Using foreign languages in a fantasy world

[BlueLucario]

I don't have much of an idea of the world building thing, but I'm writing an urban fantasy(possibly thriller) where people speak foreign languages. It's in a made up place with the rules of our world set in. Like I might have vampires speak Italian, or werewolves speak french.

I have a character who's programmed to speak many different languages and translate letters from other countries. She can speak german, chinese, french. She can even decipher Braille and binary code.

Is it possible to use the foreign languages in our world, and place them in a fantasy world?

[Adam]

So, for instance, you would have a character speaking Italian, but there would be no Italy?

That would bug me if I was reading it, to be honest.

On the other hand, making up a bunch of languages would be a nightmare! I had a hard enough time making up a few phrases, never mind whole swathes of dialogue. :D

[BlueLucario]

What about people speaking italian and then name the language "Chicken"?

[Cyia]

If you have names for the races in your universe, there's no need to name the languages.

"I do not speak chicken," the werewolf said. He spoke only the native tongue of his people, even in a crowd, so that the vampires in attendance couldn't understand his words.

[BlueLucario]

If you have names for the races in your universe, there's no need to name the languages.

"I do not speak chicken," the werewolf said. He spoke only the native tongue of his people, even in a crowd, so that the vampires in attendance couldn't understand his words.
What if Humans spoke english, and there's like a translator there to decipher and interpret what the other guy said. But that translator isn't the main character, which won't understand werewolf tongue. So I can't really follow your method right?

ETA: I get it. Werewolves speak Werewolf.

[fringle]

Do you mean all of their lines would be in Italian, or just a few words like in the way Burgess used Russian in A Clockwork Orange? All in Italian might be hard on readers who don't speak Italian.

[Cyia]

Well, if there's no translator there, the characters won't be able to speak to each other anyway unless they have a language in common.

[ChristineR]

Two questions.

(1) If this isn't the real world, that is, it's a made up planet somewhere, why would vampires speak Italian? Was the original vampire population transported in from Italy? If not, the whole thing doesn't make much sense and will confuse the reader.

(2) If the whole point is that vampires and werewolves can't talk to each other without an interpreter, is there any reason for using a (real) foreign language at all? If the reader understands Italian, he'll understand something that the characters can't; if the reader doesn't understand Italian he'll find out what was said when the translator chimes in. I'm not sure how this situation is desirable, unless you want to draw attention to the fact that the vampires speak Italian and hence must have been originally transported in from Italy.

[BlueLucario]

I don't really want the reader to understand unless there's an intepreter. If the readers can speak italian, that's fine.

[Blue Sky]

How about making the vampires telepathic and the werewolves speaking some kind of growling, grunting, howling language? You would still need an interpreter. Doesn't feel authentic to me for some reason using different human languages. It might work if this is going to be a humorous book.

I've been a professional linguist and love to learn different languages, but I find the extensive use of foreign languages in prose to be irritating. It'll slow your story down and distract the reader. Just an opinion though.

As usual, if it works...

Have you written much of the story? Maybe ask the vampires and werewolves to talk it up. Then you might know, but then they'll have to--

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

[Rushie]

I don't really want the reader to understand unless there's an intepreter. If the readers can speak italian, that's fine.

If you do that more than one phrase in the whole book, it will turn me off as a reader. I feel like I'm missing something. If it's French, German, Latin or Spanish, I can usually understand it, but it breaks the immersion to have to translate in my head. "Author intrusion" I feel... the author is not only intruding, he is assuming that I understand the language, OR is deliberately presenting information that will remain hidden to me - very annoying. However, if the POV character doesn't speak the language, then it's fair I not understand it either. But if I speak Italian, I will, so your POV is messed up.

In my opinion, I would much rather see, "The vampire said something to Joe in Italian." without telling me what it was if I am not to know, or "The vampire said 'kill him now,' to Joe in Italian. Little did he know I minored in Italian in college."

[BlueLucario]

The story has no vampires and werewolves. It's just an example.

It's just that the characters will fly to another area in the continent, a new world, where there are creatures or people speaking another language. They don't know their way around and will have to depend on the people living in that country in order to get anywhere. They don't speak the language, but one of my characters does. So if that character is not with them when they need it, they are screwed.

[Rushie]

The story has no vampires and werewolves. It's just an example.

It's just that the characters will fly to another area in the continent, a new world, where there are creatures or people speaking another language. They don't know their way around and will have to depend on the people living in that country in order to get anywhere. They don't speak the language, but one of my characters does. So if that character is not with them when they need it, they are screwed.

I know, my vampire is just an example too. What you describe is fine. As a reader I'd rather read "They were chattering away in (whatever) and Joe (the translator) wasn't there so I could only nod weakly in confusion," than have you write "reiwo wrhjker wjrkel wje" or a real language like Italian. You could even describe the language "It was lilting and musical, reminded me of whales on earth," but if you try to sound it out in letters, "eeeeeeeee, ooooooo," I think you'd lose me. I know this is breaking the rule (;)) of "show not tell" but in the case of language, if the showing is too jarring and incomprehensible, it's better to tell. Just my opinion. :)

[ChristineR]

The story has no vampires and werewolves. It's just an example.

It's just that the characters will fly to another area in the continent, a new world, where there are creatures or people speaking another language. They don't know their way around and will have to depend on the people living in that country in order to get anywhere. They don't speak the language, but one of my characters does. So if that character is not with them when they need it, they are screwed.

All this is fine, but if you use actual Italian, people will wonder if the natives of that country were actually teleported in from Italy. As Rushie says, if you put too much indecipherable text in your book, readers will get annoyed. And if there's no in-story reason for it to be a real language, you might as well make up some gobbledygook for the few lines that your readership will tolerate, because most readers won't be able to follow Italian until your translator comes back, and the readers that can follow it will just wind up wondering why these people speak Italian.

[Christabel_Roseau]

Every once in a while I will use a phrase or two from say French to aliterate the moment better (especially in fantasy writing.) With the translation immediately following.

"Ne pleurez pas aimé" he whispered, kissing her cheeks. "Do not cry beloved."

You can invent another language (Wolvish, Vampyre etc)... but keep it truly limited in scope... A few key phrases or curses that are better left unsaid in "english" but the impact of which is clear.

Jacquelyne Frank has done an exceptional job of mixing in "foriegn langauges" in her books *ancient demon, ancient vampyre, ancient shadese etc." Again key phrases (that are easy to repeat later if need.)

IMVHO - its best to keep "other languages" to a minimum.

[BlueLucario]

Every once in a while I will use a phrase or two from say French to aliterate the moment better (especially in fantasy writing.) With the translation immediately following.

"Ne pleurez pas aimé" he whispered, kissing her cheeks. "Do not cry beloved."

You can invent another language (Wolvish, Vampyre etc)... but keep it truly limited in scope... A few key phrases or curses that are better left unsaid in "english" but the impact of which is clear.

.

Um...That's what I'm thinking. Set up some actual foreign languages and call them Wolvish. I'm not sure if that sounded like lazy writing.

[RichardB]

Wait-- so the vampires are not speaking Italian but you're going to write their speech as Italian so that the reader knows its incomprehensible-- except that most people will be able to recognize it as Italian even if they can't fully understand it-- sorry, sounds like #languagefail to me. You're going to have to either make up some languages like Tolkien did or find a more clever way of doing this.

And people mock Doctor Who and Star Trek for having universal translators... This is why! Reality is hard.

[Dark Angel]

If you substitue a relatively well known language with another relatively well known language in order to bring a foreign, alien if you will, element to your story then you will do it by what you are proposing. Italian? Is that the best you can do expecially in the hyper-globalised age in which we live?

Think Frank Herbet of the DUNE series fame who used and adapted certain Arabic script to refer to Fremen practise and Fremen speak. When the Fremen spoke they spoke in English yet the short sampling of Arabic script created the feel of the Fremen having their own culture, custos and language.

It would be too taxing to create your own language, use created or adapted words sparingly and you may find you have achieved the effect that you were looking for.

[BlueLucario]

Wait-- so the vampires are not speaking Italian but you're going to write their speech as Italian so that the reader knows its incomprehensible-- except that most people will be able to recognize it as Italian even if they can't fully understand it-- sorry, sounds like #languagefail to me.
Grr....

[BlueLucario]

If you substitue a relatively well known language with another relatively well known language in order to bring a foreign, alien if you will, element to your story then you will do it by what you are proposing. Italian? Is that the best you can do expecially in the hyper-globalised age in which we live?

It doesn't sound lazy, does it?

[Juliette Wade]

There are a couple of ways to approach this, BlueLocario. You don't have to go about creating an entirely new language. My thought would be that you should use your point of view characters as much as possible to pass judgment on the language that the others are speaking. If it's incomprehensible to that character, then you can just say so - maybe describe the "feel" of the language or the general auditory impression it gives. If you're using a character who understands that language, then you can say in surrounding text that they're using that language, maybe keep names in the created-language phonology, but keep the content in English since the character understands it. It's possible to use a minimum number of key words in the alien language, backed up by judgments of characters in the surrounding text, to convey the impression of a foreign language without actually trying to use an existing one. Using Italian itself would imply a direct link to Earth. But if you used the general Italian sound system, and made up some words that were not Italian (just sounded a bit like it), that would work fine.

Does that help?

[Strongbadia]

to ask yourself what the point of this is. Seems to me you are getting hung up on minutia. Is the fact that they speak a different language central to the plot or their characterization in any way? Does it advance the story?

If the answers are no, then do not get so hung up on it right now. If the language is just another nuance to add some realism or variety to the story in the setting you created, then I do not think it's important.

[IceCreamEmpress]

Um...That's what I'm thinking. Set up some actual foreign languages and call them Wolvish. I'm not sure if that sounded like lazy writing.

That sounds like lazy writing. It also sounds like bad writing. It also sounds like writing people won't enjoy reading.

Either make up the language, use English, or don't use the language, but just do the kind of allusion to it that Rushie suggests ("Since he spoke only Wolvish, and I only Human, his explanation didn't help" or whatever).

Think about it. If you were reading a book, wouldn't this annoy you beyond words?

I walked into the room. Varney the Vampyre was waiting for me at our favorite table, swirling a goblet. The thick red liquid clung to the crystal; I prayed that it was a vintage Bordeaux, not--

"Ay, mija! En que piensas? Sabes te quiero, mi amor." Varney's low voice turned the harsh Vampirish syllables into a croon.

Just then, the door banged open. "Also! Ich wusste, dass ich Sie hier finden würde! Wampyr, en Garde!" It was Wolfram the Werewolf, and though I wasn't fluent in Wolvish, I knew that Varney was in trouble.

[BlueLucario]

That sounds like lazy writing. It also sounds like bad writing. It also sounds like writing people won't enjoy reading.

Either make up the language, use English, or don't use the language, but just do the kind of allusion to it that Rushie suggests ("Since he spoke only Wolvish, and I only Human, his explanation didn't help" or whatever).

Think about it. If you were reading a book, wouldn't this annoy you beyond words?

I walked into the room. Varney the Vampyre was waiting for me at our favorite table, swirling a goblet. The thick red liquid clung to the crystal; I prayed that it was a vintage Bordeaux, not--

"Ay, mija! En que piensas? Sabes te quiero, mi amor." Varney's low voice turned the harsh Vampirish syllables into a croon.

Just then, the door banged open. "Also! Ich wusste, dass ich Sie hier finden würde! Wampyr, en Garde!" It was Wolfram the Werewolf, and though I wasn't fluent in Wolvish, I knew that Varney was in trouble.

Actually, I saw this on Ludlum's Bourne Identity. It's not a fantasy, but there were languages such as French and German, and I kind of liked it. IT sounded authentic, you know?

[ChaosTitan]

Actually, I saw this on Ludlum's Bourne Identity. It's not a fantasy, but there were languages such as French and German, and I kind of liked it. IT sounded authentic, you know?

That's because those books are set in the REAL WORLD where people actually speak French and German. Of course it sounds authentic. Ludlum wasn't pretending those languages were anything but French and German.

[BlueLucario]

That's because those books are set in the REAL WORLD where people actually speak French and German. Of course it sounds authentic. Ludlum wasn't pretending those languages were anything but French and German.
So is mine, but the setting is in a fake county with real world rules set in.

ETA: Never mind. -___-

[ChaosTitan]

So is mine, but the setting is in a fake county with real world rules set in.

So your book is now set in the real world? Because in your OP, you said this:


Is it possible to use the foreign languages in our world, and place them in a fantasy world?

Which states you're writing a Fantasy world. Have you made up your mind on which one you're writing, or is all of this just hypothetical?

[IceCreamEmpress]

Actually, I saw this on Ludlum's Bourne Identity. It's not a fantasy, but there were languages such as French and German, and I kind of liked it. IT sounded authentic, you know?

"Bonjour, ma cherie!" he said. My French was poor, but I knew it was a greeting.

is fine, because that's French.

"Bonjour, ma cherie!" he said in Martian.

is ridiculous, because that's French, not Martian.

[BlueLucario]

So your book is now set in the real world? Because in your OP, you said this:



Which states you're writing a Fantasy world. Have you made up your mind on which one you're writing, or is all of this just hypothetical?
Hypothetical.

Like I said, made up country with real world rules set in. It's not taking place in the US or anything like that.

[Blue Sky]

No werewolves, no vampires and it's hypothetical. That dashes my hopes of ninjas hiding in the shadows as well.

I might play with humor using unsavory combinations of languages with given groups. Not using the actual languages, of course. Wouldn't want to irritate myself during edits. :)

Nice, bizarre combo ideas. Thanks!

[ElsaM]

Is it possible to use the foreign languages in our world, and place them in a fantasy world?

As a reader and lover of fantasy, I would find this very annoying and would assume the author had been too lazy to invent their own words. It would probably turn me off the book. You don't need to invent an entire language like Tolkien did, just a few sentences worth scattered through the book would give a good impression.

The only circumstance I could imagine this not annoying me is if it were set in a parallel universe. Not on a made up fantasy world that resembles Earth.

[James D. Macdonald]

That dashes my hopes of ninjas hiding in the shadows as well.



You'd better look at those shadows again.

Or, don't bother. You won't see the ninja until he wants to be seen.


I wonder if Blue is thinking of Ruritanian romance?

[James D. Macdonald]

Today's movie is Resident Princess.

Princess Mia wakes up in the palace in Genovia to discover that T-virus has turned the citizens of the capital city into flesh-eating zombies. She has to rescue Queen Clarisse and escape from the city before the US nukes it in an attempt to contain the infection. Who knew that Mia had learned ninjutsu at the Secret Temple before her arrival? Motorcycles and machineguns figure heavily in the action. The clock is ticking, and it's up to the Resident Princess to be somewhere else when it strikes midnight.


[SFX]

[Machinegun fire]

ZOMBIE

Arrrrgh!

[Zombie staggers and falls backward as the bullets rip into his undead frame]

JOE

Sacre merde! What was that?

MIA

[reloads machinegun]

Zombie. The queen's locked in the north tower with about four thousand of those things around her....

ZOMBIE [springing out of nowhere]

Arrrrrgh!

[Mia whirls, kicks zombie in the head, then shoots him at close range with machine gun as he goes down. Blood spatters everywhere]

MIA

Let's go. Daylight's wasting.

[She heads purposefully down the hall]

JOE [following Mia]

Heilige Dampffahrt! Why did I ever change my major from Art History?

[BlueLucario]

Today's movie is Resident Princess.

Princess Mia wakes up in the palace in Genovia to discover that T-virus has turned the citizens of the capital city into flesh-eating zombies. She has to rescue Queen Clarisse and escape from the city before the US nukes it in an attempt to contain the infection. Who knew that Mia had learned ninjutsu at the Secret Temple before her arrival? Motorcycles and machineguns figure heavily in the action. The clock is ticking, and it's up to the Resident Princess to be somewhere else when it strikes midnight.


[SFX]

[Machinegun fire]

ZOMBIE

Arrrrgh!

[Zombie staggers and falls backward as the bullets rip into his undead frame]

JOE

Sacre merde! What was that?

MIA

[reloads machinegun]

Zombie. The queen's locked in the north tower with about four thousand of those things around her....

ZOMBIE [springing out of nowhere]

Arrrrrgh!

[Mia whirls, kicks zombie in the head, then shoots him at close range with machine gun as he goes down. Blood spatters everywhere]

MIA

Let's go. Daylight's wasting.

[She heads purposefully down the hall]

JOE [following Mia]

Heilige Dampffahrt! Why did I ever change my major from Art History?
uhhhhh....

Huh?

[RichardB]

Blue-- rightly or wrongly we are all getting an impression of your concept based on your question, and it's not a good impression. Why not take a breath, try to let it all sink in and make another run at accomplishing what you've set out to do? Perhaps write about a thousand words and post it for review.

This group is harsh, but we're nicer than agents or editors. If you get this reaction in the friendly confines of AW, your query is DOA with no hope of resurrection in any language.

[BlueLucario]

B
This group is harsh, but we're nicer than agents or editors. If you get this reaction in the friendly confines of AW, your query is DOA with no hope of resurrection in any language.
I was just confused.

[BlueLucario]

Y

I wonder if Blue is thinking of Ruritanian romance?
What the heck is that? -_-?

[backslashbaby]

I believe you probably just ran up against a different perception of languages than you might hold. I'm not in a genre that does much world-building, but yes there are many things that can be taken from Earth and modern times and used in your story. There are many things that will not fit, and readers may disagree on which.

I think languages are more history-intense than you imagined. No biggie, but I agree - no.

I have foreign language issues in my WIP, too, btw. Does my character speak Romanian, Hungarian and Czech as well as English since those folks are the other MC's? Does she really use German there like I found worked in most cases in real experience? Russian does that trick, too, for older folks! Does the fact that she is now supernatural help any (fun!)?

Have fun with it, but yes ask questions. The challenge is part of the ride, eh ;) ?

[Team 2012]

Ruritania was the country where "The Prisoner of Zenda" was set. It was a made-up country using real world rules. Most of the protagonists were foreigners, however. If memory serves. The story was re-cooked later by a far greater writer, the regrettably late George MacDonald Frazier--the resulting "Royal Flash" was filmed with Malcolm MacDowell.

Your best bet here is to figure that your country's located near other real countries. Right? And so would be linguistically similar. So you can create a "dialect" (in the sense that Spanish and French are dialects of Latin that ran away from home) by using familiar roots and giving them "twists" using a set of loose rules.

Or, got the cheap route and knock off an existing language. Basque would be an excellent choice: it's weird anyway and nobody even knows where it came from.
(Mark my words, some poster here WILL know, and tell us...but their information will clash with several other theories) Welsh or Gaelic would do, also.
Look up glossaries in those languages on google, then go through and customise them a little.
The Basque word for their country, by the way, is "Euzkadi" same as the tire for some reason. So you can see right off you're getting into something alien.

[Blue Sky]

Hi Blue,

A Ruritanian Romance takes place in a fictional European country. Ruritania was the fictional country for some popular novels. I had to look it up to refresh myself.

Thanks for the refresher Jim! A special thanks for Resident Princess: I'm still laughing.

Look what you inspired Blue! You could be the sleeping comic genius the world has been waiting for!

I'm playing, not making fun of you.

Maybe think about some of your questions that people joke about and mix 'em around. See how you can get yourself laughing. Then share it with us! Humor can be challenging, but it's worth it to be with someone when he or she spits their drink out, or laughs until they cry.

[batgirl]

Ruritania was the country where "The Prisoner of Zenda" was set. It was a made-up country using real world rules. Most of the protagonists were foreigners, however. If memory serves. The story was re-cooked later by a far greater writer, the regrettably late George MacDonald Frazier
Hey! Don't diss Anthony Hope! Yes, George MacDonald Fraser is great and much-missed, but the original Prisoner of Zenda is still a good read.

Trivia: the genre of Ruritanian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruritanian_romance) romance is also known as Graustarkian romance, after another fictional country.

-Barbara

[RichardB]

Hail Freedonia!

[James D. Macdonald]

Let's not forget Victor von Doom, king of Latveria.

[BlueLucario]

I walked into the room. Varney the Vampyre was waiting for me at our favorite table, swirling a goblet. The thick red liquid clung to the crystal; I prayed that it was a vintage Bordeaux, not--

"Ay, mija! En que piensas? Sabes te quiero, mi amor." Varney's low voice turned the harsh Vampirish syllables into a croon.

Just then, the door banged open. "Also! Ich wusste, dass ich Sie hier finden würde! Wampyr, en Garde!" It was Wolfram the Werewolf, and though I wasn't fluent in Wolvish, I knew that Varney was in trouble.
Actually, due to the familiarity of the voice. The spanish part sounded kind of weird.

Actually, I thought it would be really cool to use a foreign language in a fantasy world. Have vampires speak italian, goblins speak tagalog. I thought why not add a little familiarity.

[ChaosTitan]

Actually, I thought it would be really cool to use a foreign language in a fantasy world. Have vampires speak italian, goblins speak tagalog. I thought why not add a little familiarity.

And why not have your bad-guy trolls speak Arabic while you're at it? (this is sarcasm, by the way)

You can't assign an existing foreign language to a fantasy creature without some sort of cultural appropriation. If all vampires speak Italian, they must have originated in Italy. If goblins speak tagalog, they came over from the Philippines, etc... Languages are more than just the words we speak--they are part of our cultures and our histories.

"I thought it would be cool" isn't a good enough reason. Readers aren't stupid.

You also run the risk of inadvertently falling on racial stereotypes and insulting someone.

[BlueLucario]

You also run the risk of inadvertently falling on racial stereotypes and insulting someone.
...I...wasn't aware of that.

[mscelina]

And why not have your bad-guy trolls speak Arabic while you're at it? (this is sarcasm, by the way)

You can't assign an existing foreign language to a fantasy creature without some sort of cultural appropriation. If all vampires speak Italian, they must have originated in Italy. If goblins speak tagalog, they came over from the Philippines, etc... Languages are more than just the words we speak--they are part of our cultures and our histories.

"I thought it would be cool" isn't a good enough reason. Readers aren't stupid.

You also run the risk of inadvertently falling on racial stereotypes and insulting someone.

Tagalog. Heh. My smartalec husband got a prescription for me in tagalog once--and then I had to remind him that thanks to his idiocy I didn't know how much of it to take...

Weighing in on this for a moment. A writer should try to avoid arbitrarily doing things (like using a contemporary language) because they think it will look cool. Everything, particularly in a well-crafted fantasy world must have a reason.

For example: if your main race is dark-skinned, they must have originated in a warmer climate. If your race has specific cultural requirements *like say, for example, the Muslim desire to bury their dead quickly* then there must be reasons that spawn that action *a defense against the heat of the desert traditionally.*

In Asphodel, one of my races speaks a form of Latin. Why is that? Because the storyline is based on the Trojan War, and the time that has elapsed since the Trojan War in my world is roughly equivalent to that of the rise of the Roman Empire in this one. It was a conscious decision, made by me to indicate the approximate passage of time since the historical event. It doesn't matter if you're a plotter or a pantser, for every decision you make regarding world-building in fantasy has to be deliberate. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of nonsense.

[RichardB]

Don't forget that quite often a novel is written in English with English dialogue... but the characters are not speaking English! This is true of a lot of historical work (where English may not even exist yet in its present form), fantasy and science fiction, etc.

It is accepted by convention that in a work written for an English-speaking audience the dominant language of the book is presented as English-- because novels do not have subtitles. As readers we do not assume that the officers in the Fuehrerbunker are really speaking English: we assume that we are witnessing the scene by virtue of the author's "universal translator". A few easily understandable German words and phrases might be thrown in for color, to remind the reader that the characters are in fact not speaking English.

However, if you throw in another real language you break this convention. We are used to reading a line of English dialogue and understanding that the actual words spoken are not English. We are NOT used to reading a line of Italian and understanding the actual words spoken to be anything but.

It is common to use different dialects and accents of English to simulate different races or countries in a fantasy world. When a Dwarf in film speaks English in broad Scots we understand by convention that he is speaking "common" with an accent. Same deal with Elves speaking "right pronunciation" and Hobbits speaking country accents. The accents and dialects are selected to evoke something about that race's characteristics. The Anglophone ear picks this up immediately: we make instant assumptions about class, position, and cultural characteristics based on dialect. Sci-fi evil geniuses do not speak like Dubliners. Quirky cutpurses do not sound like a Red Sox radio announcer. When dialect can be written well (and it usually isn't) one can also do this in print.

These are the conventions of the Anglophone audience to whom you are trying to sell your book. Violate them, and confuse your potential readers, at your peril.

Och, Aih've gun on too laing agin. 'Tis enouw far knew.

[Shweta]

For what it's worth, if I saw a book pretending that Italian was Vampirish and Tagalog was Goblin, I would throw it across the room. At best I would find it silly, at worst (depending on language choice) racist.

Unless there really was a damn good reason that (for example) vampires spoke a language that evolved from Latin, and this didn't in any way affect the development of other Romance languages.

Granted, in my novel world the "elves" speak Northern Sami; but that's cause they're descended from the Northern Sami.

[Perle_Rare]

I agree with Shweta (and many more people above). If your people use a particular language, there better be a reason.

But most importantly, do not have your characters speak any language you are not personally fluent in. It drives me nuts when an author botches the French they use in a book. Google translator is not a substitute.

[IceCreamEmpress]

Actually, due to the familiarity of the voice. The spanish part sounded kind of weird.

What? Are you saying that vampires don't tutear? SO CONFUSED.

Although that's an interesting question. On the one hand, vampires are presumably centuries old and thus likely to be antiquated in their speech. On the other hand, vampires presumably think they're superior to humans and thus likely to tutear them all and only ustedear other vampires.

Actually, I thought it would be really cool to use a foreign language in a fantasy world. Have vampires speak italian, goblins speak tagalog. I thought why not add a little familiarity.

Presumably, vampires speak whatever language they spoke in their human lives and whatever languages they acquired in the decades/centuries since then. So it would be profoundly strange to have vampires speaking in Italian and present that as a strange vampire language in your book, because lots of people who read English can also read Italian and they would be ?!?!?.

That said, now I am liking the idea of an international group of vampires who speak Esperanto or Volapuk with each other.

[Calliopenjo]

Google has a translator? I found a translation site that hasn't failed me yet. It does pretty good for most things.

Personally, after learning from previous writings and a lot of boo boos, any foreign language in a story that comes from the real world has the potential of causing problems. That's why Latin is often used because not a lot of people understand or know Latin. If you have to use a real world language-Italian, French, German, Spanish, etc., ask an expert to verify the translation and use it sparingly.

As for using foreign languages in a fantasy world, sometimes using the origination of the word in question will add just enough spice to the story.

Keep in mind as well who your audience is going to be and with that being said if your readers are Americans then it would be best to use American English.

[Shweta]

But most importantly, do not have your characters speak any language you are not personally fluent in. It drives me nuts when an author botches the French they use in a book. Google translator is not a substitute.

I totally agree with this if you're actually writing dialogue or whateve in the language.

If you're writing everything in English, you can manage -- mostly the languages my characters speak affect their naming systems and a couple other things, and the foreign-language thing isn't rubbed in readers' faces in particular.

[Adelaide]

What? Are you saying that vampires don't tutear? SO CONFUSED.


Actually when the Spaniards decided to stop using Ud. I believe the Spanish and Latin American vampires had a summit and decided to ONLY use Ud. to protect their image of mystery and danger. I'm surprised this isn't common knowledge.



;)

[ChristineR]

BlueLucario, I'm still a little confused as to what you're writing.

If you are writing a story that takes place in one of the many provinces of Ruritania, and some of the characters are from England and speak English, then it's your right to declare that Ruritanians speak Spanish. After all, Ruitania is near Spain (and near England, France, Russia, Iran, and India).

If you are writing a story in the land of Nowhere and nobody speaks English or any other real language, having foreigners speak Spanish will only cause readers to wonder how Spaniards got to Nowhere.

[Ken Schneider]

I could see having one character that speaks another language not known to the reader, and have a galactic enterpreter.

"Thuand yupnip frptem."
"No, Rimple, I don't want a cup of icklomb juice."

If you want to make up a language don't use one currently on the (market). Make up your own and use an enterpreter.

Makes for a lot of mystery for the reader when the entrepreter isn't around. Then, your showing skills will have to be sharp.