Chinese, Japanese, and English. Note the Japanese Katakana.
The sign featuring Latin.
Overview[]
A language is a system for encoding and decoding information. The most obvious manifestations are spoken languages such as English or Chinese. However, there are also written languages and other systems of visual symbols such as sign languages. Mirror's Edge has a variety of languages.
English[]
English is the primary language in the game. All spoken language in the game is in English, with some new slang in addition that is not usually featured in reality, like City Protection Force. English is also found on billboards, signs, and in other in-game media.
East Asian[]
Several East Asian languages seem to be used in the City of Glass, judging by their wide use on boxes, signs and billboards, usually accompanying English. The game uses a weird combination of simplified Chinese characters (used in Mainland China, Singapore, and Malaysia) and traditional Chinese characters (used in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and some overseas Chinese communities) as well as Japanese. While the translations are usually correct, it's obvious that the signs were added mostly for flavor, thus the inconsistency. Chinese and Japanese are never heard spoken in the game, but that may be to avoid confusion with players. There is a good possibility that Chinese and Japanese are used as much as English in speech outside of the encountered conversations in the game.
Latin[]
Latin is also found in the form of Lorem ipsum (which is actually not proper Latin), on glass signs in the subway.
- The Latin phrase found displayed throughout; Finis Coronat Opus; literally means “the end crowns the work”, often translated as “the end justifies the means”. A related Latin phrase is “exitus acta probat”, which translates to “the outcome proves the deeds” or “the outcome is the test of the method”.