Review: Omniglot—Foreign Language Expressions

Writers, do you create characters who speak other languages than English?

If so, how do you bring authenticity to the character if you don't speak the character's language.

Let's say you're writing a Russian character, but you don't speak Russian. How would you have him speak a sentence or phrase in Russian—authentically?

Let's say you want him to say, "The end justifies the means." In Russian. Well, here it is:

Цель оправдывает средства.

Omniglot, a free webpage app that works without glitches, might be the solution to your dialogue needs.

Simply click to select the foreign language you want. When you get to that section, you'll find the foreign language phrases in the left column with the English translation in the right.

You'll notice that the foreign language phrase is a hot link to an MP3 file so you can hear how the phrase is pronounced.

Takeaway Truth

If you don't have access to someone who speaks the language of your character, Omniglot is the next best thing.