Can Paprika talk?

[Valsion]

I know this might be a weird question but the thought has been bugging me for a while. In the game, all her voice lines so far are giggles and other cute noises and I've read her lore entry again, where she too does not speak a word. So my question would be if Paprika is perhaps mute or unable to speak for any other reason. I don't know much about muteness, so I don't know if being mute would also prevent you from giggling or purring like Paprika does.

It would be kinda interesting and makes me wonder if her story mode would then have us follow her thoughts while she participates in the tournament and fight against the predators.

 

[FlutterTal]

I don't think Paprika is mute, otherwise she won't even be able to, at least, laugh.
I also don't know if it's true, but I think laughing is now her own way to "speak". Well I confess there are some laughs she makes which isn't really reassuring (in my opinion).

 

[Valsion]

As it looks like, we may have to wait until story mode to find out. It was just pretty strange to me that she would not say a single word.

 

[Mage]

As far as her being mute, she is not. If you can make growls, trills, hums, etc., you're using the vocal chords and thus could make the sounds of speech. (Technically, if your vocal chords were damaged, I figure you'd still be able to make kissing sounds, because those are from the lips and not diafram, but that doesn't matter since Paprika does more than kissing noises).

Regardless, she still may not be able to talk. Damage to Broca's Area (a portion of the brain responsible for speech) can cause speech impairments, but apparently it doesn't stop you from making other noises.

People will hate me for saying this, but it's also a possibility she is not mentally capable of speech, or never attempted to learn it due to disinterest. I'm no mental health expert, nor would I claim to be so, but she does seem to have some issues. If you read her Book of Lore chapter, you'll know that she has an ignorance of consequences or any situational gravity whatsoever, and fails at following basic instructions. Judging from her voice lines and animations while fighting, it's almost a given that she is completely unaware that there is a battle going on, despite being physically attacked. I honestly doubt she even understands that her tribe abandoned her.

Mind you, I'm not slating her intelligence. She can sew a mean sweater, so she is capable of fairly complex tasks. Clearly her brain is developed in terms of general intelligence. And I realize she's meant to be that cute funny character that everyone loves, and that I'm overanalyzing. But if you look at the facts, her behavior is indicative of a delusional mind, if not something more serious. If you're familiar with the Pyro from Team Fortress 2, she honestly reminds me of him. Ever since I started looking into her character, I've found her story to be the most sobering of the cast.

 

[Petea Copine]

This is DEEP

 

[Cera Cyannis]

Super deep.

 

[ty4brawl]

Pap-deep-a

 

[Valsion]

That's a very interesting theory. Maybe during her story mode we get some sort of Pyro-Vision where everything is a giant party with her newest BFF's.

 

[Rodya]

That's a very interesting theory. Maybe during her story mode we get some sort of Pyro-Vision where everything is a giant party with her newest BFF's.

Nah, we all know that Paprika's mind is just one particular song playing ad infinitum. Her thoughts are kinda like
: LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOOOOOOOOR

 

[Yeena]

Nahh, the song goes more like this.

 

[Nadia]

She probably can, but she don't need to, the best way for her to share Love is with actions, not with words. ^.^

 

[Petea Copine]

Some of her moves she's clearly trying to beat the shit out of her opponent, I think she's smart in a Party Hoers way

 

[TectonicRobot]

Paprika can write, at least! She knits sweaters that say "I heart Paprika". I think she probably can talk, she might just not want too for awhile. I'm super hoping she talks in story mode at least.

 

[Solario]

Maybe Paprika took something akin to a vow of silence? She is still allowed to make basic noises like she does, but has sworn, for whatever reason, never to speak a coherent word. Just a cultural thing for the alpaca folk?

Whatever the cause, if she is canonically incapable of speech, it could be that the resulting isolation has played a part in why she's so...clingy.

 

[Kastor]

I believe the definition (perhaps not the legal one) of mute includes anyone who doesn't speak, even due to something like a vow.

So yeah she's a mute. At least as far as we know.

 

[Valsion]

So far it's established, if she was mute she wouldn't be able to make any of the other sounds and she is most likely not mentally impaired. As for other reasons, one possibility would be that she is in a "too excited to talk" state due to meeting other people. That would be especially exciting to her, since she only lived with her tribe until the events of the game. Chances are she has not seen that many other people on her travels.

 

[ty4brawl]

Is it possible that the Alpake communicate nonverbally?

 

[Valsion]

Is it possible that the Alpake communicate nonverbally?

I don't think so. Albodo and his son were clearly talking with each other in the book of lore. I think they would have written something to indicate, if they talked with sign language or something.

 

[Mari]

some people also just aren’t talkers, even if they’re otherwise very energetic. i have days where i talk A LOT and days where i won’t even verbally acknowledge that you’ve spoken to me, even if i do hear and understand. i also have adhd (predominantly inattentive) and take adderall, which can make me feel pretty energized on top of giving me enough control over my attention to function at work/school. but it can’t fix my social skills, which means that sometimes it just won’t occur to me that i need to verbally communicate with others because they can’t read my mind. it’s really surprisingly easy to just totally forget to talk when your mind is already all over the place.

i think her just being so excited she forgets to talk/can’t think of words to say is the most likely explanation.

eta: it also could be in part the result of living in isolation as part of the alpake too, like others have said. i imagine that words relating to love/kindness/etc. aren’t a major part of day to day alpake vocabulary, and we don’t really know how education is handled in foenum. it could be that she doesn’t know the words yet to piece together sentences that accurately express the excitement she feels.

the fact the sweaters she knits in her lore chapter say “i heart paprika” instead of “i love paprika” might be implying this, though it’s not really unusual to hear the former nowadays and it could also just be a literal transcription, meaning the sweaters really say “i ❤ paprika.” i’ll admit that’s a bit of a stretch though.

 

[ty4brawl]

I don't think so. Albodo and his son were clearly talking with each other in the book of lore. I think they would have written something to indicate, if they talked with sign language or something.

Haven't read it in a bit, but I don't remember there being any quotation indicating speech. It's just told from the one guys perspective.

 

[Brutus]

Considering the rampant stoicism of the Alpake, I can't imagine there'd be a lot of talking among any of them, honestly. Beyond the merchants, at least. A lot of Alpake communication could actually be nonverbal, with them only knowing proper language in order to trade for things they can't make or find themselves. Were that the case, Paprika's own lack of conversational skills wouldn't be out of the ordinary.
I'd imagine that, even for the ones that do talk, they'd be very terse or short with their words, since time spent talking is time better spent suffering nature, as they seem bent on doing.

 

[Mari]

Haven't read it in a bit, but I don't remember there being any quotation indicating speech. It's just told from the one guys perspective.

nah, there definitely is dialogue.

Then one day, fate offered a welcome distraction from our despair. The morning light illuminated his silhouette – a hero returning from some unknown war.

“My son!” I cried as he appeared over the crest of the plateau. “I feared I would never see you again!”

“Father,” he said, “I have news from the city.”

He told us of the imminent return of the Predators and Fœnum’s need for a single champion.

“The leaders in the city are holding a competition in the capitol,” he explained, “they believe the champion should be from their nation. And father,” he put his hoof on my shoulder, “they consider the High Plains as part of that nation.”

 

[ty4brawl]

nah, there definitely is dialogue.

Fair enough. Twas just a thought.

 

[Unonemous]

"Her name is Paprika, and she is going to kill us all."

Only a fool would wish to hear the twisted, terrifying, and world-ending voice of the one true destroyer. She is not a bastion of speech, but a true test of your ability to survive the most dangerous of disasters the world has to offer you.

 

[QuirkHopper]

Something to point out: Velvet can actually understand what Paprika "says"

Paprika: *alpaca noises*( which I can only assume translates to "Wanna snuggle?"

Velvet: Snuggle? Hah! Get in line!