What's in a Language?

One benefit in my eyes of Second Life has been the ability to meet people from across the world.  While sims have a predominant language (English in our case) I would hate to lose people from our community just because they use a translator.

In my first role-play scenes I wondered if the translator would affect the depth of my 'immersion'.  But after getting to know people better I felt I rather adjust my eyes and lose their minds.  The Tahari is a big place, so it may reasonable to think of this in charter of straining to understand far flung dialects.  So far I have been impressed by how good people's English is for the odd bits of IM needed.

There are some tools and practices that can help.

1. I added a translate widget to this blog :-)
2. Use translator tools in local chat, and become used to people employing them.
3. Give a little extra time when responses are required. 
4. Provide logs of classes people can translate and view later.
5. Keep your English simple or standard enough so we don't choke the translator.  (/me laughs at his own overly complicated flowing writing)
6. Remember there are sims based on a given language if that is preferable for some people.

It struck me yesterday in a class that I was actually getting a free lesson in another language as I watched the quick translations roll by. 

Though it's nice when we all speak the same language, I would hate to loose friends or good role players simply because they use a translator.   Using a few techniques may help in this effort.   What suggestions do you have to make our world come alive in an occasional blend of languages?

Example of a translated blog entry

"Roleplaying  - definido como fingindo ser outra pessoa ou fingindo estar em uma situação específica que você não está realmente na hora. O objetivo do role-playing é proporcionar uma experiência agradável não só para si mesmo, mas também para os outros participantes em uma cena."