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in one of my scripts, I'll be having some of my characters speak Spanish for a significant amount of time. Obviously, as a film it would have subtitles included, but when it comes to writing it, should I write it in actual Spanish or in English? Right now I've signaled all Spanish dialogue with an "(in Spanish)" before the characters speak, but I'm not sure if that's right.
I there a specific way to do this? If so, how do I switch back to English after my character has been speaking Spanish for a while?
in one of my scripts, I'll be having some of my characters speak Spanish for a significant amount of time. Obviously, as a film it would have subtitles included, but when it comes to writing it, should I write it in actual Spanish or in English? Right now I've signaled all Spanish dialogue with an "(in Spanish)" before the characters speak, but I'm not sure if that's right.
Is there a specific way to do this? If so, how do I switch back to English after my character has been speaking Spanish for a while?
If you are unable to write in Spanish then you can write (in Spanish) in parenthetical above the character's dialogue.
If you are able to write this in Spanish then just write it that way.
Some writers do it both, in English and Spanish in two separate columns but I've only seen this on rare occasions. When I say two columns I mean one underneath each other like so:
SENOIR Hey, what do you think, you’re doin’, amigo? (in Spanish) Hey, qué piensas, tú eres doin', amigo?
Like I said if you can actually speak and write Spanish do that. Usually the English is added for dummies like me who are unable to speak or read Spanish.
The way I've seen it done (and do it in my own Fempiror scripts when the characters are speaking Felletterusk), is to have the spoken word under their name along with whether it is subtitled or not, and then have the translation either double spaced under the original dialogue or with the wryly "translation."
The Lord of the Rings scripts are heavy with other languages, and my first Fempiror script (Initiation of David) has a great deal of dual language dialogue as well.
Remember that the purpose of a screenplay is to provide a blueprint of the film to the filmmakers. That means if you can include the second language in the script, then do it.
Whenever I've had a character speaking in a language other than English, then I always put it in parantheticals:
CHARACTER (Italian; Subtitled) This is a character speaking in Italian.
Lol. I don't think I've ever had any of my characters actually say that. Once I wrote a screenplay where the characters spoke French for a good portion of the film and my mother speaks French so I just had her translate it for me, then I popped it in. Is that okay? If you know the second language to actually put it in the script, or would it be more appropriate to have it in English despite being able to translate it easily? I don't really see why there would be, but could someone clarify?
In fact, that what I do in my scripts. I.e. in my script "The Holy Blood" set partially in Italy and France, local folks speaking their native language.
CHARACTER (in French, subtitled) Blah blah...
The only time they speak in French is when one of the English-speaking asks someone to translate a phrase. He says the dialog in English, so it is repeated in French. This way, I don't repeat the same snetence in English. Am I clear enough?
In my case, it was actually required for me to have both the language and the translation in the script since I created the language specifically for the Fempiror Chronicles. Since the debate rages on, here's a more visual example from the script I referenced:
ILDRITCH (low, in Felletterusk; subtitled) Ti sil atef esprültärsh runvajav, kaki anlandi. Erim silnil hav ti sik. (translation) It is a hopeless venture, my friend. Erim is not what it was.
ZECHARIAH (in Felletterusk; subtitled) Ka stüra tidä tod. Lew stüra Tepishel pesti anjo yeh crira vertes. (translation) I have to do it. The Tepish must be exposed before they are allowed to take over.
What I did for mine is I sometimes anagrammed English words and then tweak them to make them fit the rhythm of the language, and at other times, I just created words on the spot that seemed to "feel" right. For the grammar, I made it up using bits and pieces of the languages I know the syntax for or have heard of. I have a 20-odd page "dictionary/usage manual" that I wrote to create the phrases and such to ensure that the language has continuity to it.
It's the last part of the series Bible for the Fempiror, which has another 40 pages of info to keep that series consistent.
Okay. Thanks to all, guys. I can speak Spanish(it's my mother tongue as a matter of fact) but I'm just gonna do it like Dogglebe said. That way it'll be easiwr for you guys to read and it won't take that mych space.
It would throw off the timing of the script, if the script timing is what you're going for. But the purpose of a script is to make a movie, so you have to include what it takes to make the movie. I've always said that you write a script the way you would if you were watching the finished product on screen, and on screen, you hear the dialogue in another language. If all you look for is the read, then you'll never fill in the other language. That's my opinion, though.
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A question regarding foreign language dialogue
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