Simlish

While developing SimCopter (1996),{{Sfn|Adams|2011|p=147}} designer Will Wright explicitly avoided using real-world languages such that players could resonate with the emotions of the characters rather than their speech. The initial dialogue team—comprising Wright, audio lead Robi Kauker, voice director Claire Curtin, sound designer Kent Jolly, and composer Jerry Martin—began by using musical instruments reminiscent of the "wah wah" sound effect heard in some Peanuts animated specials. The idea to use musical instruments was quickly scrapped.{{Cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/7/21126705/the-sims-simlish-language-history-20th-anniversary-game |title=A history of Simlish, the language that defined The Sims |date=February 7, 2020 |last=Kilbane |first=Brennan |work=The Verge |access-date=May 15, 2023}}

Wright experimented with several real-world languages to use within The Sims, including Ukrainian, Navajo, Tagalog,{{Sfn|Adams|2011|p=147}} and Estonian, but faced difficulty in finding voice actors and developing a unique identity for the language; with regards to the Ukrainian language, its Slavic undertone was unsuitable for the project. Simlish ultimately became a combination of these languages.{{Cite web |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/the-making-of-the-sims/ |title=The Sims turns 20: Creator Will Wright reflects on the battle he waged to get one of the best games of all time made |date=February 4, 2020 |last=Barnes |first=Adam |work=GamesRadar+ |access-date=May 15, 2023}} One voice actor based in San Francisco, Stephen Kearin, recounted being given a pidgin version of Swahili and Cherokee. Kearin then suggested he speak gibberish, and Wright agreed. Until 2006, Kearin and his female counterpart Gerri Lawlor served as the Simlish actors.

Since SimCopter{{'}}s release, Simlish has adapted. In The Sims (2000), a trill is heard that resembles a Spanish trill, whereas later games have chosen to favor English pronunciations. Online Simlish dictionaries have emerged, signalling a departure from pragmatic uses.{{Cite web |url=https://hlamh.com/simulationreality.html |title=Hooba es game: Simulation and reality |date=2018 |last1=Valin |first1=Ivan |last2=Decaudin |first2=Maxime |access-date=May 15, 2023}} According to Kauker, The Sims had 3,000 to 4,000 voice events split between Kearin and Lawlor. In The Sims 2 (2004), over 50,000 lines of dialogue were recorded across a team of 11. For The Sims 2, Maxis used Max developed by Cycling '74 with the digital signal processor (DSP) plugin MSP and the manipulation plugin Jitter, both by Cycling '74.{{Cite magazine |last=Jackson |first=Blair |date=October 2002 |title=From Scarface To Simlish |magazine=Mix |location=New York City |publisher=Future US}}

Although Simlish is not intended to be a structured language, it shares several rules in how it is pronounced.

Simlish consonants are limited; while English permits three consonants in a row, such as in the word "strong", Simlish words may use up to two consonants sequentially. However, these consonants may be used in unorthodox ways in comparison to English, such as bwu.{{Cite web |url=https://ejlinguist.wordpress.com/2020/02/23/a-phonology-of-simlish/ |title=A Phonology of Simlish |date=February 23, 2020 |author=EJM |access-date=May 15, 2023}}

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In Simlish, some vowels may become diphthongized. For example, e may become eɪ, and o may become oʊ.

Simlish and English have an equal amount of energetic masking and acoustic-phonetic interference, but while the English condition has linguistic interference, Simlish does not.{{Sfn|Brouwer|Akkermans|Hendriks|van Uden|2022|p=578}} Additionally, the Simlish condition does not suppress semantic processing and is thus less resource-demanding.{{Sfn|Brouwer|Akkermans|Hendriks|van Uden|2022|p=581}}

The author of the linguistics blog Wug Life argued that the phonotactics of Simlish and English were the same, allowing artists who speak Spanish to effortlessly translate their songs into Simlish due to the similarities in the phonotactics of English and Spanish. The post cites the lack of Simlish and English words that lack vowels, such as the word vlk, which means "wolf" in Czech.{{Cite web |url=https://wuglife.tumblr.com/post/54539477245/simlish-is-an-interesting-case-of-a-conlang |title=Simlish is an interesting case of a conlang |date=July 3, 2013 |work=Wug Life |access-date=May 18, 2023}}

The word "vou"{{Refn|group=S|name=HaC}} or "voo"{{Cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2021/6/10/22528386/japanese-breakfast-the-sims-4-cottage-living-be-sweet-simlish |title=Japanese Breakfast did a Simlish cover for The Sims 4 because nonsense never gets old |date=June 10, 2021 |last=Carlos Campbell |first=Ian |work=The Verge |access-date=May 15, 2023}} means "you" in English. The word "ah" can be used as a first-person subject pronoun, such as Ah sha noop! "I should know!"{{Refn|group=S|name=HaC}}

To demonstrate personal possessiveness, the word "ma" can be used.{{Refn|group=S|The Sims 4 (2014) expansion pack Get to Work (2015) features a translation of Katy Tiz's 2015 single "Whistle (While You Work It)" that shares similarities with the English version.}}

:Ma doctork. "My doctor."

In the indicative mood, the word "zerpa" means "there is" or "there's", as in Zerpa stamby imba bweb. "There's a stranger in my bed."{{Sfn|Brouwer|Akkermans|Hendriks|van Uden|2022|p=578}}

Several Simlish words are officially recognized, such as nooboo "baby" and fliblia "fire". English may be transcribed into Simlish, as was done to transcribe Katy Perry songs into Simlish. For instance, the word "boo leyar" is equivalent to "boulevard", as are "par" to "park" and "crabbi car" to "credit card".{{Refn|group=S|The Sims 3 (2009) stuff pack Katy Perry's Sweet Treats (2012) features a translation of Katy Perry's song "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" from Teenage Dream (2011) that shares similarities with the English version.|name=LFN}} The word "like" is unchanged between English and Simlish.{{Refn|group=S|The Sims 2 (2004) expansion pack Apartment Life (2008) features a translation of Katy Perry's song "Hot n Cold" from One of the Boys (2008) that shares similarities with the English version.|name=HaC}}

• atohteh: I really have to pee.{{Cite web |url=https://www.thegamer.com/simlish-phrases-add-daily-vocabulary/ |title=Essential Simlish Phrases To Add To Your Daily Vocabulary |date=April 7, 2023 |last=Tedesco |first=Lianna |work=The Gamer |access-date=May 15, 2023}}
• awasa poa: I'm bored.
• boobasnot: I don't like you.
• oh feebee lay: I'm hungry.
• o mee pooba: I'm pregnant.{{Cite magazine |last=Gilson |first=Dave |date=May 2007 |title=Even Better Than the Real Thing |magazine=Mother Jones |location=San Francisco}}
• shpansa: cheers.
• wabadebadoo: [literally or figuratively] I'm on fire.

The most universally agreed upon greeting in Simlish is sul sul (equivalent to aloha in Hawaiian), which may be used for greetings or farewells. According to the developers, it was created as a spliced phrase{{what|date=February 2024}}. Alternatively, the phrase o vwa vwaf sna "nice to meet you" or dag dag "goodbye" can be used.{{Cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/how-the-sims-translates-pop-songs-into-simlish-1832998368 |title=How The Sims Translates Pop Songs Into Simlish |date=March 1, 2019 |last=Jackson |first=Gita |work=Kotaku |access-date=May 15, 2023}}

In the world of The Sims, text is often omitted from signs. Stop signs in The Sims (2000), for example, do not have text and use a flat, white hand against a red octagon to depict the object. The Simlish alphabet does not match either the Latin or the Cyrillic alphabets. The symbol for the Simoleon—a currency used throughout the series—is §. When writing texts, dingbats from the Wingdings font appear.{{Cite web |url=https://blog.codinghorror.com/software-internationalization-sims-style/ |title=Software Internationalization, SIMS Style |date=March 9, 2007 |last=Atwood |first=Jeff |author-link=Jeff Atwood |publisher=Coding Horror |access-date=May 15, 2023}}

Simlish appears in Spore (2008),{{Cite web |url=https://www.thegamer.com/the-sims-simlish-facts/ |title=10 Things Most People Don't Know About Simlish |date=March 27, 2019 |last=Cole |first=Chantelle |work=The Gamer |access-date=May 15, 2023}} developed by Maxis, as well as Firaxis Games's Sid Meier's SimGolf (2004).{{Cite web |url=https://thegolfnewsnet.com/davidoakley/2021/03/19/look-hard-and-play-easy-simgolfs-secret-to-golf-course-design-122226/ |title=Look hard and play easy: SimGolf's secret to golf course design? |date=March 19, 2021 |last=Oakley |first=David |publisher=Golf News Net |access-date=May 15, 2023}} An app for Amazon Alexa devices that understands Simlish was released in 2019.{{Cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/official-sims-smart-speaker-app-will-understand-simlish-1831611743 |title=Official Sims Smart Speaker App Will Understand Simlish |date=January 9, 2019 |last=Jackson |first=Gita |work=Kotaku |access-date=May 15, 2023}} Howard Jones produced a Simlish version of his song "Things Can Only Get Better." It can be found on CD 4 of the clamshell edition of Celebrate It Together - The Very Best Of Howard Jones 1983-2023.{{cite web |url=https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/howard-jones-celebrate-it-together-the-very-best-of-howard-jones-1983-2023-4cd-clamshell-box-edition/ |title=Howard Jones: Celebrate It Together - The Very Best Of Howard Jones 1983-2023, 4CD Clamshell Box Edition - Cherry Red Records |access-date=October 17, 2023}}

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• {{Cite book |last=Adams |first=Michael |date=October 27, 2011 |title=From Elvish to Klingon: Exploring Invented Languages |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780191631603}}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Brouwer |first1=Susanne |last2=Akkermans |first2=Noortje |last3=Hendriks |first3=Lieke |last4=van Uden |first4=Hanne |last5=Wilms |first5=Veerle |date=2022 |title="Lass frooby noo!" the interference of song lyrics and meaning on speech intelligibility. |url=https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-68504-001 |journal=Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=576–588 |doi=10.1037/xap0000368 |pmid=34323547 |s2cid=236498338 |access-date=May 15, 2023|hdl=2066/240874 |hdl-access=free }}

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Category:Fictional languages

Category:Gibberish language

Category:Maxis Sim games

Category:The Sims

Category:Constructed languages introduced in the 1990s

Category:Fictional elements introduced in 1996