Language Maximum
Not everyone can be a polyglot

Should this be possible?

Maybe.

Should we be self-policing?

Absolutely.

Is it an actual problem?

I don't think so.

My proposal would be a maximum number of language levels which you can assign tied to your intelligence stats which would basically amount to fluency in two languages before it comes into play.

That said, this idea is fairly superfluous vs the number of things the game needs but throwing it out there because it came to mind.

I love that there's been a drive to push foreign languages as more mainstream cultural things ICly in recent years. I wish that making the decision to speak one language was an impactful decision and not simply a time sink. Capping the number one could learn gives meaning to picking and choosing your language choices.

As for not needing high INT IRL to know multiple languages, keep in mind SD gamifies attributes, and part of INT is your ability to remember things!

Opinion: The two most common languages in the mix should be English and Mash. Topside maybe English and Euro.

A third option that makes thematic sense right in the gate is the character's native language.

So depending where you spend the most time, that's three thematically acceptable languages as a standard.

An stat gate would prevent players from pursuing every language in order to "know what everyone is saying all the time". In terms of RP, I think this kind of mentality should mostly be reserved primarily to archetypes that require it, and for characters that specifically commit to x stats for this reason.

Fixers, scientists, public personalities, syndicate employees. Things like that.

In this regard, that opens up the option for a variety of stats to pursue for this goal. Intelligence, charisma, artistry, trading, to name a few.

A few other thoughts on this to make the language system more interesting/relevant/robust:

1. Mash is a pidgin language. I.E. a conglomerate developed between groups without a common language. Mixers therefore, should get a bonus to learning multiple languages beyond the first three (English, Mash, Native). This reflects the immersive nature of the melting pot that is the mix.

2. Topside dwellers should get negatives to languages beyond their first three (English, Euro, Native). This reflects the elitist community topside in which the lingua franca is English, and you might even be looked down on for speaking something else. Maybe it's rude. Maybe it comes off as secretive and sleazy in public. Maybe it's lowbrow. Maybe it's overtly shady to hide your conversations in public. That's mixer shit, you degenerate scumbag. Scheme behind closed doors and in sic like a real corpo, baka. Immersion is much lessened as a result, and people don't learn other languages as easily.

3. Syndicate members receive a bonus to the primary language of that faction. Cumulative with mix immersion bonus.

@soultune Discrimination is a primary theme in SD, specifically class discrimination. Racial and sexual orientation are things of the past (save the occasional neanderthal living in the 21st century).

Class, religion, status, factions, trans-humanists, etc.

There's a number of categories rife with discrimination in SD. If corporations view their idea of tertiary languages to be symbolic of shady "mixer mentality", it's just another facet of class discrimination in this case. It could be argued that it's cultural discrimination, but the powers that be aren't all of one culture, yeah? It'd be one of those things that wiggles its way into normalcy over time (retconned). Maybe at one point being seen as rude in the same way as not covering your mouth is rude. It evolved from there, the corps eventually caught on and did their propaganda thing, and boom. If you aren't speaking the lingua franca in public, you must be up to something.

At the end of the day, it's a form of control, and could be one more stereotype to foster suspicion against mixers and those that 'act' like them. I don't. Just sounds really cool and interesting to me.

Reefer's subtitle - Not everyone can be a polyglot. Running with the stat gate idea, add a new perk to choose at creation for people seeking hyperpolyglot life.

Call it Language Prodigy or Hyperpolyglot. More bonuses. Yay.

Also this is really cool in the same vein.

https://bookofachievers.com/articles/4-yo-speaks-8-languages-mothers-fun-way-of-teaching-made-it-possible