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Q&A The use of footnotes to translate foreign words in a novel

I'm writing a fantasy novel and one of my characters speaks in English, but sometimes utters single words in an ancient dead language, and I don't want to abusively use that language. For example:...

3 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by vanity‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:29:31Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/41071
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar vanity‭ · 2019-12-08T10:29:31Z (almost 5 years ago)
I'm writing a fantasy novel and one of my characters speaks in English, but sometimes utters single words in an ancient dead language, and I don't want to abusively use that language.

_For example:_

> "You're going to be dead SAHU²!"

Is using a footnote a good idea, since the words are not too many? Or is it preferable to write the translation in italic, like:

> "You're going to be dead SAHU! _pig_."

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-01-06T13:52:13Z (almost 6 years ago)
Original score: 9