Non-English story question

[Rustyoznail]

I've been editing stories for a couple of Indian ladies for about a year. The latest story is about two violent criminals who break into a house with only the mother at home. Rape, humiliation, and finally resignation about her situation happens.

So apparently they say in India... English abuses don't hurt as much as Hindi abuses

Bdrew wants to put a fair chunk of Hindi dialogue into the story mainly because of the criminals, but with the rest in English. An English reader will be able to infer what's going on, but naturally, there will be something lost. Adding a translation is just clunky.

The question is - will that be ok to put into the normal English story lists, or will it be pushed into Other Languages?

 

[ElectricBlue]

I would think, given the likely audience, it would run fine in English. "Other Languages" isn't really a sexual category (unless you've got characters speaking in the tips of tongues, in which case it might be religious fetish).

 

[ElectricBlue]

"Other Languages" isn't just a category; it's a different part of Lit with the same categories as 'Poetry', 'Anal', 'BDSM', ... provided for specific languages.

Ahh yes, quite right. You only get the language option when you first log in - I'd forgotten that.

 

[Rob_Howard]

I've been editing stories for a couple of Indian ladies for about a year. The latest story is about two violent criminals who break into a house with only the mother at home. Rape, humiliation, and finally resignation about her situation happens.

So apparently they say in India... English abuses don't hurt as much as Hindi abuses

Bdrew wants to put a fair chunk of Hindi dialogue into the story mainly because of the criminals, but with the rest in English. An English reader will be able to infer what's going on, but naturally, there will be something lost. Adding a translation is just clunky.

The question is - will that be ok to put into the normal English story lists, or will it be pushed into Other Languages?

As an Indian who speaks Hindi, I can affirm the fact that English abuses don't hurt as much as Hindi abuses. We only abuse in English when we try to be soft or polite to our friends.

But as a writer in English, I wouldn't really write dialogues in Hindi, no matter how small they are. If the story is meant to be written in English and the majority of the readers are non-Indians, then it might be frustrating for a non-Hindi speaker. If only the abuses are in Hindi, then it's fine. There can be an Author's Note stating that the abuses are in Hindi, which might not be longer than a few short phrases in the conversations.

Only for Hindi-speaking English readers, the dialogue and the abuses would be comprehensible. But ultimately, it's the author's decision to take the chance.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

By abuses, do you mean all sorts of abuse (ie getting assualted by an English person is less bad) or just verbal abuse, ie insults? Ron's comment suggests the latter, in which case you'd need to ensure that's explained.
A scattering of Hindi phrases should be fine, as long as the context is made clear (for the reader; I doubt Laurel cares).

"You djdjdj! Jdidhn djdhajdjb jxhdhd!"
She couldn't believe he could say such a hurtful thing to her.

 

[Rustyoznail]

By abuses, do you mean all sorts of abuse (ie getting assualted by an English person is less bad) or just verbal abuse, ie insults? Ron's comment suggests the latter, in which case you'd need to ensure that's explained.
A scattering of Hindi phrases should be fine, as long as the context is made clear (for the reader; I doubt Laurel cares).

"You djdjdj! Jdidhn djdhajdjb jxhdhd!"
She couldn't believe he could say such a hurtful thing to her.

Verbal. I'll have to take their word for it.

Thanks all. We'll have a chat and make sure it's all clear for the reader.

 

[Salacious_Scribe]

Using a second language in an English story is fine if one or more of the characters don't speak the language. This way the antagonists can discuss things without the protagonist knowing.

If all characters speak the language, then no. An occasional word or phrase in the native language is fine to add flavor and remind readers there are non-English speakers around. When I do this, I usually have some reply and translate the word.