Using culture-specific words

[Deleted member 4007]

There are some words out there that refer to a specific ethnic race on planet Earth.

But my planet it not Earth (like most people's here).

The word in question is 'chanson' - which literally means 'a French song'. I want to use the word for a particular group of peoples in my series, just to make it clear that they have a particular type of folk music, which resembles French music.

Obviously the definition makes me wary to use it. But I simply want it to give more depth to certain groups, without having to invent too many silly words that the audience must remember.

And no, this isn't at all the flawed ethnic model some use for their fantasy writing - "This country is called Fransh, and it is pretty much the same as France." - I'm only using one word.

 

[CupofJoe]

I am a fan of "Chanson" [in the real world - Edit Piaf is a god in my personal world!]. All words are culture specific... You write in English... only those with an English Heritage/Education will understand what you mean... maybe...
All that said... personally I wouldn't use Chanson but make up my own word.

 

[Penpilot]

Anything is fair game. Name things how ever you want as long as they don't distract from the story. Even then you have a bit of leeway. I mean if you can call a planet of unrest Pandora and the substance being fought over Unobtainium and still have a story work, Chanson is definitely a workable name.

Names are just names and don't need to be over thought. I think it was Asimov or Bradbury who used names such as Alpha and Beta for fictional planet names.

 

[skip.knox]

Another thing to keep in mind. Some will read "chanson" and think you made the word up. Others will read it and know what it means and not really care. Others will object. Still others (I'm assuming you are now an international best-seller) will read the word and think it means something entirely different because their language has a word similar in spelling.

As for plucking out words, I refer you to the excellent science-fiction classic Pavane, by Keith Roberts.

 

[Svrtnsse]

One of my rules of thumb for writing, and not just names, is to not use words I'm not fully and entirely comfortable with. My thinking is that in the long run it'll lead to a clearer voice.

 

[MapHatter]

Personally, I have to agree with Skip.knox. He/she/they make some good points. I wouldn't have been familiar with the term, and I'd have read it as you intended it to be read. But I do think you need to be careful, to an extent. You can't merely repurpose words like 'restaurant', or other common loan words, and expect people to believe or accept that a 'restaurant' is now, suddenly, a tall bridge. Or something. That said though, I feel free to liberally use loan words in my story and just presume that at some point in history, the word cropped up all on its own.

I'd point you to Penny Dreadful, too. The writers used the term 'demimonde' as a name for the halfworld where supernatural creatures live, but the term originally referred to 'a group of people who live hedonistic lifestyles, usually in a flagrant and conspicuous manner.' It's an arbitrary example, but I hope my point is clear.

At the end of the day, an unfamiliar word will need some explanation or context anyway, and if it's just you and this particular demographic who are likely to be familiar with it, then what harm is there in having your way with it?