RS, Author, Novelist on Nostr: #WritersCoffeeClub Ch 16 Nbr 12 — Do characters use words not in the language you ...
#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 16 Nbr 12 — Do characters use words not in the language you write in? Italics for this, or not?
When I use words not in English, I italicize them, which is what I was taught was proper manuscript format. I answered a prompt a couple days ago where I wrote "Le Mort d'un auteur n'est pas?" and italicized it.
In my current WIP, set millennia in the future, I avoided the issue all together by so far writing in only one of the six extant languages. Some words have special meaning, however, but I avoided the issue of strange jargon words that want to be italicized† by reusing common English words. The following is a list of words that mean something else in the story.
Angel, Attached, Brother, Copper, Daemon, Domestics, Exclusive, Feather, Flap, Halo, Have-not, Heartbeat, Hello, Horn, Interlude, Iris, Knight, Loser, Miracle, Passion, Pull, Registry, Reluctance, Remnant, Relic, Reliquary, Revelation, Ride, Saint, Sclera, Sleeping, Waking, and Wild.
Some of those words are rude and three obscene. Guess which and earn a gold star! I italicize none of them by sticking to simple English words.
I also avoid italics in a situation where my MCs speak a derivative of English and the foreigners speak a derivative of Cantonese. When some words haven't been learned as they work to understand (and end up misunderstanding) each other, I simply enclose the character's best guess in square brackets as you would indicate that you have changed something in a quote. Other authors usually insert italicized foreign expressions, or phonetics if the language is too alien. This example is so far out of context, it can't constitute spoilers:
"[Something, a name?] demands we wear clothes, to hide [our nakedness?]. To keep women from tempting men [with wrong ideas?]. [Truly, clearly?] you are His messenger."
"My commander is a woman. His? Whose...? I don't know what you mean by messenger!" Now I was shouting.
Storytelling offers lots of alternatives, but the rule about italicizing foreign languages is pretty strict and ought be adhered to for manuscript submission.
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† The only non-standard word I use is floof, which is an edible weed that grows everywhere and has a special purpose in the stories. I borrowed it from nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpqek8rajnxu0djzdm7p0eww7h0g8xd2wh07wqc05hw98j32rnwjlqqs76fay (nprofile…6fay).
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
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When I use words not in English, I italicize them, which is what I was taught was proper manuscript format. I answered a prompt a couple days ago where I wrote "Le Mort d'un auteur n'est pas?" and italicized it.
In my current WIP, set millennia in the future, I avoided the issue all together by so far writing in only one of the six extant languages. Some words have special meaning, however, but I avoided the issue of strange jargon words that want to be italicized† by reusing common English words. The following is a list of words that mean something else in the story.
Angel, Attached, Brother, Copper, Daemon, Domestics, Exclusive, Feather, Flap, Halo, Have-not, Heartbeat, Hello, Horn, Interlude, Iris, Knight, Loser, Miracle, Passion, Pull, Registry, Reluctance, Remnant, Relic, Reliquary, Revelation, Ride, Saint, Sclera, Sleeping, Waking, and Wild.
Some of those words are rude and three obscene. Guess which and earn a gold star! I italicize none of them by sticking to simple English words.
I also avoid italics in a situation where my MCs speak a derivative of English and the foreigners speak a derivative of Cantonese. When some words haven't been learned as they work to understand (and end up misunderstanding) each other, I simply enclose the character's best guess in square brackets as you would indicate that you have changed something in a quote. Other authors usually insert italicized foreign expressions, or phonetics if the language is too alien. This example is so far out of context, it can't constitute spoilers:
"[Something, a name?] demands we wear clothes, to hide [our nakedness?]. To keep women from tempting men [with wrong ideas?]. [Truly, clearly?] you are His messenger."
"My commander is a woman. His? Whose...? I don't know what you mean by messenger!" Now I was shouting.
Storytelling offers lots of alternatives, but the rule about italicizing foreign languages is pretty strict and ought be adhered to for manuscript submission.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
† The only non-standard word I use is floof, which is an edible weed that grows everywhere and has a special purpose in the stories. I borrowed it from nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpqek8rajnxu0djzdm7p0eww7h0g8xd2wh07wqc05hw98j32rnwjlqqs76fay (nprofile…6fay).
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion