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Language is a type of communication used throughout the world, with different areas using different languages to communicate. In Club Penguin, when it was discontinued in March 2017, there were four different languages players were/are able to play in: English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish. There was also also two more languages that were later removed in September 2015: German and Russian. The game's language could freely be changed through a button at the top of the play screen on ClubPenguin.com. All content in the game, including text and art assets, changed to reflect the language the player was playing in. However, there were rare instances where content was only in English, such as the Paint By Letters books. There were also rare instances content would be left untranslated from English in one language but not others, such as the PSA Secret Missions, where they were not translated into Russian when they returned as training missions in June 2015, and were left in English.

Various other Club Penguin spin-offs and additional content, such as video games (like Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force), mobile apps (like Puffle Wild), books, the Club Penguin Magazine, etc, were usually translated into multiple of the previously mentioned languages, although rarely all. While plenty of Club Penguin media was translated into Spanish, very little was translated in Russian. In mobile apps, language could be freely changed in settings like online Club Penguin, but video games were locked into the language the cartridge/disk was in.

In Club Penguin Island, as of the 1.4.0 update, the game's language can be changed through a button in the world selection screen, between English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish, like in online Club Penguin. Prior to the 1.4.0 update, the game's language was the language the player's iTunes (iOS) or Google (Android) account was set to. Additionally, spoken character dialog was only in English, but the subtitles were translated.

Language history[]

Club Penguin[]

Language Date added Date removed
English Original language Present until closure on March 30, 2017
Portuguese October 15, 2008
French February 10, 2009
Spanish June 29, 2009
German November 15, 2011 September 2, 2015
Russian February 6, 2014

Club Penguin Island[]

Language Date added Date removed
English Original language Still available
Portuguese March 9, 2017
French
Spanish

English[]

English was the original and most prominent language in Club Penguin. All components of the franchise were always made in English first, then translated into other languages.

Portuguese[]

Portuguese (or Portuguรชs; specifically Brazilian Portuguese) was the second language in Club Penguin. It was added to Club Penguin on October 15, 2008[1], and to Club Penguin Island on March 9, 2017.

According to Billybob, Portuguese was added due to fans in the country of Brazil asking for Club Penguin to be translated into Portuguese. This request was heard, and an office was built in Sรฃo Paulo.

For celebration of five years of Club Penguin in Portuguese, a hat named 5 Year Celebration Hat, which used the colors of the Brazil flag, was released in September 2013.

French[]

French (or Franรงais) was the third language in Club Penguin. It was added to Club Penguin on February 10, 2009[2], and to Club Penguin Island on March 9, 2017.

For celebration of five years of Club Penguin in French, a hat named French 5th Year Party Hat was released in March 2014.

Spanish[]

Spanish (or Espaรฑol) was the fourth language in Club Penguin. It was added to Club Penguin on June 29, 2009[3], and to Club Penguin Island on March 9, 2017.

For celebration of five years of Club Penguin in Spanish, a hat named Spanish Fifth Year Hat was released in September 2014. Unlike the previous two language-based hats, this hat was only available for a few days.

German[]

German (or Deutsch) was the fifth language in Club Penguin. It was added on November 15, 2011.[4]

On June 30, 2015, it was announced that the German and Russian languages would be removed from the game.[5] On September 2, 2015, both languages were removed.

German was the only language (aside from English) that had no items commemorating its release or anniversary.

Russian[]

Russian (or Pัƒััะบะธะน) was the sixth language in Club Penguin. It was added on February 6, 2014.[6]

In celebration of the launch of Club Penguin in Russian, a small Russian Welcome Event featuring the Welcome Hat as a free item was held in March 2014. A furniture item named Matryoshka Doll was given to the first 1000 players to buy a membership in Russian.

On June 30, 2015, it was announced that the German and Russian languages would be removed from the game. On September 2, 2015, both languages were removed.

Trivia[]

  • All six languages that Club Penguin was available in are Indo-European languages.
  • The Russian Club Penguin logo was the only one written in a language other than English.
  • Text in the game files that were not translated from English into other languages were padded with two number signs on each side. These generally include bait items, or items that were only available regionally (such as Innocent Smoothies fruit items). For example, the Orange Costume was named Disfraz de naranja in Spanish, but in German and Russian, it was labeled ##Orange Costume## due to not being officially translated. This usually only affected text that was not visible to players, but could sometimes appear.
  • There was a Chinese test version of Club Penguin[7] that surfaced on February 17, 2009.[8] However, access was later removed, and no official announcement regarding it was made.
  • There was also a Japanese version of the game.[9] The beta first appeared and started in February 20, 2009.[10] Players could make an account using their Toontown account[11] or their Disney Gamer premium account[10]. Account registration was ended in March 9.[11] After that, the beta ended somewhere in April, and after the closure, players were emailed a survey.[12] However, it's unclear what happened after the closure, but it is most likely that the Japanese version was scrapped and was never seen again.

References[]

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