thecoppersphinx

[thecoppersphinx]

Some advice for writers trying to convey language shifts, bilingualism, and/or being a polyglot.

how to convey arabic language in a specific dialect is being spoken without lengthy descriptions of how words/specific letters are pronounced?

Anonymous asks:

I believe my question revolves around linguistics, but please correct me if there’s something I didn’t take into account. I’m an Egyptian girl who speaks Arabic (the Egyptian dialect specifically), and I am currently writing an urban fantasy set in modern day Egypt. Naturally, the characters would be speaking Egyptian arabic (i even have a scene where my character converses with a tourist and struggles to speak to them ‘in english’)  But as the story is written in english, I found this is really hard to convey, especially with the entirely different alphabet, and the words that simply cannot be transcribed (sometimes in definition, and sometimes in letters that don’t have an equivalent). What would be a good way to send the message that these characters are by no means speaking English (unless stated) without having to hold the reader's hand through lengthy descriptions of how a word is pronounced at every corner?

Hi Anon! This is a tough spot. I’m no expert, just a mod and fellow writer trying to support your fantastic ask. Any bilingual readers, especially other Arabic speakers, feel free to chime in.

1- Disclose they’re speaking Arabic, even though you’re writing in English:

Example A: “Hey, Noor! Wait up,” he said in Arabic. 

Example B: “Habibti, I haven’t seen you in a while,” she reminded me. It was true - I had missed the lilt of her Darija-Moroccan dialect-so different from the Mesri, the Egyptian twang, that rolled off my tongue.

2- Consider using Arabic semantic structure or phrases and idioms used mostly in Arabic.

Example A: She reddened with embarrassment. // They whitened at the sight of it. ((English would probably say she ‘turned red’ rather than reddened, or ‘paled’ rather than whitened. Since Arabic has this natural and fun ability to let color be a verb, which English can but doesn't have naturally - make use of it! It will read differently in English because it’s an Arabic construct. Use other examples like this that you’d know better than me.))

Example B: Consider using “May the Gods smite her house!,” instead of the classic English ‘Fuck You.’ Or use “On my eyes” rather than ‘min ayooni’ or its English translation of ‘of course.’ Since Arabic language is beautifully expressive, you could lean into that when you can rather than using common English alternatives.

 Example C: Consider interspersing Arabic transliterations of common words/phrases like; habibti/habibi; yani; mashallah casually through the story.  

3- When speaking with English speakers, consider using informal text/chat speak (Arabizi?) to communicate the Arabic, since it’s already transliterated to the Roman alphabet. [disclaimer - I am atrocious at this, and will be surprised if anyone can read it… but for science!]: 

Example A: Instead of (انت طالب بالجامعة) or “are you a student?” it becomes; 

“Ente 6albeh bel jam3a?” I asked, staring at the textbook in his arms. 

He looked at me confused. “I don't understand,” he said. “I can’t speak Arabic.” 

“Wain 3m tedrus? Where do you… y3ni… where do you study?” I tried again in slow, awkward English.

These examples may or may not work for you. It’s important to remember that there’s no single "right" way to do this, but it’s mostly about finding a balance that reads well, and feels good to you. Subtle cues like sentence structure, idioms, the occasional untranslated word, and natural context can help to show the language shift. Good luck and happy writing!

~ Melanie 🌻  

P.S. Mod Meir suggests checking out the book When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb, which handles this issue well. There's a lot of "He said in English" or "He repeated it in Yiddish for the old woman's benefit" or "It took him a moment to realize he had spoken in English" (( Thanks Sacha! @kuttithvangu ))

[thecoppersphinx]

SUMMER TO WINTER - April 2025

Peter is excited to see the wreathed doorways for Yanina’s apartment. It reminds him of Christmas time but more rustic. She explains her family buys rustic wreathes and ready-made nowadays at craft shops and make their own.  

Yanina decides to take a little from one of the front doors and makes a tiny wreath for the elevator ghost, which Peter thinks is a good idea.

Cousin Valeria hears and pokes out her head to tease Yanina when she notices Peter. And you can't miss him: he is 6 ft 3. 

After a moment of awkward silence, Peter breaks first by shyly saying hi. Yanina introduces him as her significant other and introduces Valeria as her 'rude cousin'. Yanina then tells Valeria to move out the way because they have packages and would like to get inside. Valeria is in shock as she thought her cousin made up somebody to get the family off her case for being single.

Yanina immediately starts yelling that her mom doesn't have to worry about her dying single.

Cousin Iris, her wife, cousin Daniil, and his wife are pointed out.  

Art note: will be changing Cousin Iris' wife's head shape in final draft so she can look more Kazakh! She looks too much like 2 other characters, and I don't want to get in trouble for 'same face' like other artists.

Cousin Daniil and wife Marta introduce themselves and compliment Peter as well as Yanina.

Side note: Don't know why it's gotten harder for me to post multiple pics on FB, Instagram, Bluesky, and now on Tumblr.

[thecoppersphinx]

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[thecoppersphinx]

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[thecoppersphinx]

SUMMER TO WINTER (April 2025)

Left rough sketch may be for a future page. Right rough sketch may become a cover.

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[thecoppersphinx]

SUMMER TO WINTER - April 2025

Yanina and Peter stop kissing to take his gifts for her mom, aunts, and uncle. Catholic school bully begins yelling out to Yanina before our protagonist gives her the middle finger 🖕🏿 and the bully's little kid picks it up and asks what did Yanina mean?

The elevator ghost story continues. Yanina explains how she did her own research on the ghost's life. Peter explains how not all ghosts are out to hurt others. When he politely asks the ghost for permission to use the elevator, he tells Yanina there is no way he is climbing all those stairs to her mom's apartment.

She's impressed by his bravery, and though she clings to him while inside the elevator, Yanina decides to thank the ghost for protecting everyone in the apartment building.

[thecoppersphinx]

"Maybe I'm born with it, maybe it's Maybelline"

u/RipTorn1978

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Arches National Park, Utah photo: Elliot McGucken

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[thecoppersphinx]

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Dont use curseforge anymore.

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The original tweet appears to have been deleted. and im unable to find it on Archive.org, but the tweets are still indexed by google.

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[thecoppersphinx]

Truth