Revised GURPS Language Rules

The Language Rules of GURPS have produced several suggestions for modification. This is due to the fact that they do not quite capture the relationship between written language skill, spoken skill and accent. While I find it very pertinent to say that your accent is indicative of your speaking skill IRL, it just doesn't quite cut it in a game context. However, of the suggestions for modification I've seen so far, none have actually solved the problem without creating another IMO. And I have, of course, come up with the perfect solution ;-)

To me the problem lies mostly with accent. To be able to speak accurately without accent is desirable because it let's you impersonate native speakers, it can yield positive reactions when people who know you are foreign can tell that you've put in an effort to learn their languege and ways, and have actually done quite a job! In other words, it's advantageous to be able to speak with no accent.

GURPS is a wonderful system in that you do not violate it as such by creating new advantages and disadvantages. And to me this is the best solution to the problem: Move the question of accent - or not - into the realm of advantages and disadvantages. The suggestions:

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Knowing how to speak you own native language is free - the equivalent of knowing one language with the No accent enhancement (see below). Every other language spoken is a 4 point advantage. How well you speak a language is dependent on your various language-dependent skills: Writing, Bard, Linguistics or even scientiifc skills, they all speak to your mastery of your chosen languages.

In this system the Liguistics skill gives no bonuses as such, but it will still let you analyze languages etc. The Advantage of Language Talent is dumped.

Special Enhancement: No accent. Your mastery of pronounciation, tilt, rhytm etc. is so complete that natives will think you one of them unless something else tips them as to your foreigness (like your appearance) (+25%). This cannot be combined with the following limitations. Special Limitation: Thick accent. You are still able to express yourself, but even foreign speakers will know you are not native, and you are at -2 on language-dependent skills (-25%). Special Limitation: Poor Mastery. You haven't yet fully grasped the language you are trying to speak. Your maximum level with language-dependent skills when using that language decides the level of the limitation: 8: -50%, 10: -25%

This in effect means that a character with eg. two native languages will have one for free and on for (language + No accent = 4 * 1.5 =) 5 points.

This also means that the GM can easily rule that characters beginning to learn languages start out with both Thick Accent and Poor Mastery after about the equivalent of 200 hrs of study.