Writing is hard. Writing in another language? Maybe the word hasn’t been invented for how hard that is. But for those who do attempt it, both the challenges and rewards are many.Though you may become fluent in another language, there are always nuances, expressions and cultural references that will elude you. The French might say you have “long teeth” for attempting to write in another tongue - meaning you’re ambitious. And if you don’t do a good job of it, the Russians might say that you’re “hanging noodles on their ears” meaning you’re talking nonsense.But take heart. Some very celebrated works of literature were written in the author’s non-native tongue. Polish born writer Joseph Conrad studied both French and English and chose to write in English because, “English is so plastic - if you haven’t got a word you need, you can make it, but to write French you have to be an artist.” And Irish born Samuel Beckett chose to write in French because robbed of his native tongue and all the habits that come with it, writing in another language allowed him to write “without style” so that he could focus on the subject and not the words.Here are some tips and advice for those willing to attempt this feat:
Use Universal Examples
You can assume that most people know who the current President of the United States is. And figures like Shakespeare, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Michael Jackson are safe bets, too. But you probably can’t expect a reader in China to know the story of George Washington and the cherry tree or expect a student in Uganda to be well-versed in American sit-coms. Likewise, the average American won’t catch a reference to the mythical Mother Earth figure Pachamama but in Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Peru and Argentina they would. If you come across an unexplained reference to her in an article meant for English speakers, then the writer didn’t do a very good job of understanding his audience. And that’s the lesson: when you write in a foreign language, you also have to remember who your readers are. Be careful not to assume a cultural literacy they won’t possess or you’ll just end up confusing them. In this case, it’s better to think globally instead of locally.
Don’t Assume That Idiomatic Phrases Are the Same Everywhere
If I accused you of “walking around a bowl of hot porridge” or declared that I was “sweating carrots”, you might think I’m crazy. But a Czech person would know that first one meant I was telling you that you were beating about the bush, and the second one meant that I was sweating like a pig. And, in fact, “beating about the bush” and “sweating like a pig” are English idiomatic phrases that don’t make any sense in other languages when translated directly. If you’re using these types of phrases in your writing, be sure to check with a native speaker to see how this idea would be expressed in their language.
Focus on The Message
No matter what your fluency level, you probably won’t have flawless grammar or possess an encyclopedic knowledge of local expressions. If you write well in your native tongue, that doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to write at the same level in other languages. Don’t get hung up on that. Instead, try to think more conceptually. What is the message you’re trying to get across? When you were first learning the language, you had to rely on this quite a lot. Maybe you didn’t know how to say “I’m allergic to eggs, can you please leave them out?” Instead you might have said something like “Eggs bad. Please no eggs.” You knew enough words to get your point across, though not as eloquently as in your native tongue. Concentrate on that in your writing - what’s the essence of what you wish to communicate?
Write in the Targeted Language Right Away
You might think it’s a good idea to write your draft in English first and then translate it into the other language. I urge you not to do this. Use the knowledge you have and be courageous enough to compose your essay in that language. It will sound better and more natural. Otherwise, your essay is more likely to sound forced, awkward and, well, translated.
The Little Words Are The Ones That Get You
It’s often not the more sophisticated words that trip people up when writing in another language, but the little words like prepositions and articles. You’re “on the corner” not “in the corner” and you’re “in Los Angeles” not “at Los Angeles”. If the other language you’re writing in is a Romance language, then you have the masculine and feminine articles to deal with because, for some reason which is unfathomable to most English speakers, the word for “sea” is masculine in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian but feminine in French. And, of course, the word “table” is feminine in all of them because tables are just so…feminine? For an English speaker, these types of constructions aren’t intuitive and take a lot of time and exposure to the language in order to learn them. And therefore they will likely be the cause of most of the errors in your writing.
Study Examples of Writing
This is probably the most useful thing you can do in order to learn to compose well in a second language. Even in their native languages, writers read other writing to learn how to become better at it. The same applies double to foreign languages. Just as someone learning to write in English could read the New York Times or New Yorker or Atlantic Monthly in order to study good writing, you should be pouring over the pages of respected journals in your second language to understand what constitutes good composition.
Be Flexible With Your Style
You’ll not only pick up on grammar, cultural references and idiomatic phrases when you read in another language, but you’ll also learn more about how people write. For example, many writers agree that one of the qualities of good writing in English is simplicity. Saying a lot in a fewer number of words. One of the most celebrated authors of modern English is Ernest Hemingway whose style has come to represent what we consider good writing.Today, writers can download a Hemingway app to judge their writing by his criteria:1) short sentences2) simple vocabulary3) no adverbs4) no passive voice.
By comparison, many of the Romance languages, particularly Spanish and Portuguese, favor a much more formal and “wordy” approach to writing. If you’ve ever looked at English-Spanish translation side by side, you’ll notice the English translation is about 25% shorter than the Spanish. Many Arabic writers tend to use proverbs in their writing and it’s quite descriptive and ornate, making English seem comparatively Spartan. It may seem unnatural to try to adopt these styles, but, in fact, it’s probably more natural than trying to make Arabic sound like English. If you’ve reached the point of fluency where you can compose an essay, then you’ve probably also learned some of the communication styles common in that tongue, particularly if you happen to be living in the country where that language is spoken. Many polyglots claim to manifest a different personality depending on the language they’re speaking. That same connection is sure to be made in writing as well.
Don’t Rely on Translation Tools
Tools such as Google Translate have come a long way from their inception. But they don’t always get it right. When writing, use a combination of different tools, like Google Translate, Linguee (which shows examples of words and phrases used in context), and your dictionary.
Between these tools, you’ll get a pretty decent idea of what words mean and how you can use them. But even with these reinforcements, you might still get things wrong sometimes and that’s part of the process. You can write the phrases that are technically correct, but aren’t the way people would express the thought in that particular language. Which leads us to the final piece of advice…
Use a Native Editor
There simply is no substitute for a native speaker. They will understand the nuances of the language you’re trying to master in ways you can’t. They will know if something sounds strange or is difficult to understand. They’ll fix the little grammar mistakes that you made. They’ll find the right expressions to pass on your message to your intended audience. In short, professional writers will take what you’ve written, polish and perfect it and make sure it’s the best possible version of your writing. Besides that, it’s an opportunity for you see what needed correcting so you can improve your writing.Writing in another language can be intimidating, but it’s an excellent way to increase your fluency and learn how to express yourself more concisely in your second language. So we’ll “squeeze our thumbs for you” as the Germans would say, meaning we’ll keep my fingers crossed for you that your writing will be as clear as soapy water (Estonian for “crystal clear”) and that you’re not just pedaling in sauerkraut (French for spinning your wheels).
