: Re: How to handle foreign military ranks? Suppose you have a character who has a rank in a foreign military - say, Feldwebel Hans. That's the equivalent of a Sergeant. On one hand, having people

@Dunderdale623

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If you only have one or two ranks to explain to the reader: Simply explaining it in the text may be your best option; i.e., exposition may be the lesser of the evils. The clumsiness will be over quickly, and you can then move on with the plot. (If this is particularly difficult, you can always use a footnote; it pops the reader out of the story juust a bit, but that will also make the reader remember this if its important. Footnotes aren't usually the best idea in fiction, but one or two can be fine if you keep them very short. (sjohnston's answer is essentially an inline footnote, and can work very well if you want to be less obtrusive.)

If there are many such ranks: You can set the flavor of the work with a Table of Millitary Ranks, similar in flavor to a Dramatis Personae but less troublesome than a glossary.

You also have the option of using exposition, which can work only where it's done very, very well indeed.

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