Hey, folks. Ace here. I happened to be in chat while SomeGuy was trying to find this week's guest poster. I had a fun idea, so here I am. I'm gonna tell you ladies and fellas how to use foreign words correctly and appropriately. Pay attention, now. This could easily benefit a lot of you.
Part one: Do not use them in the following manner.
"I don't understand a word you're saying. Try speaking American. It's the only language I understand. IN AMERICA!" -Bandit Keith, Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series
Alright, the first step in learning how to use something is learning how not to. Let's start here. The first thing to remember about foreign words is that most people who will be reading your works don't understand at least a handful of them. Here's an example:
The teddy kuma was so kawaii! I just had to hug it! It made a "Nya!" sound like a neko and I snuggled its smooth, kuro fur.
Now see, there are quite a few huge problems here. First of all, there's no way half of your readers will even know what language most of those words are from. Second, no Japanese person talks like that and neither do most English-speakers, so it's completely out-of-character no matter who you're making say it. Finally, it makes you look dumb. You know, as if you don't fully know how to write in either language. Oh, and don't think you can get by with translating every single word. Here, let me show you.
The teddy kuma (bear) was so kawaii (cute!) I just had to hug it! It made a "Nya!" ("Meow!") sound like a neko (cat) and I snuggled its smooth, kuro (black) fur.
As you can see, now the section is about 130% bigger than it was before. Not only that, but now you look like a know-it-all to the English speakers and a wannabe to the Japanese speakers.
Part two: Now you learn the ways of the foreign, young padawan.
"You're doing it wrong." -old internet proverb
"Alright, Ace," you say, "now we know not to abuse other people's cultures. So how are we to correctly use this wonderful tool?"
Well, that's the thing. In most cases, it's just unnecessary. And I'm not just talking about Japanese. I mean French, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Swahili, anything you're not a native speaker of. Your language is the one you know best and you should always understand what you're writing. There are a few notable exceptions, however.
#1: Well-known phrases such as "Adios, amigo," "Sayonara," "oui," etc. are all up for grabs. English-speakers use them all the time to flavor the language a little, so it makes sense to use them.
#2: Foreign characters. For example, say you're writing about World War II (no idea why you'd want to, but play along. Also, you'd better be Mel friggin' Brooks if you plan on lampooning the Holocaust.) If you happen to have a Nazi character, you could probably get away with a "Seig Heil" or two, since it would be in character for them to say. You could also pop in a few honorifics for Japanese characters, such as "san," "kun," "chan" or "sama." Don't go overboard, though. Having the guy speak in all German would upset the balance and make one whole character that few people understand.
#3: Parody works. If you want to make fun of the more obsessive garden-variety fangirl, you can probably get a little crazy with the Japanese. Be careful, though. This one can be a bit of a touchy subject.
There are a few more exceptions, but those are the main guidelines you should stick to. Finally...
Part three: In which I warn against a common mistake.
"For goodness sake, IT'S CALLED SITUATIONAL TRANSLATION!" -Me, every time the subject is brought up.
Okay, ladies and gents. This one hits home for me and drives me crazy. There are some out there that would have you believe that certain words in certain languages that carry a heavier meaning than the closest English equivalent. This is an untruth. By now, many of you may have guessed what word I'm referring to in particular:
Nakama.
According to many fans, "nakama" basically means more than friend, but less than family. According to every fansub I've ever seen, it could easily be translated differently depending on whichever situation it is used in. Good examples include:
One of us
Friend
Brother
Sister
Comrade
Crew
Crewmember
Like family
It's not that hard, folks. Just look at the sentence around it and pick a word. Same goes for Aniki or any other ambiguous word. It's a yakuza word that could mean either brother or boss. So use brother or boss.
Well, there's my contribution for the week. Now where's my paycheck? Wait, what? No check? Bah. Whatever.
Sayonara!
(c wut I did thar?)
