So about language-isms not in your native language?

[Naruzeldamaster]

For example I write in English, as it's my native language.

But I want to include some cultural Language-isms in my story.

Stuff like people of British Decent (or a raced based on British Culture) calling someone a Muppet. For example.
Another Example is someone going Jajaja in place of Hahaha because of the culture they're based on.

Dragon Quest Does this a lot (Regardless of the language the game is in) and I like it.
My thing with the Dragon Quest games, I think they do this a touch too much? Though in their case the cultures are inspired heavily by the real life example. So it makes sense.

 

[pmmg]

Sounds like it would be a good addition if you can pull it off. With Dragon Quest as a guide, you already have a model.

I assume the question is, how do I do this?

Things like Jajaja would be easy enough, but the audience has to know what it means when it comes up, so you have to kind of introduce the word in a way that leaves no confusion as to how it is being used.

In my own writing, I have a good number of made up words. They all appear first in some context, and then later are expanded upon. I decided to call one of my curved swords a 'Tog-na', for example. When it first appears, I have to describe is curved shape and that its bronze. Its kind of the style of sword in a certain culture. In that culture, saying Tog-na is easily understood to be a curved sword. Not much different that a criss knife in Dune, or a light saber in star wars. After its been used, I can keep using the word with less and less need to define what it is.

But to capture the whole culture, in some I made up a lot of words, but I stuck mostly to words that would come up a lot, likely be different, and used them over and over. In the Chosen, the producers have decided to go with the terms Eama and Abba, for mother and father, which is historical, but the rest of it is in English. It works. The first time its a little jarring but it starts to slide in as normal. Also a lot of Jewish words being used as well, and they just help shape the time, place and culture.

You just have to make up similar words and go with them.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Dragon Quest is a good 'model' I agree (It uses cultural language in the 'right' way and is extremely dedicated to that culture being represented right, especially in the more modern games.)

Though I probably won't take it quite as far as Dragon Quest does. A few Language-isms here or there to let the reader know what culture the fictional race is inspired by, but not much more. There are some points especially in modern Dragon Quest where I can't get some of what they're saying. Language barrier hits hard sometimes heh.

 

[Mad Swede]

You mean colloquial expressions. They can be a way of setting a story or character without making location or origin specific. The one thing to bear in mind is that such expressions are very hard to translate into another language, because they depend on the culture in that particular place or country.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

You mean colloquial expressions. They can be a way of setting a story or character without making location or origin specific. The one thing to bear in mind is that such expressions are very hard to translate into another language, because they depend on the culture in that particular place or country.

Ye, I wasn't sure it had a proper phrase for it but pretty much.
I won't be using that many I don't think, just ones that most people are aware of. Like I'm pretty sure a lot of folks go 'is that a british thing' when someone calls another person a muppet, either that or they think of the tv show. Both are valid reactions.

Dragon Quest uses a lot of those expressions but, while they do a good job of showing the culture accurately (It's one of my favorite bits of the series) it does make some of the dialogue hard to parse at times. That being said, their translation teams often do a pretty good job. The fact that it's included at all and done accurately is the main bit.