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the language barrier

7 hours ago
Hello,

I discovered this site just yesterday and I’m having an incredible time! I’ve always loved writing short stories, and the idea of sharing them with many people, especially with seasoned readers who have a sharp sense of critique, excites me greatly. However, I’m French, and my English skills are only fair. I can understand easily, but I struggle a lot with writing, speaking, and especially with a significant lack of vocabulary.

Because of this, I have to use AI to translate my sentences to make sure I’m not saying anything silly. I think you see where I’m going with this—if I want to write a story, I would have to translate it into English, right? But since I’d be using AI to do the translation, the writing and intent would no longer be the same, especially considering that French has nuances in certain words that English doesn’t, and vice versa.

So, what are the solutions? Unfortunately, I don’t expect to be bilingual by tomorrow, and I imagine my only option is to read stories rather than write them. If you have any suggestions, I’d be happy to hear them!

the language barrier

7 hours ago

Write it in French

the language barrier

7 hours ago

Yep, we got a few non-English stories on here.

the language barrier

6 hours ago
https://chooseyourstory.com/story/lorem-ipsum Mainly I remember this one from a few years ago. The author came by recently, but hasn't written anything else.

the language barrier

6 hours ago
First question: did you write your post yourself, or did you use a translator for it? But probably what will happen if you write the game in French is that people will push the "translate into English" button on their phone to read it. But you might as well write your story they way you want to, and not be the one responsible for any loss of nuance or detail that way. If you really wanted to try writing something in English instead, there's people who would help you proofread it, and constructive criticism from readers would only help you improve. It doesn't need to be perfect anyhow. But I suspect as is the case with many foreign speakers, you already write in English way better than you think you do. @mazdark You have a new friend.