Subject: A few rules of thumb.
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Posted on: 2016-02-07 19:57:00 UTC

  1. If a character is going to use another language, they should have a good reason for doing so every time they do it. Don't chuck in bits of Dovahzul just to show that you can; Za'kiir himself should have a reason to use it. (If he's just showing off, that's fine. If you are, it's not.)

    2. If the audience is meant to know something, the author should make it plain. Don't use Dovahzul for important information. If Za'kiir must be speaking it a lot for character or plot reasons, though, you can write the dialogue in English and let the narrative explain that he's not actually speaking English:

    "Blah blah blah," he said in Dovahzul.

    3. If the meaning of a word or phrase in another language is plain given the context, there's no need to translate it. (And it's always a good idea to make sure the meaning of any piece of dialogue is plain by giving it proper context.)

    4. If the audience is not meant to know the meaning of a word or phrase in another language, or can reasonably get by without knowing, there's no need to translate it.

    5. If you must provide translations, either do so diegetically (i.e. as Dorano suggested, with further dialogue) or extradiegetically (with footnotes). Mixing the two with in-line author's notes breaks the reader's immersion in the story and is annoying. Diegetic is better than extradiegetic, since it involves less work for the reader.

    TL;DR: Avoid the need for translations at all costs, unless you're going to work them seamlessly into the narrative. Otherwise they're just distracting.

    ~Neshomeh

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