Italicizing and adding accents to Spanish words in an English novel
In my current novel I have a few characters who speak Spanish. The book takes place along the Texico border, so it happens frequently. I know that in more foreign Spanish, or when someone speaks a full sentence, it should be italicized. If they are more common words or phrases, i.e. "hola", "sí" and "señor", do I italicize them?
My confusion comes when someone is saying "sí" and then the rest of the sentence in English. Also, when someone addresses someone else as "Señor Cortez" and "Señorita Venegas", do I italicize just the title, the whole name, or nothing at all?
After that long question, I now have a question to tail that: when do I use accents for those more common words?
I feel like the word "si" wouldn't have an accent if spoken by someone who was speaking in English, but then it wouldn't be italicized (consequently, "si" and "sí" are two different words). Same with "senor". I've seen some authors spell it a bit phonetically to emphasize the character's lethargy when speaking ("senhor").
I would love some insight! I'm very comfortable using the language. While it is not my first language, I studied it profusely in school. Would love to use it and not look like an idiot.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/3300. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
I think you're on the right track. The point of italics is to alert the reader that the words are not in the same language as the rest of the text.
I like the logic that the English-spoken "si" wouldn't be italicized. I wouldn't italicize titles or single words, as those are easy enough to understand, even when the first word is Spanish and the rest is English. Add any accents as appropriate and leave it roman.
Full sentences in Spanish would be italics.
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