: Re: Which language to use when writing a multinational story I'm Brazilian and I'm writing a book in portuguese. However the story takes place first in Europe, i.e. Italy, Portugal, and London. Of

@Reiling826

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Ditto Neil's reply. A lot to be learned from a master of migrancy literature, Salman Rushdie. While The Satanic Verses is written in English, the narration itself, not just the dialogue, utilizes Hindi, Arabic, and Urdu. Jokes within the text rely on the reader's understanding of multiple languages, but the plot doesn't; Saladin Chamcha is called "Spoono" in reference to the Hindi word chamcha, meaning spoon; Zeeny Vakil uses Saladin's own name to insult him--when he is obsequious, he is a chamcha, a yes-man. But at no point does Rushdie require his reader to understand these little colorations, and he does not embark on the thankless task of translating dialogue.

When he hits one of those words that doesn't quite translate, he reproduces it in the original language ("Proper London, bhai!" or "Baba, if you want to get born again"). In some cases, this is because his characters are migrants, who have adopted this type of mutt-language. This is how they are actually speaking to one another. In other cases, in which his characters are clearly not speaking English, but the text is produced in English, there is a curious transaction between author and character--the author primarily has a stranglehold on the character's word choice (he is, after all, translating the character's voice), but when no translation will suffice, the character is allowed to "speak for herself"--the word she actually used, baba, comes through. Since it's just a word, the English reader can use context clues to devise the meaning, as with any unknown English word that might appear in a text.

This style could help in some ways to reproduce rhymes and contextual jokes. In some cases, such as reproducing a poem, I would probably opt for the original completely. Characters that don't understand the language can act as a proxy for the reader in the text--let them ask what it means; it's a simple trick that doesn't sound as expositional as other methods. But it is just that, a trick. You can't let the whole text rely on translation and explanation to the reader as if she is a child.

I'd recommend reading The Satanic Verses side-by-side with this guide from Washington State University. The guide signals every instance of this linguistic cohabitation in the text--very quickly you'll be able to see precisely how Rushdie is doing what he's doing.

Good luck!

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