skywalker21

Intergrating foriegn languages into my writing. I need some help at this for I do not know how to do it.

If anyone can help me out. I would be happy to hear you out.

Thanks.

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PageOfCups

It depends how you're having the language in.

If it's understood by the character whoes POV you're using then you could have it in English and just add "they said in *insert language here*" after what they said. Or you could write what they say in the foriegn laguage with the phrase in English after it. I've seen both of these done and it wasn't too bad, though for the second one you might want to be careful with translations.

But if the character whoes POV you're writing from doesn't understand then you could just have the phrase said and your character confused, or another character explain what was said ^.^ Hope that helps.

HarryG

If you're using common foreign phrases like 'C'est la vie', or 'Esta la Vida', or 'Schadenfreude', just insert hem as such because everyone knows what they mean.


If you're quoting a whole paragraph in a foreign language, then an explanation would be needed for the reader.

lin

It would be helpful to have a better idea what you mean here.

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Noirllyn

As was said, you really ought to give a context for this, otherwise you can't expect much help.

1.) Only use foreign language when it has a definite place in the story. To do it for the sake of doing it always comes across as stupid.
2.) If it's a short phrase or single word used repeatedly by a character or character group, use it once, explain it, and then use it in the original context freely.
3.) If someone speaks a totally different language and you expect your audience not to know what is being said, have a character translate either verbally or in his mind to clarify what is said, or make it clear by the response given. If the character doesn't understand, then don't bother explaining it for the reader, either.

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Monkuta

If you don't want the speech to be understood, just put it in and let the reader decipher it for themselves. If it should be understood, you could add a character who translates, or give an explanation in the main character's thought line. Entire conversations in foreign languages can be taxing on the reader, so if you're going to add them, I suggest keeping it to short phrases. If possible, say the same thing more than once when possible to keep explanations to a minimum and keep the story flowing.

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