some weeks ago,
he received a series of messages from a CD-ROM development company in
Los Angeles.  They are working on an update of "Age of Empires II",
an "educational, historical CD-ROM computer game" that is marketed by
Microsoft.  This enormously popular "real-time strategy" game combines
"stunning graphics" with the "drama and intrigue" of world history from
the Fall of Rome through the Middle Ages.  According to the game's
official website:

    ...players are challenged to build their nations into great
    civilizations and defeat the enemy by making strategic decisions
    throughout the game.  Each of the 13 civilizations represented in
    "Age of Empires II," including the Mongols, Celts, Vikings and
    Japanese, features distinctive attributes, buildings and techno-
    logies and a unique combat unit based on its historical counterpart.
    In addition, "Age of Empires II" features five campaigns based on
    the adventures of prominent historical figures, including Joan of
    Arc, William Wallace and Ghengis Khan, that draw players deeper
    into the game as they march alongside the hero to victory.

In the update that is being prepared, two New World civilizations will
being added to the roster:  The Aztec Empire and the Classical Maya.
Heriberto was contacted to see if he would be interested in recording
dialogue in Nahuatl.  The developers explained:

    Single word statements and commands will occur when the player
    clicks on a villager, priest, military man or king (one set
    each for the various cultures).  The client is anxious that
    the pronunciations be historically and linguistically accurate.
    They are providing us translations with phonetic spellings.
    That means that, in the case of Nahuatl, it will be Classical
    Nahuatl that would be spoken.  [We think] it important that
    people native to the country in general, and familiar with
    Nahuatl specifically (even if it's only the "modern" version)
    be utilized for the speaking parts, because that would greatly
    increase our chances of correct pronunciations.  We need one
    woman and two men for each language.  We will have each man
    do two speaking parts in varying "voices."  Each person would
    have about twenty (or less) single and double word phrases to
    utter.

Heriberto rejected the job because he felt that it was not right for
a company like Microsoft to use contemporary cultures and languages
in combat games.  To him, this is far from being an "educational" or
"historic" tool.  Doubtless, however, the forces of commodification
will prevail, and hordes of adolescent gamers around the world will
soon be (electronically) crying "Die, vile scum!" in Classical Nahuatl
as they hurl their virtual spears at the enemy.  (One wonders if the
parameters of the game allow for the defeat of Cortez?)

Meanwhile, for the curious, further information on "Age of Empires II"
can be found on the web at:

                 http://www.microsoft.com/games/age2/

Lest you think this is a small matter, either culturally or commercially,
Microsoft has so far shipped over two million copies of "Age of Empires
II", and it sells at a retail price of $54.95.