Pokémon-Speak: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

* The Aflac duck.

 

* Shanghai from some of Morino Hon's ''[[Touhou]]'' ''[https://dynasty-scans.com/series/omoito Omoito]'' [[doujinshi]] series does this {{spoiler|well, not necessarily when she is autonomous}}.

* Almost all Pokémon in the ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' anime, who can say only their names or parts thereof, [[Trope Namer|hence the name]]. For example, Bulbasaur might be named Bulbasaur simply because the sound it makes is "Bulbasaur," or a variation thereof.<ref>Which leads to [[Fridge Logic]]: So these creatures consistently make sounds that just happen to be puns on their nature in a human language, even though many of them have been around longer than humanity? What are the odds?</ref><ref>[[Fridge Brilliance]]: Humans based their understanding of nature on the Pokémon around them (e.g. naming bulbs after Bulbasaur)</ref> With a little careful listening to regular cast members (such as Pikachu) in the original Japanese, though, it's possible to make out patterns. Ash (Satoshi) is "Pikapi" while Togepi, during the seasons that Misty was with them, was "Pipipi." Likewise, Misty (Kasumi) herself is "Pikachupi" and after Team Rocket finishes their motto it says "Pi-Pikachu."

** The first Frigimon encountered in the series had a ''fondness'' for yelling his own name, but could speak just fine besides (especially after getting un-[[Brainwashed]].)

** Meramon, when under the control of a Black Gear, shouted "Burning!" a lot, which in Japanese would have been "Mera," making it Pokespeak ''there.'' (In English, yelling "Burning! BURNING!" made him sound [[Ax Crazy]]... which he was at the time, driven mad by his own flame burning him and being [[Nightmare Fuel|a bit scary]].)

* Several Zonders in ''[[GaoGaiGar]]'' can only say "ZONDAAAAA!!"

* The dog Potato in ''[[AIR]]'', which can only say "piko" over and over and occasionally "pikori" (not his name, but same idea).

'''Bonta-kun''': Fumo! }}

** This is all done only to be interrupted by Chidori with an [[Armor-Piercing Slap]] from her [[Paper Fan of Doom]] to "Stop acting like you can understand each other!" In later episodes, she becomes Bonta-kun's translator.

* Boota in ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' has a vocabulary of four words most of the time: "Boota," "Boo," "Ta" and "Oink."

* Gainax is at it again: Chuck the dog... zipper... thing from ''[[Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt]]'' can only say "Chakku" (the Japanese pronunciation of "Chuck"). Fastener, his [[Evil Counterpart]], just makes growling noises.

* The two year old boy Ikura Namino in ''[[Sazae-san]]'' can only say three words.

* ''Bistro Recipe''/''Fighting Foodons'', known to many as that [[Widget Series]] where chefs turn food dishes into Mons, was rather odd about this. Some Foodons could only say their names, some could say their names and a series of stereotypical phrases (I.E. a british dumpling speaking only in "pip pips" and "tally-hos"), and some were able to speak a full lingual range.

* In the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' manga Volumes 6-7, the Monster World characters Pau and Pokii say their own names.

* Parodied in ''[[Toradora!]]'', where Ryuji gets so excited whenever it sounds like Inko-chan, his parakeet, is going to say her name. Inko-chan always stutters, then blurts out a word that is much more difficult to pronounce than "Inko".

* ''[[Domo]]''! is all Domo-Kun says.

* Another reverse example in ''[[Ao no Exorcist]]'' - Shiemi's [[Mons|Familiar]], a [[Green Thumb|Green Man Sprout]], can only make the sound 'Niiii!', so she names him 'Nii-chan'. (Which is, of course, also a common contraction of the japanese term for 'Big brother', making it a bit of an [[Ironic Nickname]] too, given his tiny size.)

 

* In an amusing "Civil War" ([[Marvel Comics]]) parody, Wolverine speaks only in "Snikt" and "Bub." Almost everyone is able to understand him, anyway. Example [http://mightygodking.com/images/Civil_War/cwp_01_11.jpg here].

** "Dammit, where's my Logan-to-English dictionary?"

** Rover also has a couple of appearances in [[Wolverine and the X-Men]], including an entire episode revolving around his relationship with Marrow, who spends most of her time with him trying to teach him more words...with absolutely no success.

* I am Groot! In the Marvel comic ''[[Guardians of the Galaxy]]'', the tree-alien Groot is only capable of saying the phrase "I am Groot!" (and occasionally very simplistic sentences like "Groot am ow"). Apparently he's very smart and if you're capable of hearing the slight nuances, he can provide very detailed explanation. When saying "I am Groot!".

* In the original French version of ''[[Asterix]] and the Great Crossing'', Obelix calls the turkeys "glubglubs" (in English, he calls them "gobblers").

 

* From the Disney film ''The Three Caballeros'' -- [http://youtube.com/watch?v=FbjxwaZZVBE The Aracuan.]

* A few of the robots in ''[[WALL-E]]'', namely WALL-E himself, EVE, and M-O could only say a couple of words, one of which was their name.

** Correction. It's "''STEEEEVE.''"

* The rather vicious looking dog in [[Over the Hedge (animation)|Over the Hedge]] was only able to say "Play?" when chasing R.J. and his wagon of food.

* John Malkovich, [[Mind Screw|all of them]], in that one scene of ''[[Being John Malkovich]]''.

* ''[[Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure|Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey]]'' introduces the greatest scientist in the universe (never stated exacly where, but never denied that he's from Mars), "the dude who can make one word mean anything:" Station!

* [[Matt Damon]] in ''[[Team America: World Police]]''

* Ruh the black tiger in ''[[The Beastmaster]]''.

 

* Hodor, the gentle-if-limited giant from ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' says nothing but his own name. It's eventually revealed to be the other way around; his real name is Walder, but [[Verbal Tic Name|everyone started calling him "Hodor" because that's all he says]].

* ''[[The World According To Garp]]'': After significant brain damage in World War Two, Technical Sargent Garp requires constant care at a hospital and can only say "Garp." As time goes on, this is shortened to "Arp" and eventually, "Arrrrr."

** A lot of the time, though, "Gleep!" just means "Gleep!" - it seems a dragon's vocal cords are the last thing to develop. And that dragons, like Trolls in the series, tend towards [[Obfuscating Stupidity]] when dealing with outsiders.

* Canadian children's show The [[Polka Dot Door]] had a character called the "Polkaroo" who just said "Polkaroo!" in varying tones.

* ''[[Where's Wally?]]'' (or ''[[Where's Waldo|Where's Waldo?]]'' if you prefer) has Woof the dog.

* Oy the billy-bumbler from ''[[The Dark Tower]]'' actually ''does'' have the ability to speak, or at least to parrot human words. He's still named for his most common exclamation, however.

* In the children book ''Dinosaur with an Attitude'' the main character's pet ''Compsognathus'' can only say portions of its name right after hatching,<ref>"Omps" is an affirmation, "Comps!" is surprise, "O?" is a question, and "Gnathus!" is that it is annoyed</ref> but it acquires fluency in its owner's language very soon. It reverts to Pokémon-Speak when it is annoyed, however ([[Jerkass|which is quite often, actually]]).

 

* Daikenjin Zuban of ''[[Super Sentai|GoGo Sentai Boukenger]]''

** In ''[[Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger]]'', when Luka transformed into him, this became a [[Verbal Tic]].

* ''[[Boston Legal]]'': DENNY CRANE!

* Gadget the robot from the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' special "The Waters of Mars".

* The British preschool series ''In the Night Garden...'' has every character (except for Igglepiggle and the Pontipines, as well as the non-speaking characters) doing this.

* Brazilian show ''TV Pirata'' had Barbosa, who could only repeat his name or the last word said to him.

* Binyah Binyah Polliwog from ''[[Gullah Gullah Island]]''.

 

* Many software development libraries will fall into this as an anti-pattern. For instance, take this line from the config file for the "awesome" window manager on Debian:

{{quote|<code><nowiki>{ "Debian," debian.menu.Debian_menu.Debian }</nowiki></code>}}

 

 

{{quote|Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh.... nope nope nope nope nope nope book book book book....}}

* Mahna Mahna and Hugga Wugga of ''[[The Muppet Show]]'', each of them originating from [[One-Scene Wonder|a specific sketch]] where they would [[Troll]] various other Muppets while singing/scatting/rhythmically speaking the syllables of their names.

 

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121125052836/http://www.users.qwest.net/~rjbphx/Kyogen.html Bonsan] (a Japanese comic play in the [[Older Than Print|Muromachi]] [[Older Than Steam|period]]).

 

== Toys ==

* The international versions of the large electronic toys from the ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'' movieverse toyline are like this, [[Executive Meddling|in order to avoid language barriers]]. Instead of saying full phrases, the toys only say their names and non-language-specific terms (such as faction names).

* Many [[Incredible Hulk]] toys say simply "HULK SMASH!"

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* In ''[[League of Legends]]'', when Skarner stands idle in a bush, he does this. "Skar, Skar, Skarner!"

 

* ''[[Homestar Runner]]'': "Eh! Steve!"

* The kobold race in ''[[Unforgotten Realms]]''. Though they do speak other languages, their own language is composed of nothing but "Kobold!" said over and over. And even when they do speak other languages, they [[Verbal Tic|pepper it near-constantly with "Kobold!" anyway]].

* In [[Awesome Series|PokeAwesome]], Venusaur is able to speak perfect English, but whenever he does he corrects himself with "I mean, Venusaur" in a parody of this trope.

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* In ''[[Devil Bear]]'' Poquebears (of course) occasionally talk like this; also, [http://www.thedevilbear.com/comics.php?p=111 Sock Monkeys].

 

* The aliens in ''[[Red vs. Blue]]'' speak in a language made up entirely of the words "honk" and "blarg."

* [[Bloge Salming]]'s portrayal of hockey player Phil Kessel is a moron who can speaking nothing but his name. Later episodes have expanded Kessel's vocabulary but for the most part retain the rest of the personality.

* [[Sailor Moon Abridged]] uses it in the remix episode with Remix!Amy only being able to say her name, Blue.

 

* ''[[South Park]]'': "TIMMMEH!!!" And his parents, Richard and Helen.

** Also, the Marklars. Then again, [[Smurfing|everything is]] [[Planet of Steves|Marklar to them]].

* Bjornbot, Bjorn Bjornson's robot double from ''[[Robotboy]]'' can only say "Bjorn!!" (usually with as much pathos as [[South Park|TIMMMEH]]) - And [[Verbal Tic|"Ja!!"]]. Since his only purpose is to be the world's greatest fighting robot, it is possible that Bjornson just didn't bother to program him to say anything else.

* In-universe example: Guano from ''[[Kappa Mikey]]'' engages in Pokémon-Speak on [[Show Within a Show|Lily-mu]].

** [[Fridge Logic|which is odd, considering the number of methods we've seen him use to get in that don't involve talking at all.]]

* Moe and Spewter in ''[[Mutant League]]''. Of course, they are so dumb that all Moe can say is "Eat dirt," and all Spewter can say is "Dead meat."

* [[Our Ghosts Are Different|Secret]] from ''[[Young Justice (animation)|Young Justice]]'' speaks this way. Apparently, it's due to the circumstances surrounding her death: the last thing she saw before being murdered was the word "secret" on a neon sign.

 

* Humans with severe aphasia may speak like this, such as Broca's famous patient who was [[Verbal Tic Name|nicknamed]] "Tan" after the only sound he could make.

* Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino of [[Jersey Shore]] tends towards this.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Naming Conventions]]

[[Category:Self-Demonstrating Article]]