[ SECRET POST #2320 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2320 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01. [removed on request of author]


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05. [repeat]


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[ ----- SPOILERY SECRETS AHEAD ------ ]












08. [SPOILERS for Iron Man 3]



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09. [SPOILERS for Fire Emblem: Awakening]



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10. [SPOILERS for Superman (1978)]



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[ ----- TRIGGERY SECRETS AHEAD ------ ]













11. [WARNING for rape and abuse]



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12. [SPOILERS for The Borgias]
[WARNING for incest]



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13. [WARNING for suicide]

[Gay Purr-ee]


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #331.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 2 - ships it ], [ 1 - posted twice ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

And why is necessary to include phrases in a foreign on a fic written in English?

I have always wondered about this, because the only two reasons that make sense for me is if the character uses words/phrases on a foreign language in canon or if the author is using as narrator a character that doesn't speak the language and they want the readers to understand what is being said, so it won't make sense to write the phrase in English and just point that it was said in another language.

Yet, every time I see foreign phrases in an English fic is just gratuitous French/Spanish/German/Japanese :/

[(Anonymous)]

It's not necessary, but people keep doing it anyway. Most of them are just showing off (which makes it especially funny when they get something wrong) but it's generally pretty clunky in all cases.

[(Anonymous)]

This. I find it especially grating when a published author pulls this kind of thing. Even if authors ask a native speaker for a translation, it often seems that the translator didn't get enough context because the end result reads strangely.

As a reader I 100% prefer if authors refrain from foreign language dialogue.

[(Anonymous)]

Going for Bilingual Bonus, I would assume.

It's nice when the author is bilingual and so are you, which I suppose is the ideal scenario.

[(Anonymous)]

So rare though that it comes across as obnoxious most of the time.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't think it's that rare... But I guess it depends on the fandom.

[(Anonymous)]

Rare that the author is actually bilingual, or rare that the reader actually gets what they're going for?

I mean in fanfiction obviously a lot of the writing is just clumsy and unpolished so this too becomes a symptom of that, but it pops up in published fiction too. I could say I find the French in Lolita "gatuitous" but I feel this wouldn't be the case for someone who actually spoke French.

[(Anonymous)]

Both actually.

Sometimes the gratuitous level feels like an intentional part of the character. (Or very rarely the authors are seriously exploring something about bi-cultural characters, diaspora, etc.)
But mostly it comes across as the author wanting some ~exoticism~ or going "look at how smart I think I am".

[(Anonymous)]

mte

For most purposes, you can just say something like: "'Blah blah blah', the man said in French.'" Or if a lot of things are said in the same foreign language, maybe establish that things said in that language are written in italics or something. Or if the viewpoint character can't understand it, say something like, "Jane muttered something in French."

In writing, it's rarely necessary to actually write dialogue in a foreign language - and in most cases, it's probably best not to.

[(Anonymous)]

I disagree. Using foreing languages, when used well, add another dimension to a narrative.

Of course, it must be justified, but when it does, I enjoy those bits inmensely. One of my favorite novels have a chapter playing with three or four different languages, and every one of them said a lot about the characters, their background and their intentions. I really liked that, even if I could only understand two of those languages.

But of course, the writer must do a lot of research to use this effectively and not ending looking like a fool.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't know about other fandoms, but your first reason is why I've done it. Many of the characters in the second-most-recent Blue Beetle title are bilingual due to their heritage and proximity to the border. They canonically use Spanish in their dialogue. If I'm writing them, I at least try to imitate that. I don't believe Jaime Reyes would even be in character if he weren't dropping the occasional Spanish word and phrase; that's a part of who he is. There was a whole freakin' story arc about it. Heck, even before that, #26 was published ENTIRELY in Spanish.

I'm definitely not looking to show off. It's a whole lot of annoying research when all I want is a handful of words in strategic places.

[(Anonymous)]

I once wrote a fic about a character who switches languages IN CANON. It's like a habit of his. So when I write him, I have him switch languages as well (I do speak the other language he speaks in canon).

But other than the case of canonically multilingual characters ... I really don't get the point.

[(Anonymous)]

Radek Zelenka!

[(Anonymous)]

I included Italian in a fic once because the character was half-Italian, born and raised in Italy and tended to slip back into her native tongue when extremely angry or upset.

Right now I'm trying to decide what to do in a new fics. I have three characters: two native English speakers and a character who speaks only her native tongue and French.
Now, the English speakers know French as well. I suppose I could do "said X in French", however, her native tongue still distiguishes between "thou" and "you" and said distinction is also culturally important - they are strangers to her so she'd never, ever address them as "thou."

However, if I use the "said X in French", the distinction is definitely lost. It's not an easy choice.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, maybe you could "translate" her dialogue with "thou" and "you", and note that you're doing that. (Though I guess that might be confusing if other characters don't follow the same convention.) Or maybe have one of the characters notice in the text (not necessarily dialogue) that she's always using the formal/more polite pronoun, if it's notable to them.