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You can work around the language barrier the same way we do in real life: have someone act as a translator. There are three ways of introducing such a character: Option 1: The moment the need for...
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#4: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2019-12-12T21:42:31Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/33419 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T08:00:30Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/33419 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
You can work around the language barrier the same way we do in real life: **have someone act as a translator**. There are three ways of introducing such a character: - **Option 1:** The moment the need for a translator arises, one of your characters randomly sticks his hand up and goes, "Oh, I speak language X!" Don't do this, except for comedy value (see: _Airplane!_). It's a lazy deus ex machina. - **Option 2:** The characters know they'll need someone who speaks language X, and seek them out in advance. This may mean having to create a new character just to fulfil the "translator" role, though. - **Option 3:** The people who speak language X bring a translator along with them when they meet the protgaonists. This is my personal preference: it's a much less jarring handwave than Option 1. None of these options are perfect, but of course, there's a reason many fantasy works use the "everyone speaks the same language" handwave: sheer convenience. It annoys me too, though, so kudos to you for breaking the mould.
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2018-02-19T17:48:25Z (almost 7 years ago)
Original score: 16