In two of my last three stories I used similar keys,
for instance

     "  "      spoken English
     < >       spoken Chinese (Mandarin one story,
Cantonese the other)
     o O ( )        private thought
     o O > <        telepathy

with no delimiter meaning spoken Japanese.

I believe that I am obligated to differentiate language,
so it is obvious to the reader why some characters
understand certain utterances and other don't, as well
as simple verisimilitude.

I agree with that. In a fic that i am doing, the characters frequently 
switch between English and Japanese, and it is integral to the plot that 
some people can only understand one of the two languages, thus i need to 
indicate the switch without saying it in so many words every other line.

Phil

prohackr@hotmail.com


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