"Speak English!" (Or appropriate euphemism)

[oOGarrettOo]

I've been writing for quite some time and I've decided to start broadening my horizons. For the first time ever (not really, but recently, utilizing brain power) I'm writing outside of my crappy American English.

So, my question for everyone (really, just general musings) is:

How do you feel about using slang and common phrases from foreign languages in your writing?

For instance, my newest bit of work is based in Ireland. Granted, I'm making the place up, but I don't want to make them all speak crappy American English confused So, I did some research and I'm going to use common slang and phrases here and there. Not overdoing it, but just to make it more...realistic, I guess you could say.

Anyway, thoughts/opinions?  

[Renkon Root]

oOGarrettOo

How do you feel about using slang and common phrases from foreign languages in your writing?

I like to experiment with it WHEN I FEEL IT IS APPROPRIATE. For example, if I have a character from Japan whom was born and raised in Japan and is a native Japanese speaker I might have them throw around a few common Japanese curses or exclamations in place of English ones. However, if a character is not a native Japanese speaker, like say I have a character from northern France, then I would have them use common French curses and exclamations, not Japanese ones. Etc.

I do not like to just "throw around" foreign words and phrases like a weeboo. I like them to be appropriate and I like them to make sense. I feel it can enrich a story when used properly and done right. But when used improperly and done wrong it can utterly destroy something that might have otherwise been beautiful.

 

[Sanguina Cruenta]

You mean Irish English, or Gaeilge? Only really rural people speak Gaeilge regularly.

Yeah, if I read a book set in Ireland and they were using American spelling and slang, I would notice and be annoyed. Watch some Father Ted for some ideas, but note that Ted is quite regional with the accent and slang.

"Feck" and "eejit" seem to feature generally.

Edit: General note, Nabokov threw French around at random in Lolita and occasionally broke into French sentences and paragraphs. The further on in the book you got, the longer and more confusing the French. There's precedent for doing it randomly and it being awesome.  

[Renkon Root]

Sanguina Cruenta

Edit: General note, Nabokov threw French around at random in Lolita and occasionally broke into French sentences and paragraphs. The further on in the book you got, the longer and more confusing the French. There's precedent for doing it randomly and it being awesome.

While I liked Lolita I have to say that that was one thing I absolutely HATED about that book!

In fact, allot of modern and post-modern authors tended to do that and it always irked the crap out of me. Its like they threw it in there just to sound smart and snooty (which considering the authors, they probably did). Sometimes I wish I could invent a time machine to go back in time and tell them that is they really wanted to sound smart they should put all their snooty French in a context where it would BELONG! [/rant]

 

[Sanguina Cruenta]

Renkon Root

Sanguina Cruenta

Edit: General note, Nabokov threw French around at random in Lolita and occasionally broke into French sentences and paragraphs. The further on in the book you got, the longer and more confusing the French. There's precedent for doing it randomly and it being awesome.

While I liked Lolita I have to say that that was one thing I absolutely HATED about that book!

In fact, allot of modern and post-modern authors tended to do that and it always irked the crap out of me. Its like they threw it in there just to sound smart and snooty (which considering the authors, they probably did). Sometimes I wish I could invent a time machine to go back in time and tell them that is they really wanted to sound smart they should put all their snooty French in a context where it would BELONG! [/rant]

You're just pissy because you couldn't understand it. Clearly this is a deficit of YOURS, not a problem with the book. It's not thrown in there to sound snooty or smart, it's a part of HH's character. Frankly if anything, the fact that Nabokov's English is so good is all he needed to demonstrate his intelligence. It was in a proper context, because the entire book was the proper context.

I mean if anything it was funny! Because the French near the beginning is the stuff anyone can understand, and the further you go even people with a year or two of French start getting confused. It's brilliantly done. Go and get a French dictionary and stop complaining.  

[oOGarrettOo]

I'm using "English" Irish slang. Like "arseways" and "eejit", that sort of thing. It amuses me, and I think a touch of it here and there would be entertaining. It would also give the American character and the Irish character more to talk about because he would say something and she'd be "umwhut?" and vice versa.

I've never read Lolita, and considering I don't know a lick of French, it probably wouldn't be the best idea, lol. sweatdrop  

[Shearaha]

I recently read something somewhere (can't remember where) that was in first person. One of the characters spoke French and one didn't. So when someone was speaking French to the character who spoke French it was in English and when someone was speaking French to the character that only spoke English it was in French. so that the reader understood everything that the character understood or didn't understand. I rather liked that.  

[oOGarrettOo]

Since this thread has been murdered....


Is there anyone in the guild who knows Irish slang? Or know someone who knows Irish slang? I'll be posting the story up soon for some serious review, and the parts that will need the most review are some of the slang usage bits. For the most part I think they're all right, but there are a few that I'm uncertain about and I'd like to know if anyone's about who could help me out.  

[HorsesOfTheNight]

Sanguina Cruenta

Edit: General note, Nabokov threw French around at random in Lolita and occasionally broke into French sentences and paragraphs. The further on in the book you got, the longer and more confusing the French. There's precedent for doing it randomly and it being awesome.

My mother just gave me a book that does something similar to this. The book is called All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. In the book there are some sentences in Spanish. The lady who gave the book to my mom bitched about this and said it was one of the worst books she had ever read. I can not believe she hates this book b/c some of the lines are in Spanish. How difficult is it to open up and Spanish-English dictonary and look up a couple of words? rolleyes I will eventually read it to see if the book really is as bad as she says it is.  

[Dr Tabitha]

Teehee~

I live in Ireland~

Anyway, I have work that I'm basing in Ireland too, but it's a made up American community and I use mixed slang of Irish and American. It's fun and fills the work up with colour and randomness~ whee
If anyone can give me any phrases that are used today and are witty and/or hilarious, please do share c: