The modern Monster Hunter games have offered traditional English and Japanese voiceovers for many years post-World, but these action RPGs have also long come with a less conventional option: an aptly named "Monster Hunter language" (MHL) that developer Capcom created to help flesh out the series' universe. Fictional or constructed languages (conlangs) can vary dramatically in the effort, depth, and consistency put into them, and they can consequently be a nightmare to translate. But for over five years one Monster Hunter fan has been poring over Capcom's creation to create a usable MHL lexicon. With Monster Hunter Wilds set to launch on February 28, 2025, they're now in a mad dash to finish the process before Capcom can finish the next game in the series.
A recent Reddit post from Monster Hunter scholar Sheepwife1, or Moofah Melody, put this Herculean project on my radar, and I immediately reached out to talk through it. They're a former high school AP English teacher, a linguist "for fun," and speak English and Japanese. All signs indicate that they were put on this earth to translate Monster Hunter lingo. They started this project in 2019 and have done almost all of it solo apart from occasional contributions from followers and other Monster Hunter fans regarding mystery words.
