This is the visual equivalent of Just a Stupid Accent, and commonly results in a Font Anachronism. See Translation Convention for the spoken version. This can also occur on the covers of books or on movie posters in order to evoke the feel of the work's setting.Ĭompare Translation Punctuation and The Backwards Я. So in order to avoid breaking the feel of the setting, the scene will just have English text written with a typeface emulating the writing style of that region or period. However, if most of the audience is educated in the English language, it is not practical to use an actual foreign language.
If a movie or cartoon is set in a particular period or region, the creator may want to show certain details to the audience through a sign in the background.