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This topic has moved here: Subject: how come elites can't speak english but the little ones can????
  • Subject: how come elites can't speak english but the little ones can????
Subject: how come elites can't speak english but the little ones can????
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i don't understand why the little guys can speak english but the elites can't they came from the same planet but one can speak but the pther can't???????

  • 06.28.2004 10:14 AM PDT
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They don't come from the same planet, but that's irrelevant, as none of the covenant species speak English. Only, the grunts' language has been translated (partly) and MC's suit is thus able to translate the funny things you hear them say :-).
The language that the elites speak has yet to be translated.
BTW, this has already been discussed many times in the past, and normally, you know it by playing the game or reading the manual, I think. So I suggest that you let this thread die now.

  • 06.28.2004 10:29 AM PDT
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This is the first time i've seen a thread with a often asked question not beeing flamed! good job Bartman that's actually quite nice of you! It should be that way everywhere on Bungie.net but it isn't...
Besides I think some parts of the Elites language has been translated if you the video "Can o' Whoop Ass" where an Elite hits a marine and it says "Don't you get back up!" well thats wat i heard but i don't kow for sure though...

watch it here:
http://www.bungie.net/Games/HaloPC/page.aspx?section=AudioVid eo&subsection=GameVideos&page=1

  • 06.28.2004 1:44 PM PDT

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This is untrue - the elites (indeed possibly all of the Covenant races) Do in fact speak English. In the book and in the MacWorld video (Gawd that was a long time ago) the Elite says - VERY clearly, " Your destruction is the will of the gods, and we are their instrument."

Actually in the book there's a lot more to the saying but thats really hard to remember a quote from memory...

But the Elites (and I would think at least the prophets) and Grunts DO speak english.

  • 06.28.2004 6:18 PM PDT
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I have not read The Fall of Reach, but in all otehr instances of Elites speaking, they have been from the perspective of the Elites. Also, Captain Keyes' confrontation with Zamamee, and the wording in that passage lead me to believe the elites to not understand, nor do they speak English. Assuming they can understand but can not speak, perhaps their mouths and vocal organs simply will not produce the same sort of tone and rhythm that humans can, you know?

  • 06.28.2004 7:40 PM PDT
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In response to Game Junkie

Uh dude, that was BEFORE Microsoft being the evil empire it is took over Bungie and ruined Halo... so the Elites --> -/could/- <-- now suddenly just not speak English/Basic because of revampification of story line etc.

[Edited on 6/28/2004 8:03:02 PM]

  • 06.28.2004 7:42 PM PDT

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Incorrect my friend. In the Fall of Reach (which has an XBox logo on it) the Covenant send the message with the Elites on the first wave. It shoked and appalled the Humans that this race that hated them so, had actually studied them enough to learn their language.

  • 06.28.2004 7:47 PM PDT
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I'm not saying Elites cannot speak English/Basic, I'm just saying your whole reasoning of "Well if the Elites spoke English in the pre-Microsoft era of Halo, then they can speak it now" is wrong.

  • 06.28.2004 8:01 PM PDT
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Posted by: GameJunkieJim
This is untrue - the elites (indeed possibly all of the Covenant races) Do in fact speak English. In the book and in the MacWorld video (Gawd that was a long time ago) the Elite says - VERY clearly, " Your destruction is the will of the gods, and we are their instrument."


Ok... um... NO. In the book, if you finish listening to your english learning tapes and keep up with "hooked on phonix", you will see that it says that all that stuff was a rough translation. man, you guys are really, really, -blam!-ing dumb. i mean... dumb.

  • 06.28.2004 9:18 PM PDT

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The message was broadcast in English. If it was in the covenant's toungue and we had translated it, there wouldn't have been the degree of horror that there was - Re-read it again my friend, before you start talking about 'Hooked on Phonix' (By the way it's spelled Phonics-speaking of dumb)

[Edited on 6/29/2004 7:46:44 AM]

  • 06.29.2004 7:43 AM PDT
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OK, NO YOU ARE WRONG. It even states that there was so.. not any feeling in the statement, but it was almost an imagined horror and evil they heard in the voice. Here is the direct quote "The voice from the speakers sounded odd, artificial-strangely calm and formal, but laden with rage and menace.

"Your destruction is the will of the gods... and we are thier instrument" John was awestruck. He stood. "Sir, is this a translation?" No they broadcast this to us in our language. We beleive they used some kind of translation system to prepare our message."

Anyways, I am positive that it is an covie AI speaking. It is not elites, and thier language has not been decoded like the grunts has partially been. OK, those are the facts. It is not the elites. And if you bring up later on First Strike where the gold elite says sometin about skinning alive, like was stated, that is later on, so their coulda been time for cortana to rig up a system.

  • 06.29.2004 8:07 AM PDT

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If it is a covenant AI however, there is ample time for the Covenant to learn the language from the application of the AI - I stand by my original statement, as Bungie didn't change the story behind Halo that much (I would love to get my hands on the Halo Bible) and the Elite in the aforementioned video DID speak - Directly, might I add, to MC in the prebuild video. As Bungie is generally very good at sticking to their guns, I believe that the Elites and grunts that were interested enough in their enemies to learn it (and it's always good to know as much about your enemies as possible) would have learned it.

  • 06.29.2004 9:02 AM PDT
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if u read Halo:The Flood, an elite talks with Captain Keyes through a translater...so...im guessing the grunts have translaters in the methane packs.

  • 06.29.2004 11:41 AM PDT
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Yeah, you guys were all right... my bad.

But it DOES say that the grunts have translator software in their methane masks or something like that. And they talked about how the covies must have taken the time to study our language. And it shows no evidence whatsoever that the elites speak english...

  • 06.29.2004 11:56 AM PDT
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the thing that the grunts have in theyr mouths...theres nothing to do with it?

  • 06.29.2004 12:21 PM PDT
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what? the "thing in their mouths" is their methane mask, it pumps mathane into their mouths from the tanks on thier backs. it also has traslator stuffs in it, i think.

  • 06.29.2004 1:10 PM PDT

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This is a point that I hadn't considered, but I know I've seen an elite speak before. And Bungie isn't the type of company to change things like that for no reason.

  • 06.29.2004 4:27 PM PDT
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well, elites CAN speak english, but you have to do things to get them to say stuff, and the things they say are hard to decipher.

  • 07.04.2004 11:31 AM PDT
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The grunts don't actually speak english, MC has a voice translator that can translate what the grunts say, but it's not good enough to translate the Elites, oh and that whole "Your destruction is the will or our gods..." thats a trasmission but that doesn't mean its an Elite speaking or not, it might not even be voice at all, it could be a text. But I forget It's been a while since I've read the books.

  • 07.04.2004 11:41 AM PDT
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Halo 2 ... 3 months early or 1 million$

  • 07.04.2004 4:04 PM PDT

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oh and that whole "Your destruction is the will or our gods..." thats a trasmission but that doesn't mean its an Elite speaking or not, it might not even be voice at all, it could be a text

The Elite in the video said it himself, and it was a recording in the book, just to make things clear.

  • 07.04.2004 4:39 PM PDT
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bungie needed a alien to say funny things so they picked the little ones. after all if a preditor yelled were all gonna die it just wouldn't sound right.

  • 07.09.2004 8:37 PM PDT
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To be honest I don't see the point in asking such a question really. But hey if ur curious or have a question about something no matter how stupid or silly it is feel free to ask it. But yeah now that you mention that question it ponders in my mind as well.....

  • 07.09.2004 8:58 PM PDT