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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/28632
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Foreign languages can add a lot of flavor to a story if used in moderation. Don't put entire dialogues in foreign languages and consider the purpose and function of having those languages there.

Foreign languages are very present in the fiction I write. Some of my fiction is about American ex-pats abroad, another work of fiction is set in New York, which is a polyglot city. In both of these situations, I see language as a flavor of the landscape, and it's not important that the reader understand them. (Bonus points if you do.) The main rule I use is to never put essential dialogue in another language. If you are dealing with a code-switching culture such as Spanglish or the way Lebanese switch between Arabic, English, and French--often mid-sentence, it works especially well.

''Ma shifto bl after-party; think he went to go akel wa7ed with his boyfriend. Kan akho manyukeh! That Iranian DJ from Off On played a set at the hotel. Fady got some K kteer awiyyeh.''

My favorite example of using foreign language to flavor a novel is the underrated classic _Kaputt Goes Europe_ by Curzio Malaparte. As the Germans occupy Europe, we find snippets of Ukranian, Russian, French, German, etc. Amazing prose too.

Original score: 3