use of other languages

For myself it interrupts the natural flow of the story. Trying to read a word or phrase that is not in my native tongue stalls my mind. Best to stay with English but some people might enjoy that level of detail.

I'm interested in this as I often throw in a word or phrase, because my stories are often set in other countries and I think it's good to remind the reader.

If I do write something more complicated than 'hello' or 'how are you?' I try to make it obvious by the other person's reply/comment/internal thoughts (or translate it in a way that seems natural.)

I do wonder if it alienates some readers though.

I've done it with both Spanish and French (in my published work) and typically do it in one of two ways, but both for the same reason. I'll do it with words that English speakers might be familiar with, such as Madre, and I'll do it with words that have a very nuanced connotation in that language--a connotation that can be generally inferred by context. No matter what, I do it for flavor. If the story is set in France, for instance, I want to use a little bit of the language for world building and characterization. Makes it feel more authentic. I'll never use more than a few words at a time, though, and their meaning (imo) should always be inferrable.

I'm not thrown off by a few words or a short phrase in a foreign language. Usually, words in a foreign language are in italics. It helps ground the fiction to the setting or even to a character. You could possibly get away with longer texts, but I wouldn't push it. I'm willing to read through a few words, but if you throw a paragraph at me, I'm skipping it.

No reason not to. If your character would use such phrases, then it's only right to use such phrases.

It's not unusual for Fantasy writers to toss in invented language terms. A skillful writer can make things clear in context without troubling the reader much. And the line between what constitutes a "foreign" word or phrase in English is fuzzy, at best. English is a sponge-language, readily absorbing just about anything from any other language that proves useful.

Plus, does any English reader not know the meaning of bonjour or adios, as just a couple of examples?

caw

How would you use foreign words that are pronounced differently from their spelling? For example one of my characters is Swedish but fluent in English, he uses Swedish phrases as affectations (not many - and it's part of his character), one in particular is Tjéna, which is an informal greeting. It sounds, to my English ear, as if it is pronounced Chenna.

When the character uses the word for the first time, I have made sure the meaning is clear through the context in which it is used. To my mind, it will not affect the story if the reader doesn't pronounce the word correctly.

I think the use of the occasional Swedish word, in the right context will help round out the character's voice, without having to rely on trying to write him with an accent.

When he refers to his grandmother, he uses an anglicised version of the Swedish word for his grandmother. When he curses, he uses Swedish curses, but I have made sure that he uses words that are not too dissimilar to English. I'll find out how well this works when it eventually reaches a point when I can let beta readers loose on it.

My collection of short stories is set in India, and most English-speaking characters use a few Hindi words here and there. It would seem unnatural not to.

Maxx B said:

How would you use foreign words that are pronounced differently from their spelling?

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A hell of a lot of "English" words are pronounced, in whatever dialect, "differently" from their spelling:

knight
would
doubt
ought
tough
trough
through
though
bough
reign
two
shoe
height
weight
yacht
. . .

caugh

Personally, I'm all for it, in small doses.

The best example I've read recently is Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. It's based in an Igbo community in Nigeria (which I literally had no prior knowledge of before the book). I found he used two types of "foreign" language:

1) Culture-specific Igbo words which he explained or they just made sense in context. E.g. "ogbanje" - a child possessed by an evil spirit, so it often dies within a few days of birth. When the mother gets pregnant again, it's presumed that's the same spirit back again, and it will possess the next baby's body. Eventually, a child may stick around and not die. (but obviously, it's much easier to explain 'ogbanje' once and then use that word from then on).

2) Words like "bride-price" or "kola nut"... You might not know exactly what these things are, but they're not difficult to figure out.


It really is a good book to read for an example of using language to subtly draw the reader into an unfamiliar world without completely scaring them off.

It could be good to get a beta reader to see if it's easy to keep up with; it can be easy to overlook things by presuming others know more than they do.

If it's just a few words and the meaning is easily deciphered by the reader, I don't see a problem. It can even add to the "exoticness" of a story. I use simple foreign phrases from time to time, usually in italics.

Sometimes they can be used to comic effect. Dell Boy Trotter and his 'mange tout' springs to mind. I think it's also useful to help the reader paint a picture of the character as in Hurcule Poirot saying 'mon dieu.' Just don't over do it?

I wrote a short with an Italian girl who, though she spoke fluent English, sometimes used Italian phrases in her speech. I asked a friend who was multi-lingual to help.

It was great. I included the Italian phrases, written in italics. Editor kept them in.

Sparingly at most. And only if the meaning is right away clear from the context.

But in general I find it jarring. Especially when a whole sentence or two is in another language, with no direct translation. It assumes I'm going to be able to translate it myself or it doesn't care whether I understand the sentence or not. In either case, unpleasant.

TyUnglebower said:

Sparingly at most. And only if the meaning is right away clear from the context.

But in general I find it jarring. Especially when a whole sentence or two is in another language, with no direct translation. It assumes I'm going to be able to translate it myself or it doesn't care whether I understand the sentence or not. In either case, unpleasant.

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I'll agree to the point where I think and foreign language used should be familiar to the majority of readers. There are certain words and phrases from many languages that most of us will recognize, and I think using these are fine.

But if the words and phrases are unfamiliar to most readers, the meaning should be made instantly clear.

In my opinion, it just depends on the writer and the audience reading the writing. Some people enjoy it and some people may not. I would personally stick to just a few words or a phrase that will flow well with the rest of the story. Good luck!