Writing a setting where English is not the common language.....

Back in the day we used to have a couple of linguists on the site who would pretty much insist that you just shouldn't try, that doing any kind of accent or wording change to reflect a language would just end up butchering it.

I saw a video about an actress who does accents in two dozen languages - forgive me, I couldn't find it in a cursory glance - but for french, she said that they tend to speak with their lips, with their voice being forward in their mouth, making them look just a bit pouty.

When I was in HS I did a comedy piece in an Irish accent and was able to look up some of the differences. With Irish, there are speaking pattern differences, such as trying not to stress any word by reorganizing the sentence structure to do that for you (You're the one who did it? vs, "So it's you that's the one who did it.") I'm sure similar quirks exist with french speakers. You could try and youtube French accents for tips on the subject.

If you can pick up a casual tip or two, go for it. But really, I wouldn't try too hard to Frenchify your language. You've got to balance research workload, reader impact, and the risks of screwing up. I can't decide for you specifically, but for most of us I think the balance doesn't work out.

 

I would only write dialogue in french if it serves a real purpose. For example if someone is speaking the language to the current POV and he/she is not able to speak the language him/herself. That way you show the linguistic barrier in a very clear and precise manner. If the POV does speak french, than I would skip it. Most of your audience will likely not understand a lot of french themselves and I don't think it is wise to risk alienating them.

The italics idea could work. Accents can work as well if you have a good grasp on them, though even if you do it is probably best to keep it light. Even an accurate accent can become grating over time if you have to read it.

Names of people, places and other things that have names can all be done in french, although I would make sure to translate them when you do so the first time. We might understand french, but many readers will not and readers, like all people, don't like feeling stupid. Personally I don't think this means you shouldn't use fancy or foreign words, but the meaning of said words needs to be obvious in the context somehow. If you make readers grab for a dictionary, there's a good chance you've lost them.

 

I would, at most, throw in a few french words that are easy enough to understand that they're clear by context - such as: oui, non, mon dieu, fromage.
I'd then have the french-speaking characters use these a lot. I might also try and give one or more of them some kind of verbal tick they use often.

 

Literally.... just tell the reader what language it's in.

"So what?" she said in French.
"How are you father?" she always needed a moment to get used to speaking in English with him.
"I'm happy to be here in London," she said, hoping her English was good enough.

 

Since you speak French, I'm sure you already know this, but in Montreal your character would be speaking Quebecois, which is a dialect, making it even more treacherous to strike the right tone.

So, you have some people speaking English, some French. When does that matter? Most Quebecois are bilingual. As often happens with minorities, they will sometimes choose to have language difficulty when they are feeling threatened, pretending not to understand, or to misunderstand. Conversely, an English speaker, especially if in a position of power, might demand the other speak English, dammit!

IOW, I can picture specific situations where it would be relevant, but for the rest, why even mention it? And in specific situations, how you handle it in the narration might vary from one specific situation to another. For example, maybe she brings home a English friend for supper. The father shoots off some rapid-fire questions or comments, and the daughter must apologize for him. In that scene, I should think the actual French (Quebecois) would be appropriate, so you'd want two or three sentences. The daughter could relate what he said in her apology.

In another scene, they are in a lecture or some other venue and the friend admits she didn't understand a word of what was said. In such a case, the mere statement would be sufficient.

As ever, general rules can be formulated but rarely used. It comes down to the scene and the writer. As for the initial setting, just saying it's Montreal should be enough. If you wanted to be more explicit, the dual-language signs everywhere would serve, though your MC would scarcely notice such things. If you introduce the English speaker early enough, they could comment on it.

 

Ditto on what Svrtnsse said. You can just flavor in French here and there, making sure, the reader can understand or make a good guess at what the French means just based on context.

On the practical side of things, if everyone in the scene is speaking the same language. I don't think you have to do anything. You might flavor in some French if you want, but not necessary.

But, if one of the character's speaks a different language, say English, here are a few things you can try to remind the reader that French is the primary language.

1. If the POV character only speaks English, have the French speaking characters speak French, and put in the French, then have the English speaking ask them to speak English or have the French speaking characters realize the English speaking character can't understand and switch over to English for them.

2. Kind of a flip to 1, If the POV character is a French speaker, have them speak, and you can have the text be in English, but you can have them slowly realize that the English speaker in the room doesn't understand a word they're saying or have the English speaker pipe up about not understanding.

3. Now if you do 1 and/or 2 once or twice, it's established that French and English are being spoken and that some characters don't speak French. Once this is done, I think you could have characters drop in what language they're speaking at the moment if you deem it necessary.

Eg. Bob walked into the bakery. The person behind the counter didn't look like they spoke French, so erred on the side of speaking English.

I know the example is a bit clumsy, but hopefully it gets my point across.