: Re: How to write dialogue for someone who is intelligent but barely speaks the language? I have a character who is a refugee from another country. She comes to the protagonist, and they have a

To some extent, you still can express intelligence with complex and detailed word choice, used sparingly, or even in the importance the person places on words. Schadenfreude is a very complex concept, and while many people can identify with the emotions involved, only constant exposure to that word drives home its importance as the only appropriate term. An average-intelligence person says, "I felt shitty about it, but I was glad when that old bastard died." The above-average intelligence person says, "I felt so guilty, but I had an enormous sense of..." ((how do you say? Schadenfreude?)) because word choice matters to them, even when speaking another language.

As another example, we never did the whole baby-talk thing with my (now six year old) son, and he has an amazing vocabulary. In preschool, though, he hated sounding too 'smart', so he parroted the more-basic language his peers did....right up until there was a concept he couldn't express properly in that way. He was arguing with his friend about the chances of them having Cheez-its for their upcoming snack. It was all "nuh-uhs" and "yeah-huhs" and "I don't see any" until the other kid said it would never happen in a million bazillion (etc, etc) years. And my son shot back, "It's not impossible, just improbable!" He knew the word, knew it best expressed the concept, and cared enough about that difference that he was willing to risk (minor) social stigma to properly express himself.

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: Re: How to write dialogue for someone who is intelligent but barely speaks the language? I have a character who is a refugee from another country. She comes to the protagonist, and they have a

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