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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/38600
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The main character I have in mind for a story in a fantasy setting will be in foreign lands for the entirety of the book. She will have a basic grasp of the spoken language, so her dialogue will use limited vocabulary and simpler grammatical structures.

I'm writing in first person, and I don't want the whole book to use a limited grammar and vocabulary, so I want the protagonist to narrate in her native tongue.

1) How do I make it clear that my character is narrating the story in a different language from the one she speaks?

2) How often do I need to remind the reader of this throughout the novel?

Ideally I could fairly early on have the character comment about being able to understand what another character is saying well enough, or say that she feels like she can speak the language enough to get by, even if she isn't great at it.

Will the obvious difference in fluency between the dialogue and the narration be enough to remind the reader what's going on throughout the whole novel, or do I need to occasionally sprinkle in more explicit reminders?

Original score: 7