Language Barriers v2.3 - The Sims 4 / Mods / Traits

A world where everyone speaks the same language is unrealistic. This mod adds new languages to the Sims universe, which introduces a unique challenge to the game.

main features

Seven languages: Simlish, Windenburgish, Selvadoradian, Toki Sulani, Komorebigo, Tartosiano, and Sixami.
Sims are assigned their native language(s) based on their family, occult type, traits, and home world. They may also speak some other languages at varying levels of fluency, depending on their age, family, traits, and home world.
Sims can learn other languages by using Simlingo (phone/tablet/computer), reading textbooks, or speaking with other sims.
Toddlers learn languages from sims who speak to them, and acquire their native language(s) when they become children. Adults can choose to use any language they know with toddlers.
Each pair of sims has one agreed-upon language they will use with each other, but they can change this whenever they want.
Communication is limited between sims that don't share a language, and they may mess up or misunderstand each other.

customization options

You can change any sim's native language(s) and/or language skills if you do not like their defaults.
You can disable Language Barriers for any sim, and they'll be able to communicate like normal.
You can change how language assignment, language acquisition, and regional languages work by editing the settings file. No technical skills are required to do this, just follow this guide on Patreon (not locked to patrons).
If you're more tech-savvy, Language Barriers is much more customizable with its tuning modules. A guide for this will be coming soon™, but if you want to poke around now, feel free to check out the frankk_LanguageBarriers_Data package.

pack & mod compatability

Language Barriers is Base Game Compatible. You can use all of the languages, even if you don't have the associated pack.
There are no known conflicts with other mods, but it is possible for script mods to unexpectedly interfere with one another. If you notice weird behavior with another mod installed, please let me know.
It is easier than ever to integrate a mod with Language Barriers, and some mod integrations are available now alongside the main download. A guide for creators to make integrations for their mods can be found here.

special thanks

MizoreYukii is a real gem of the modding community, and is one of the most helpful people I know. She got me started with modding, and has continued to be a massive help ever since. Her Discord server is where I met many others, such as Lumpinou, ChippedSim, Cidira, Jamjars, adeepindigo, and many others, who have always been there to give me ideas, feedback, and help.
When it comes to scripting, I have Triplis, LeRoiDeTout, Turbodriver, Basemental, and lot51 to thank. Each of them has, at one point or another, provided me with some invaluable piece of scripting knowledge, whether it be to fix a bug, improve stability, or help me implement something new.
And finally, to all of my patrons, translators, members of discord server, and anyone else who has provided me with ideas, feedback, and help along the way, thank you!

languages

Komorebigo: Everyone from Mt. Komorebi.
Selvadoradian: Everyone from Selvadorada.
Windenburgish: Everyone from Windenburg.
Tartosiano: Everyone from Tartosa.
Toki Sulani: Everyone from Sulani, all mermaids, and anyone with islander traits.
Sixami: All aliens (regardless of where they live).
Simlish: Default language for everyone else.

native language traits

Each language has a native speaker trait. These traits are not chosen in CAS - they are automatically assigned to sims when they spawn in to the world. These traits can be added and removed using cheats.
A sim's native language(s) will be determined based on their parents' language(s). If they don't have parents, their occult type, culture-related traits, and home world are used instead (in that order). You can customize how this works by following this guide on Patreon (not locked to patrons).
Sims must have at least one native language trait at all times, but you can change it or add more by using the 'Languages > Native Languages' pie menu option. The 'Switch' option will remove all native languages, and add the one that is chosen instead.

second language skills

Each language has a skill. A sim may only learn a language skill if it is not their native language.
Sims can study a language on Simlingo (phone/computer/tablet), with a textbook, or by talking to someone who speaks it better than them.
Sims are guaranteed to share at least one fluent language with their parents and partner, and are guaranteed to know at least one of their home world's official languages. Additionally, children are likely to speak each of their parents' native language(s) in some capacity. You can customize this by following this guide on Patreon (not locked to patrons).
Sims may have random language skills by default. The languages they may speak depends on their home world and native language(s), and their proficiency in each one depends on its genetic closeness to languages they speak fluently, their traits, their age, and some other factors. This can also be customized by following the link above.

toddler language acquisition

Babies and toddlers do not have native languages - they are acquired once they become a child.
Toddlers will automatically have some skill in their parents' native language(s), and will pick up new language skills depending on the language(s) that adults choose to use with them.
Toddlers can use Simlingo Jr. on any tablet to learn languages that their parents cannot teach them.
When a toddler becomes a child, any languages at or above a certain threshold will be acquired as a native language. By default, this threshold is 5, but you can change it by following this guide on Patreon (not locked to patrons).
If there are no languages at the acquisition threshold, then their highest language will be used instead. If they have no language skills at all, then they will speak Simlish.
If a toddler acquires more than one native language, they will also get the Native Multilingual reward trait, which makes learning languages faster.

regional languages

Each world has official and minority languages. Official languages are used to determine the native languages of sims who live there, and minority languages are used to determine skills.
Each world has only one official language by default, and multiple minority languages. These can be customized by following this guide on Patreon (not locked to patrons).

language genetics

Languages are organized in a family tree, loosely based off of their real-world counterparts, with some creative liberty taken. Language genetics affect how difficult it is for a sim to learn another language, and how likely they are to make mistakes while speaking it.
Simlish and Windenburgish are very closely related to one another, and are somewhat related to Selvadoradian. Komorebigo and Toki Sulani are somewhat related to one another, and are distantly related to Simlish, Windenburgish, and Selvadoradian. Sixami is not related to the other languages at all.

language contexts and preferences

Each pair of sims has one agreed-upon language to use with one another (their language context). Which language they use is determined when they first meet, but can be changed at any time. The language context between two sims can be seen in the sim's profile, and it determines how often communication events occurs, what happens when they do, and which language skills are increased while speaking.
Sims can declare a language preference, and will always use that language with other sims when they meet for the first time (i.e. it will be chosen as the default context).
Language contexts can be changed by asking to change languages (under the "Actions" menu). There is a chance the other sim will decline to switch, unless you use the "Asking to change context always succeeds" add-on. You can also cheat the language context between two sims by enabling testing cheats (testingcheats on) and then shift-clicking the other sim.
Language preferences can be changed by clicking on a sim and using the "Languages" pie menu option.

interaction locking

If either sim has a low skill in the current language context, some interactions will be locked. Interactions gradually unlock as each sim increases their skill in the language.
If a sim has Language Barriers disabled, they will be able to communicate with everyone normally.
Non-verbal interactions should never be locked by language skills.

integration with other mods

Interaction locking will kinda work with CC interactions that are in the friendly, funny, mischief, mean, or romance categories. Some mis-matches can occur, though: (1) if they are non-verbal, they may be locked, (2) if they are in their own CC categories, they will not be affected at all.
In order for LB to work properly with another mod that adds social interactions, either I or its creator has to make an integration for it. Integrations are small files that tell LB which interactions to lock or not. If you want to see LB better integrated with another mod, just let me know.
The only integrations that are currently available are for SimDa Dating App by LittleMsSam and Pickpocketing Mod by NeedCoffee4That. If you use either of these mods, download their integrations from the download page, and include it with LB when you install it.

communication events

This has replaced the old "miscommunication" system. If two sims are speaking in a language which at least one of them does not speak fluently, there is a chance for a communication event to occur (i.e. accidentally saying something inappropriate or offensive, not being able to understand another sim, speaking too fast, talking down to someone, etc.).
Communication events can result in either positive or negative buffs, depending on the sim's current mood, traits, and chance. There are over 150+ buffs, but once a sim reacts in a particular mood, they will stick with that mood for a while, and it will gradually get more intense. Moodlets are different for speakers and listeners.
Communication buffs will never exceed +4, meaning that you no longer have to worry about sims dying from extreme emotions, at least not from LB alone.

optional add-ons

There are 5 add-ons for you to change existing content in LB. These are completely optional, and must be downloaded manually from the download page if you want them. Simply add the ones you want to the Language Barriers mod folder.
Ask to change language always succeeds: Will make the chance that a sim agrees to speak another language 100%, meaning that you can always guarantee a change in language context without cheating.
Hide all cheats: Will mark all of the interactions in the "Languages" menu as actual cheats, so that you have to shift-click sims to see them. This is helpful for decluttering your pie menus, if it bothers you.
Hide communication notifications: Will prevent communication notifications (e.g. "Accidentally Said Something Inappropriate") from being shown, if they annoy you. These appear every time a communication event occurs, which can be very frequent if two sims do not share a language.
Hide language context notifications: Will prevent language context notifications (e.g. "Language Context Determined") from being shown, if they annoy you. These generally appear whenever you meet a sim for the first time.
Hide Sixami from Simlingo: Will turn the Simlingo interactions for Sixami into cheats, so you will not see them while playing the game normally. This is useful if you do not wish to play with the occult language, or find it unrealistic that such a language would be available to study online.

console cheats

There are many console cheats available for LB. Please be patient while I add them here, but for now, you can read about them on this Patreon post. It is from when LB v2.0 was in alpha, but it is still accurate to the latest version.

Do the languages sound different when spoken?

No, and they probably never will - I do not think this is something that is possible.

Can you add [some real language]?

No, I do not add real languages to the mod. Doing so would break the immersion of the game, and risk misrepresenting real people and their cultures. Additionally, since I cannot add every language, it would be unfair for me to add just one.
However, if you are a tier 3 patron (Landgraab), you are allowed to request that I change the name of one of the existing languages for your personalized version of the mod (for example, I can rename "Selvadoradian" to "Spanish"). Learn more about the benefits of being a patron here.

Can you add language classes/learning a language at school?

Yes, this is planned, and will be coming in the next major update to Language Barriers. I do not have an estimated date at this time.

Why can't I set the language for destination worlds?

Destination worlds do not work with the way that I currently assign languages to sims, because no one technically lives there. If EA ever makes destination worlds livable, I will allow you to customize them.
If you're wondering how Selvadoradian works with a destination world, it's because EA assigns all sims from Selvadorada a special trait that I can use to identify them as Selvadoradian speakers. The same cannot be said for Granite Falls and Batuu.
If you would like to change the languages for destination worlds anyways, perhaps because you're using Zerbu's "All Worlds are Residential" mod, you can manually add them to the lb_settings.cfg file. Just use the names "Granite Falls", "Selvadorada", and "Batuu".

Can you add a language for Batuu?

Read the previous FAQ to understand why it's currently not possible. But more importantly, I know nothing about Star Wars, and feel like I would not implement it well, and it would get in the way of that pack's gameplay.

Can a world have multiple languages that sims can speak natively?

Yes. Please read this post on Patreon to learn how this works.

Can you add a language for spellcasters/vampires?

This is planned for the future, but will work a bit differently. Spellcasters/vampires will still have their primary native language(s), and the occult languages will be minor skills that can be used to cast spells, read tomes, etc.
This is likely at least 2 major updates away from being added.

Can you make Sixami more exclusive (i.e. remove the Sixami Simlingo/textbook interactions)?

I have created an add-on to get rid of Sixami from Simlingo. Download it from the "Add Ons" folder on the download page.

2.1.1 (March 11, 2022)

Update Italian, Polish, and Russian translations.
Minor technical changes.

2.1 (February 23, 2022)

Add Tartosiano language for Tartosa.
Update Polish translation for strings from LB v2.0 (by lunan).

2.0.3 (October 2, 2021)

Silence a common error that doesn't actually cause issues (it will no longer show the 'Language Barriers Exception' notification).
Update the Spanish translation for LB v2.0.

2.0.2 (September 13, 2021)

Fix minor tuning errors.
Fix issue that caused fklb.audit to not work properly.
Fix bug where NPC toddlers who are never loaded in (due to MCCC story progression) would speak Sixami by default. This should no longer happen, and can be fixed retroactively by running the cheat fklb.fix_sixami_bug on each of your affected saves. The aforementioned cheat will only affect NPC sims, but if you need to also fix your played sims, you can do so with fklb.fix_sixami_bug all_sims.

2.0.1 (September 7, 2021)

Update French translation.
Fix issue with error reporting related to mood switching (you should no longer get Language Barriers Exceptions for issues with moods related to other mods).

2.0 (August 25, 2021)

Sims' parents are now considered when assigning native languages.
Sims may now sometimes spawn with multiple native languages.
Toddlers that acquire more than one native language will now earn the Native Multilingual reward trait, which increases the speed at which they can pick up new languages.
Sims are now guaranteed to share at least one fluent language with each of their parents, partner, and home region.
Children will now speak at least one of their parents' native languages at some capacity, assuming it is not also their native language.
Second language assignment has been overhauled to take language genetics and a sim's traits into account.
Individual worlds can now support multiple regional languages, including a distinction between official and minority languages.
Each pair of sims now speaks on language at a time, and can change this language context whenever they wish.
Sims can have a preferred language to use, and will default to speaking that with new sims they come in contact with.
"Miscommunication" has been replaced with "communication events", which are things that happen when two sims that don't share a language fluently interact with each other. The outcomes of these can be positive or negative.
Added 150+ buffs for communication events.
Removed +8 emotional buffs from communication, to prevent emotional deaths.
Non-verbal interactions should no longer require shared language skills to be used.
Languages are now organized into a family tree.
Simlingo has been added to the phone, under Entertainment > Simlingo Mobile.
Console cheats have been updated, and some have been added.
Interaction cheats have been updated, allow you to switch native languages and language contexts more easily.
The 'lb_settings.cfg' file has been updated, and now lets you customize even more than before.
Five add-ons are now available: Ask to change language always succeeds, hide all cheats, hide communication notifications, hide language context notifications, and hide Sixami from Simlingo.
Refactored the script to use tuning modules, so that more tech-savvy users can customize LB well beyond the settings file.
Streamlined mod integrations so other creators can now make a snippet for their mod to make it compatible with LB.
Updated/added a boatload of translations.

1.1.9 (July 20, 2021)

Fix issue that resulted from the Cottage Living patch.

1.1.8 (December 22, 2020)

Fix bug where toddlers would learn all 6 languages at once while talking to Father Winter or the flower bunny.
Minor tuning fix for compatibility with LMS's SimDa mod.

1.1.7 (December 16, 2020)

Add support for LittleMsSam's SimDa mod (sims can now participate in a one night stand regardless of their language skills).
Add Dutch translation (by SPaauw).

1.1.6 (December 1, 2020)

Update Russian translation (Luluuluru and Trail_of_blood).

1.1.5 (November 28, 2020)

Fix a bug that caused the language acquisition notification to show up for children that are not in the active household.
Update German (Possum) and add Russian (Raitowaka) translations.

1.1.4 (November 25, 2020)

Fix a bug that prevented the customization of some worlds (Sulani, Windenburg, Mt. Komorebi could only speak their own language or Simlish - setting them to speak any other language would not work).
Add Italian (Alex) and German (Leia) translations.

1.1.3 (November 19, 2020)

Make the skill threshold for acquiring native languages configurable.
Update French translation (Kimikosoma).

1.1.2 (November 17, 2020)

Add Polish translation (Osqar).

1.1.1 (November 14, 2020)

Update Chinese translation (GreenOnionC).

1.1 (November 13, 2020)

Add Komorebigo for Mt. Komorebi (skill, trait, textbook, Simlingo interactions, social interactions, etc.).
Add an option to disable unwanted languages with 'lb_settings.cfg'.
Add support for changing the default languages of Windenburg, Sulani, and Mt. Komorebi.
Fix bug where you could not speak to a celebrity in another language.
Update all existing translations (except for Chinese).
Add Portuguese translation (by Proko).

1.0.2 (November 6, 2020)

Update Chinese (GreenOnionC) and French (Kimikosoma) translations.
Add the fklb.reset cheat in preparation for the Snowy Escape update.

1.0.1 (October 28, 2020)

Add Chinese translation (GreenOnionC).
Fix potential compatability issue with some other mods.
Fix some typos.

1.0 (October 23, 2020)

Add Spanish translation (GeoSims).
Adjust the probability for miscommunication moodlets to intensity to be slightly less likely.
End beta phase.

1.0 beta 5 (October 21, 2020)

Update Korean translation (SHUSHU).

1.0 beta 4 (October 20, 2020)

Add French translation (courtesy of Syngo9 on Discord).
Add Korean translation (courtesy of SHUSHU on Discord).
Fix issue where the Flower Bunny was assigned Simlish, rather than all languages.
Make native speaker traits show up in the sim info panel.

1.0 beta 3 (October 19, 2020)

Add Japanese translation (courtesy of Maru on Discord).

1.0 beta 2 (October 10, 2020)

Add non-English string tables so that text doesn't appear blank in non-English games.

1.0 beta 1 (October 10, 2020)

Initial release.

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