#AtoZChallenge Languages and Lingo

Languages and Lingo

Wil je in een andere taal schriven?

If you identify with either of those statements, this post is for you!

[Top: Do you want to write in another language? (Dutch)
Bottom: Perhaps you want to write in a fantasy language? (Elvish, English direct to Tengwar)]

Sometimes, we find ourselves wanting to write a story where another language is spoken. Maybe your main character grew up in a bilingual household, or they’ve studied another language in school. Maybe you want to add some slang. Maybe you’re going full Tolkien and developing a series of languages for your characters to use. Whether it’s a modern language or a full-fledged lexicon created specifically for your work, there’s one big question to answer: How will readers know what they’re reading?

Here’s a bad example. I read a contemporary book once that included text in two non-English languages (let’s pretend it was Swedish and Korean). However, the author rarely translated the non-English text, and a lot of it was necessary for understanding the plot. I’m lucky enough to understand Swedish and I have a friend who could translate the Romanized Korean and give some culture notes. Anything I didn’t get, or if my friend wasn’t free, I had to use the internet. As a reader, I was frustrated. How was anyone supposed to read this book without being glued to Google Translate? There was an entire page in Swedish and it was all written out as if the main character knew what was being said, but she didn’t understand Swedish! It didn’t make any sense to me.

Anyway. The point is, I was so distracted by all of the languages being spoken that I couldn’t focus on the plot. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to incorporate other languages into your writing without alienating your readers.

Disclaimer: This post assumes that the main language being written in is English, although this advice also applies to any work where additional languages are used.

Glossaries

One way to clue your readers in to unknown vocab is to include a glossary. Two books stand out in my memory for their use of glossaries: THE CARBON DIARIES and ERAGON.

THE CARBON DIARIES, a diary of a fictional girl set in a world impacted by climate change, makes use of a lot of slang made up specifically for this book. Because it’s written in diary format, it would break the immersion for the main character to explain to herself what these words mean; they’re as normal to her as our common daily slang is to us. This includes words like chiller and cooler, which are slang for carbon credits. The glossary makes it easy for the reader to flip to the back of the book, find out what these words mean, and carry on.

ERAGON, on the other hand, is a high fantasy novel for which the writer invented a language. Most of the words are explained as they’re used, but after that, the reader is on their own to remember or reference the glossary. Use of fantasy languages should almost always coincide with a glossary for ease of reading. As much as we wish readers’ sole attention was on our work, writers can’t expect their readers to remember every new word as they go.

Be careful not to rely too much on your glossary, though. You want the reader to read, and not have to flip back and forth to understand what you wrote. I spoke with my dear friend Cinda Williams Chima (just kidding, I tweeted at her and she responded, I'm not actually friends with her) about her YA fantasy series, in which she based her "thieves' slang" on a dictionary of thieves' cant from England in the 16th-18th centuries. I asked whether she considered using a glossary, but she didn't think readers would realistically want to read a glossary. So, consider your audience. Do they have the patience for reference material?

Gloss Over

Another option is to gloss over foreign languages entirely. (See what I did there? Glossary, gloss…? I’m not funny.) If your main character doesn’t understand the language being spoken, you might write something like this:

Koen drew back and cradled his glass against his chest, jabbering in Dutch and waving away my bottle of beer.

Although the character doesn't know what Koen is saying, they can get the idea: He doesn’t want my beer. Just like in real life, body language can convey a meaning even when the character doesn’t understand the language being spoken. The character can recognize the language or not, it's up to you. This can create all sorts of comedic or tragic misunderstandings, so make sure to note just how much your characters infer.

Context 

This is a tricky one. Rather than explicitly translating what’s being said, you rely on the reader to figure it out:

“Everything will work out in the end, mèimei,” she said, reaching out to stroke my hair. 

You might not know what mèimei means, but you can probably guess that it’s a term of endearment or way to address the main character. If you’re going to use this technique, there are certain words in other languages that are generally known by the English-speaking world and safe to use: yes, no, please, thank you, words for family members like father or sister, among others. If a word is a cognate to an English word, it’s probably fine – but be wary of false cognates. For example, the Spanish word librería looks a lot like library, but it means bookstore.

These words are best used in small quantities so the reader isn’t left guessing too much. Sprinkled here and there, they give the impression of another language without having to do too much translating.

Just Say It

Then there’s the easiest of all:

“You mean you didn’t ask her?” Delia demanded in French.

Easy-peasy. Note when a character is not speaking English, and if/when they switch languages. Done.

Most importantly, if you’re writing in a language that you do not speak, or that you do not speak well, be sure to consult a native speaker or someone who speaks the language fluently. Google Translate can be a useful tool for standalone words, but it’s not perfect and can mangle full sentences. The last thing you want is to write something that doesn’t make sense or doesn’t mean what you think it means!

¡Buena suerte!