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Should I feel guilty...

633 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  JRTomlin
That I throw in bits of Scots Gaelic, French and Latin in my novels and, no, I don't translate them. The funny thing is that of all the stuff people complain about in reviews not a single review has mentioned it, but I expect one of these days.  :D  :D  :D

It amuses me no end for some reason. Maybe I'm delirious from trying to finish too much right now, though.
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At least they are real languages.

Fantasy seems full of badly designed and untranslated conlangs to just confuse readers. ;)
No, that's awesome! We need more of that in today's literature. Literature should challenge the reader and grow their understanding of pertinent issues. Sometimes there is no better way of stating things than in their original language.

Keep it up.
I have had bits of German dialogue in two of my novelettes and have French and Latin dialogue in an upcoming novel. Never had any complaints either. As long as it's clear what's going on, I don't think it's necessary to translate them (though you could offer a translation on your website or an appendix of the actual e-book).

BTW, if you use dialogue or quotes in another language in your book, please make sure to have it translated or checked by someone who is fluent in the language in question, preferably a native speaker. Cause mangled foreign language passages can be annoying at best or unintentionally hilarious at worst, such as the Nazi general in an old Wolverine comic who ordered his soldiers to drop their excrements (the actual term was ruder, but the profanity filter will eat it) rather than shoot. Okay, so Wolverine's sense of smell is supersenstive, but I still don't think that was what the general had in mind. Or - Marvel comics were really bad about mangling languages - Nightcrawler addressing Emma Frost as "undershirt" (which totally baffled me, because though Emma Frost's corset was very noticeable, Nightcrawler never struck me as a misogynist) rather than "darling".

And for a reverse snafu, how about the German dubbing of Downton Abbey, wherein the characters kept addressing Maggie Smith's character as the Countess of Dowager rather than the Dowager Countess of Grantham, because whoever did the translation did not know what a dowager was.

This is not directed at JR BTW, because I know she does proper research, but to anyone who wants to include foreign language bits in their fiction.  
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A. S. Warwick said:
At least they are real languages.

Fantasy seems full of badly designed and untranslated conlangs to just confuse readers. ;)
I blame Tolkien--not that his were badly designed, but too many authors seem convinced that if he could do it, they can.

CoraBuhlert said:
I have had bits of German dialogue in two of my novelettes and have French and Latin dialogue in an upcoming novel. Never had any complaints either. As long as it's clear what's going on, I don't think it's necessary to translate them (though you could offer a translation on your website or an appendix of the actual e-book).
I always make sure you can understand without translating and double check to be sure I get it right since I'm at best rusty in all three languages.

But it still amuses me. :D
I do it. Sometimes with explanation, sometimes not. No one has cared, they care more about the swearing.
JRTomlin said:
That I throw in bits of Scots Gaelic, French and Latin in my novels and, no, I don't translate them. The funny thing is that of all the stuff people complain about in reviews not a single review has mentioned it, but I expect one of these days. :D :D :D

It amuses me no end for some reason. Maybe I'm delirious from trying to finish too much right now, though.
What would Bernie Cornwell do?!?!?!
CB Edwards said:
What would Bernie Cornwell do?!?!?!
Always a good question. ;)
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