Do everyone in Gensokyo speak the same language?

[Lt Colonel Summers]

To elaborate...
Although most of the 2hus are Japanese, some are very obviously not (Alice, Scarlet sisters, etc), and I highly doubt that every single one of them speaks Japanese fluently, regardless of what the cutscenes in the games and all the printworks tell you...

Which left me with this theory: Gensokyo has an ambient translation magic all over it. This ambient magic is what allows everyone to communicate with each other without running into the language barrier.
For example: Reimu will hear Remilia speak in fluent Japanese, whereas Remilia will hear Reimu speak in fluent English or French (Reimu is shown in Forbidden Scrollery to not understand English at all), and vice versa...

[Drake]

Is it that weird to consider that the presumed foreigners have simply learned Japanese? They would have to have already been in Japan to get into Gensokyo, after all.

I think the most outlandish example might be Alice, who may or may not be foreign, and seems to have not been a youkai for that long, meaning she would be quite young. Meanwhile she still probably would've had plenty of time to learn the language. Maribel is also explicitly a foreigner in her university years and her Japanese is just fine.

[andykhang]

Even so, it's weird that some recent characters's simply knew Japanese on the spot, when there origin shouldn't make them learn it in such a short time. (Like Clownpiece, though I guess it's a Heca-chan thing)

[erired1110]

This is an interesting topic. I'd like to think that characters like Sakuya and Meiling knew a bit of Japanese before coming to Gensokyo, since Sakuya knows how to prepare Chinese dishes very well, and Meiling could be Chinese in origin. Thus, they might have of known of the place called "Gensokyo" in the first place, since Japan is very close to China, and I doubt that Remilia and Patchouli knew that such a place existed before they met them.

[MANoBadAssGar Jr.]

Even so, it's weird that some recent characters's simply knew Japanese on the spot, when there origin shouldn't make them learn it in such a short time. (Like Clownpiece, though I guess it's a Heca-chan thing)

It's imaginable, even the Enma said she's an eccentric case.

[aListers]

Hasn't ZUN straight up said once that they are speaking Japanese?

Looking for the source of this I've come across this: https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/ZUN/ZUN%27s_E-mails

> ? Is the language the girls use Japanese?
> I feel a little unsophisticated asking this, but... (sweat)

Gensokyo IS Japan. :-)
However, note that even if they use obscure or archaic words, so long as there is no precise intent, they
basically express themselves in Japanese in the games.

It does suggest it is that simple.

 I actually want to know the canonicity of the little side comics that came with Forbidden Scrollery that one time - one of them including Remilia writing a letter to Kosuzu in English.  I heard that they were ideas suggested by somebody who wasn't ZUN but considering that they ended up in the manga they may be ZUN approved and therefor canon.

[Shizzo]

Clownpiece does have some english one-liners in VFiS.  IIRC, even in Japanese, she yells out stuff like "Wow, Wonderful!" when looking at Gensokyo's landscape.

But yeah, considering that Gensokyo is in Japan (and the touhou series as a whole is very eastern) it is safe to assume they're speaking Japanese by default, even with some characters having names or origins from other nations, like Hecatia being supposedly a greek goddess or Doremy having an English-ish last name.

[andykhang]

Hecate is a goddess, so I automatically assume they could do anything they want (especially being the goddess of magic among many thing), and Sweet Dream work with the Lunarian, whom speak Japanese, not to mention all the language in the world she have to process through the dream world.

[PK]

Lunarians have another language only know to them, tho. Kaguya ha some books from the Moon that Gensokyo's people are unable to read because of that.

[andykhang]

...Yeah, now that I think about it. The Watatsuki sisters have some justification for being able to speak Japanese (called upon shinto god, for once), but no way regular lunar rabbit would instantly know japanese if the elitist like Lunarian have their own language to speak of, since that would most likely be what they learn, unless 1. The Lunanese is speak in Japanese and have the exact same structural and tone, 2. Lunarian's education is miles and miles ahead of our or 3. It's still actually Japanese, but the literal Moonrunes Kaguya have is an encryption, to prevent anyone except them to read it.

[Hello Purvis]

Everyone in Gensokyo speaks German. This is why Alice (who is Hungarian) had no problems because she spoke it as a second language, as did Hecatia and Clownpiece (who are Greek). Highly popular second languages there.

[Lt Colonel Summers]

Everyone in Gensokyo speaks German. This is why Alice (who is Hungarian) had no problems because she spoke it as a second language, as did Hecatia and Clownpiece (who are Greek). Highly popular second languages there.

Strange... I always thought of Alice as British because of her allusion to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
But if that's the case, explain the Ten Desires cast and Sumireko being able to communicate with everyone just fine. No way they know any German, especially with the latter being from Japan in the Outside World.

[Hello Purvis]

Bucaresti is in Hungary.

Seiga was around and had time to learn it. Yoshika was originally a German ambassador before getting zomberted. Tojiko and Futo come from the same part of Germany that Asuka Soryu does, Miko reads desires, which includes the desire to express and works from there, and Sumireko's in school so she is taking second language courses as per requirement to graduate.

[Lt Colonel Summers]

Bucaresti is in Hungary.

Seiga was around and had time to learn it. Yoshika was originally a German ambassador before getting zomberted. Tojiko and Futo come from the same part of Germany that Asuka Soryu does, Miko reads desires, which includes the desire to express and works from there, and Sumireko's in school so she is taking second language courses as per requirement to graduate.

You made up the part about the Ten Desires cast, no?

Sumireko is in high school. And I don't think Japanese high schools have any German language courses, primary or secondary...

[Drake]

purvis you are my favorite

[the old guy]

Purvis is ma Wafiu.

[Aya Reiko]

Everyone in Gensoukyo speaks Japanese.

However, over a century's worth of near isolation would have likely caused the region to have formed its own dialect.
It's not the only language in there, but it's the one that's effectively universal.  (I personally suspect Patchy and Yukari are both omniglots.)

[Rin Satsuki]

Everyone has their thoughts. I personally think that everyone speaks Japanese. The end.

For others, they might speak in other lenguages or accents (which I somewhat believe, due to characters coming from different parts), but the Japanese will be always the main one.

[Tiamat]

They speak Japanese.  Proof:

https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Bohemian_Archive_in_Japanese_Red/Flandre

[Leon゠Helsing]

As to how they can speak Japanese naturally, considering how prevalent magic is it's not like they can't just "install" a Japanese language "library" through magic one way or another if they look like they shouldn't have had the time to just learn it the old-fashioned way.

...Well, at least that's what I think might be the case. Do take that with a grain of salt.

inb4magicisn'tlikeprogrammingwtfareyouonabout :V

[Tengukami]

To be honest I never realized this was a question to anyone. Of course they
speak Japanese. Now, who's making everyone's clothes, that's a different
story.