Personally, I think that the inclusion of a foreign tongue really does lend to a sort of added intrigue. My own rules when using interspersing of a language other than English is to just keep it short and too the point. I find that anything longer than two sentences of anything other than English will immediately turn readers off. So it's best to use other languages in short bursts, typically. even when what they're saying can be easily inferred.
My suggestion for larger pieces is either a sentence-by-sentence translation (with the phrase in italics and then the English in parentheses right after it) or a page-to-page comparison, where you would write in on language on one page and then the page next to it would say the exact same thing, only in English. To make that method the most effective, the reader would have to be able to see both pages at once to make quick comparisons and it would help draw them into the experience of the translation. I've not used either of these since I've never done such large chunks of foreign tongue, but this is probably what I would end up doing if I did.
As someone who uses Japanese often, I also understand the tribulation that comes with trying to express a Japanese phrase and simultaneous concept in writing. It's a frustrating thing, particularly for those who didn't grow up with the concept of Kanji and the many meanings and pronunciations,the puns and clever word concoctions that can be made when using them. It's usually just best to stick with the basic Romanization of the language and weave explanation subtly through the plot, if one is really necessary. Footnotes can be off-putting unless the piece itself is constantly full of them.
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Date: 2012-01-04 04:05 am (UTC)My suggestion for larger pieces is either a sentence-by-sentence translation (with the phrase in italics and then the English in parentheses right after it) or a page-to-page comparison, where you would write in on language on one page and then the page next to it would say the exact same thing, only in English. To make that method the most effective, the reader would have to be able to see both pages at once to make quick comparisons and it would help draw them into the experience of the translation. I've not used either of these since I've never done such large chunks of foreign tongue, but this is probably what I would end up doing if I did.
As someone who uses Japanese often, I also understand the tribulation that comes with trying to express a Japanese phrase and simultaneous concept in writing. It's a frustrating thing, particularly for those who didn't grow up with the concept of Kanji and the many meanings and pronunciations,the puns and clever word concoctions that can be made when using them. It's usually just best to stick with the basic Romanization of the language and weave explanation subtly through the plot, if one is really necessary. Footnotes can be off-putting unless the piece itself is constantly full of them.