I would like to write a novel in a European language other than English and have been trying to look at the pros and cons of each language - but this information is hard to come by. I read on a blog post:
"when it comes to written Romance languages, French and Italian are the uncontested champions of elegance in structuring of thoughts, vivacity of expression and use of nuances, which you can sometimes almost hear when you read them!!!!"
and I was just wondering if this was true and generally agreed to. I'm thinking of either writing in French or Spanish, so any input into the ability of each language to get across one's thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I read also that French is good for precision. Spanish, I don't know what...
I'm open to pretty much all languages though. I just hate that the English language has been so bastardized so I want to choose a new one.
Answers (3)
There is no question but that it is the language in which one is raised. All languages are capable of expressing an infinite variety of thoughts and ideas with varying amounts of precision. There is no objective measurement of precision. Furthermore, unless you are a native speaker of that language, or can raise your level to that of a native speaker, you won't be able to write with the precision you desire.
The English language hasn't been "bastardized." In fact, English has been able to absorb so many many words with the same meaning that you may find that English is in fact the most nuanced language of them all. All languages have the same capability of expression but some languages simply are more expressive than others due to their history and flexibility. English is by far one of the most flexible languages in the world, if not the most.
If I were to choose a lx besides English, though, I would choose Persian. It is closely related to European languages and I find it highly nuanced and poetic.
French is !
it is a diplomatic language for this reason but only this one