how to realistically write a bilingual character

rensbogusadventure:

remux:

• no one who speaks 2+ languages ever “randomly” switches in the middle of a sentence. like that just…….. doesn’t happen? 
• the only times people will get confused and mix them up is when:
  
• a) they’re in an environment where they have to alternate between speaking two languages often/quickly, and the brain can’t keep up and messes up.
  
• b) they’ve been in an environment where they have to speak/hear one language for a long time, and when they change settings it takes them a moment to not instinctively go for the other language.
  
• c) they’re hearing one language (music, radio, background chatter) and trying to speak another 
  
• interrupting themselves in the middle of a conversation because they can only remember the word they wanna say in another language
• having the perfect idiom/expression for a situation but it doesn’t translate as well
• having the perfect word for a situation but it doesn’t even fucking exist in that language
• if ur character is out in public with their family, i can guarantee u that they’ll talk shit about people around them in their native tongue
• calling their significant others pet names is a conscious choice. it doesn’t just “slip up”. it may come naturally with time, but saying a word in another language is something you like… immediately notice
• swearing is complicated and i’m not getting into it rn 
• anyone who has ever picked up another language has been pissed at specific vowels and pronunciations and this is the gospel truth
• [forgets a word] [attempts to explicitely describe the thing they’re trying to say] [forgets a word while trying to explain themselves] “oh jesus christ nevermind”
• will know how to speak a language but not know any of the mathematical/scientific/biological terms because they went to school in a different language and no one learns, like, algebra in a second language unless they studied in multiple languages.
• [knows a word but they’ve only ever read it and they have no idea how it’s pronounced]
• there’s probably more stuff that i’m forgetting rn but that’s like, the main bits. thank u for ur time

#as for the first point in high school all of the hispanic kids would use a mixture of both english and spanish in sentences

literally my entire family does this.

[Feb 4.2017]     47992 NOTES  - VIA  /  SRC