To use italics or not to use italics...

I wouldn't italicize those names.

I would not use no italics.

If it's a normal part of the language and the narrator does not find these things unusual, and you're not focused on showing the reader just how weird the narrator finds these things, then no italics are necessary.

I always put the foreign words in italics.

I will sometimes put the first instance of a word/name like that in italics, but once the reader has seen it and supposedly knows what it is, I treat it like every other word when it reappears.

The only things I italicize in my manuscripts are characters' thoughts, text messages, or a word in another language that's not English. I think if you italicize your made-up food names, people are going to think it's a real word in a non-English language. That's what I would think, anyway.

Only place them in italics if the word is in a language other than your characters' regular language.

I don't italicise other languages, either, because I think it'snot right to do so for a variety of reasons.

For example, if I italicise a quote, but I've also italicised foreign languages, then any quotes in foreign languages will be non-italicised (cancelling each other out) which looks absurd because some quotes will then be italicised but not others?!?

Another example. If I have a character who is code-switching between languages, mixing a little of Language A with a little of Language B, dropping words orphrases in here or there, it looks absurd to italicise sporadically like that and (for me) looks like I'm adding loads of unnecessary emphasis.

Then there's the whole issue of some words in English actually being foreign in origin... surely those should be italicised too (which is a rapid, slippery slope). Cliche is part of English, now, but if a character who speaks french uses the word cliche, does that mean it should be italicised when they say it, but not when an english person is speaking it?

What about when an English person says "cliche" to a French speaker? Does that now merit italicisation?

and so many other examples.


However, not everyone feels that way (in fact, the majority don't.)

I use italics VERY sparingly and for emphasis only. I did use courier in my last book for electronic messages (email), and that worked out ok.

The goal is to not overuse an alternate font, and be consistent.

As the word being used is part of their regular language (not foreign) I wouldn't use italics but if it was being used as a foreign word then I would use italics.

Personally, I would only italicize the word if it was a part of dialog.