I am in the very, very early stages of a five-book fantasy romance series, as you've read. My five ladies scatter across the universe on various journeys in the hopes of discovering their respective mates as chosen for them by the gods. It just so happens that a couple of these men are native to certain countries.
The entire population of the universe in my series speaks one universal language--let's say Esperanto for now--but the people who inhabit the varying planets have all descended from Earth in some way...they all still practice, or at least possess traces of the languages their ancestors spoke way back when.
My books are written in English, obviously, with the strong implication that it's Esperanto they're really speaking. But, at times, there is an interchange of a different language by the heroes with the heroines or other characters in the books.
So, here's my question: do I actually, physically, type out that bit of dialogue in that language? And, if so, does it matter how long the passage really is?
Example 1: Sebastyan
Sebastyan Adonis Ruiz is my hero in Book 4, born to a Spanish merchant and an Italian opera singer. He takes pride in his ability to speak many languages fluently, the few he uses almost exclusively in the series being Spanish, Italian and English (Esperanto). As I know how to write in Spanish, choosing a few phrases, verbs, exclamations and terms of endearments are not difficult to me, and as the Spanish and English alphabets are the same, this is no challenge.
That brings me to Example 2: "Nik"
Nik ("Nik" is his placement name. I have yet to form this character completely), is a Russian descendant, a bold move by me as I do NOT speak any Russian. Looking up phrases and terms of endearment are a simple Google search away, which would be fine if it wasn't for the fact that the Russian alphabet is much unlike the English one. A lot more people would be able to recognize Spanish over Russian.
Now, again, Sebastyan's mutterings of "mi amor" and "nena" are simple and they flow well with the text, even when italicized. I have no idea what to do with the Russian sweet nothings of, "Милая моя", "Ангел мой", or "Ты красивая". Do I use the Russian letters, or do I include the phonetic spellings instead? Or neither, as saying "MIlaya Moyna", "Angel moy" or "Ti krasIvaya" is just as disruptive to a reader as their authentic counterparts?
What should I do? What do you do?
JLH
