Ask Dr. Format: Foreign Language and Subtitles

DAVE TROTTIER has sold or optioned ten screenplays (three produced) and helped hundreds of writers break into the writing business.  He is an award-winning teacher and script consultant, author of The Screenwriter’s Bible, and friendly host of keepwriting.com.  Read more tips on the Ask Dr. Format page.

Dr. Format

FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND SUBTITLES

QUESTION

Suppose my character joins the foreign legion and speaks in French, do I use the dreaded wrylies to explain that he is speaking in French? Or do I write the dialogue in French? Or should I use subtitles?

ANSWER

I've had legions of questions about foreign languages, so I am using the above as representative of them all. Even though I have addressed this issue briefly in a previous column, the time has come for a full treatise. First, let me explain the question.

The writer refers to "dreaded wrylies." Wrylies are the parentheticals that sometimes appear before dialogue speeches. The term developed because so many novice writers used the term "wryly" to describe their characters' dialogue. For example:

                         SAM
                 (wryly)
           And when you lay down tonight,
           remember to fall asleep.

And so the term wryly was born. The reason they are "dreaded" is because writers are encouraged to use them sparingly. Only use a wryly when the subtext of the dialogue is not otherwise clear. You may also use them to describe small actions that can be described in two or three words, such as lighting his cigar or smiling wistfully.

Using foreign languages
In working with other languages, realize there is one general rule: write your script in the language of the eventual reader so that he/she knows what is going on. In other words, avoid writing dialogue in a foreign language.

If a character speaks in French, do not write out the dialogue in French unless the eventual reader is French, or in the extremely rare case that the meaning of the words don't matter. Simply write the lines as follows:

                        JEAN-MARC
                 (in French)
          Come with me to the Casbah.

Now the observant reader is likely to say, "But Dave, the word ‘Casbah' is a French word." Yes, however it's also an English word with French and African roots, but the observant reader brings up a good point.

Instead of having your character speak in French, consider sprinkling his/her dialogue with French words to give us the flavor of French. Then everyone knows what is being said.

Now, suppose your character absolutely, positively must speak in a foreign language. Your desire is for something realistic, such as the Italian spoken in The Godfather. You have five options, depending on your specific purpose.

1. If it doesn't matter whether the audience understands the meaning of the foreign words, or if you believe the audience will be able to figure our the meaning of the words by their context, then just write them out in the foreign language. For example:

Tarzan shouts at the charging elephant.

                        TARZAN
         On-gow-ah!

The elephant turns and stampedes in the opposite direction.

Or write the words in English using a wryly to indicate what language the words will be spoken in, as follows:

                        PIERRE-LUC
                 (in French)
          Imbecile. Idiot. Retard.

2. If the characters speak in French throughout an entire scene, then make a clear statement in the narrative description that all the dialogue in the scene will be spoken in French; then, write the dialogue out in English so that the reader can understand it.

...But this begs the question: How will the audience know what is being said? They won't unless they are French. For that reason, this is seldom a viable option. If your character must speak in French and it's also important that the audience understand what is being said, then the solution is subtitles.

Subtitles
3. If you write a complete scene where French (or other language) is spoken, and if you want English subtitles to appear on the movie screen while the character speaks in French, then include a special note in the narrative description, as follows:

NOTE: THE DIALOGUE IN THIS SCENE IS SPOKEN IN FRENCH AND IS SUBTITLED IN ENGLISH.

Then, simply write the dialogue out in English. After the scene ends, write:

END OF SUBTITLES

4. Another option for using subtitles is to use our friend, the "dreaded wryly."

                        MICHELLE
                 (in French, with)
                  subtitles)
          I spit on your name. I spit
          on your mother's grave. I
          spit on your column.

 The spittle flies.

5. There is one other option for using subtitles. Use this device only if the sound of the words in the foreign language is important; for example, in the case of this space visitor's language, the words have a humorous quality.

          ALIEN              SUBTITLES
     Zoo-SEE, Woo-BEE     You're cute.

My final advice is to choose English whenever possible and give us a flavor of the foreign language by including a few foreign words and/or flavor of a foreign accent. So until my next column, I bid you adieu.

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