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Ireth_Telrunya
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Post Elvish and translations in fanfic?
on: August 05, 2014 12:26
Looking for people's opinions here. When fanfic authors use Elvish or other invented languages in their stories, especially in dialogue, what do you prefer as far as placement of translations goes? Do you mind if the author leaves some things untranslated, if the POV character is meant to be ignorant of the meaning?

[Edited on 08/05/2014 by Ireth_Telrunya]
Translations in brackets beside the dialogue
0% (0)
Footnotes above or below the chapter
50% (3)
Elvish and English translations in the same dialogue
17% (1)
Translation via narration/thoughts in character POV
0% (0)
Any of the above / I don't care
17% (1)
Other (specify in the comments)
17% (1)
Far over the Misty Mountains cold, to dungeons deep and caverns old. We must away ere break of day, to claim our long forgotten gold.
~nólemë~
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on: August 11, 2014 02:56
In answer to your questions:
- I do like to know what is said in a fic. Untranslated lines are a major turn-off for me, even if the character is supposed to be clueless. Frankly, it feels like a translation homework to me, and I just don't have the patience or time to try to find out what was said.
- I prefer the translations below the chapter, where they don't stall the dialogue (translations throughout chapter) and don't contain any spoilers (translations above chapter).
---------- Image "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit
Ireth_Telrunya
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on: August 13, 2014 05:46
About the use of elvish in fanfics: how much is too much?

My latest WIP is a self-insert, girl-falls-into-Arda story (don't worry, she's not a Sue!), and for realism I've done away with the "magical translation of English to Westron" trope (also because it's set in a time when the Westron language didn't exist yet). So my MC will be hearing and speaking a lot of elvish, and learning more as she goes.

For this purpose I don't want to do something like using fancy brackets for <Elvish dialogue> versus "English dialogue", at least to start out with. A big part of the story is the MC struggling to communicate and working with what she knows to learn what she doesn't, so it stands to reason (IMO) that writing out the elvish dialogue in full would make the most sense, with some commentary in the narration or character's thoughts along the lines of "oh, okay, this word means that, but what does this mean?" Once she grows more fluent I'll probably change to the fancy brackets. Of course I will include translations of the elvish dialogue, though the location and format has yet to be decided.

Thughts/opinions on this?
Far over the Misty Mountains cold, to dungeons deep and caverns old. We must away ere break of day, to claim our long forgotten gold.
~nólemë~
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on: August 13, 2014 06:12
Have you read boz4PM's "Don't Panic"? I think her solution to the communication issue was the best I've ever read. First, when Girl is struggling with communicating, she uses isolated words or phrases in Elvish, translated at the bottom of the chapters. As Girl becomes more proficient in Elvish, the written conversation turns into English, with an occasional reminder that in reality, it's all said in Elvish. For greater credibility, when Girl is speaking, her English-that-actually-represents-Elvish sentences contain mistakes, because Elvish beginners will make them.
You can also start using English for the reason that the elves would learn it much quicker than Girl would master Elvish. That personally sounds more likely to me than the former solution, especially if we recall Finrod and Bëor, but to each their own.
---------- Image "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit
Ireth_Telrunya
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on: August 13, 2014 08:36
I haven't read that. I'll look it up!

In my story, I start out using Sindarin (once I realize where I am and who I'm with) because I already have some skill in it IRL, though I do make mistakes at times. The elves will learn English as I learn more Sindarin, which will make things easier for everyone. I'm not sure whether I/we should revert entirely to using one language, or whether it'd be more logical to create a sort of pidgin language, "Sindaringlish".
Far over the Misty Mountains cold, to dungeons deep and caverns old. We must away ere break of day, to claim our long forgotten gold.
~nólemë~
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on: August 13, 2014 03:10
I recommend sticking to English once either side learns basic communication. Switching from English to Elvish or having an English-Elvish blend in dialogues might be realistic, but might also be uncomfortable for some people to read, as the explanatory notes would never diasappear, and yet the conversations would get more complex.
---------- Image "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit
Ireth_Telrunya
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on: August 13, 2014 06:12
Logical. I'll probably do that, then.
Far over the Misty Mountains cold, to dungeons deep and caverns old. We must away ere break of day, to claim our long forgotten gold.
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