How do authors incorporate languages they don't speak?
In many, many English-language novels I've come across characters who speak other languages, most often French for whatever reason.
In many cases, such as with Ulysses and Lolita, this is a simple matter, because the author was multilingual. He simply wrote the characters himself.
But that can't always be the case, because even someone who speaks French, English, Spanish, Russian, and Hindi might want a character who constantly references his Japanese heritage.
There must be time when authors want to include characters who speak languages that the author does not.
How is this dealt with? Do they perhaps write the content of what is to be said, and then find another professional to help them?
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1 answer
Mix and match between all the following methods.
Research. If you're going to be using a language extensively, then you'll want to have at least an elementary grasp of the words you'll be using. So learn a smattering of the language; understand the words you've written at least at a surface level; also read as much as you can about idioms, social norms, etc., to get the "voice" correct.
Use an expert. Get translations from somebody qualified. These should be checked and proofread just like the rest of your book (because you will eventually be read by somebody who understands the language). If you can, get the translations looked over by several competent readers. Be sure to ask them if nuances such as phrasing and connotation are what they should be.
Fake it. Not recommended, but you can fool most of the people most of the time.
Avoid it. Even if your character speaks, say, Klingon, that doesn't mean that all that Klingon needs to be transcribed. Use a couple of words (ones you know or learn or seek out...), but otherwise, write in the same language and always, and clarify that the speech is translated.
"Today is a good day to die!"is a lot more effective in prose than writing"HeghluʹmeH QaQ jajvam!". And if your protagonist doesn't understand the language, then why should the reader get "extra" knowledge? Consider:"The Klingon shouted out something unintelligible; all his fellow warriors looked at him with sudden shock, and began edging away slowly."We get precisely as much as the character knows, and we don't want to give away extra information to readers who happen to know the right language.
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