Invented slang in a foreign language?

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Rhoda Nightingale

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There have been a few threads elsewhere on the forums about how to deal with foreign language dialogue and translations in general, but I'm putting this one here because of the context:

I have a WIP set in the future, and because of that, I have some idiosyncratic language that I invented for the time frame and Other Worldness of it. However, I do have a handful of characters from what used to be Germany, and I'm wondering, when I write their dialogue, if I can keep that language, of if I should find an approximation in German for them to use? I'm writing most of their dialogue actually in English, with a few hints in their scenes that let you know that's not actually what they're speaking (based on the advice of one of the other translation threads) but this is a problem I hadn't exactly foreseen.

Help?
 

Maraxus

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I did not competely understand. So you have:
post apocolyptic (hint: there is a typo in your sic. ;)) americans speaking Newspeak.
Post apocaliptic germans speaking german.
Both langauages are usually displayed as english in the text, but with some newspeakish slang expressions in it and you want to know, wheather you should use the same expressions in new german or should use german slang expressions for it?

I would guess a possible way to solve it, is to take german expressions and translate them (word for word) into english. It would further establish the foreigner-thing about them without making your readers pick up a dictionary.
 

maxmordon

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Well, perhaps you can mention they speak some sort of new Lingo but is not necessary to invent it, just to make a passing mention to the reader if you want to.
 

Rhoda Nightingale

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@Maraxus: No, you're getting it I think. (And thanks--I can't spell that word to save my life. I just know there's a Y in there somewhere. I blame dyslexia.) That's not a bad idea--they'd have a few different expressions anyway I reckon.

@maxmordon: I appreciate the input, but no. That's just lazy. It's not a whole new language, just a few words here and there.
 
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