Writing in a language, which is not your mother tongue

[Rigel]

Hi, I would like to know how many of you (if any) face the same challenge as I do, trying to write in English although English is not my first language. I am working in International Development, and therefore I use English frequently in my work. Therefore I feel quite comfortable communicating in this language, but writing a piece of fiction is a different story (literally).
One could ask, why I am not writing in my mother tongue (which is German, by the way). The main reason is that by writing in English one has exposure to a much bigger community than by writing in German. Besides, I like English, which, in my oppinion, is more suited for a genre like science fiction than German is.

 

[mosaix]

I have nothing but respect for what you do, Rigel. I'm ashamed to say that the last time I wrote anything in a foreign language was during my last French lesson at school in 1962.

And welcome to the Chrons!

 

[Hex]

I agree with mosaix. Good for you, Rigel.

I wish I spoke another language well enough to write fiction in it, but the only one I even came close in was Turkish and that was many years ago when I was young, carefree and writing terrible poetry (even in Turkish, sometimes).

 

[chrispenycate]

There are several people who write in English despite it not being their mother tongue; at least one more German (I think more than that) an Italian, and a couple of Finns, who make your complaint about potential readership in their native tongue practically irrelevant. And Deutsch is one of the root languages of English (or at least the decendent of one)so , despite the verb at the end of the sentence putting its concept structure is similar; Finnish is – strange.

Despite having lived more than half my life in a French speaking region, communicating in the language every day and even writing letters in it, I don't get the same pleasure reading in it as I do in English, and would never consider writing fiction in it; my mind's just not wired up right.

 

[The Judge]

I know there are a number of people here who are writing in English and not their mother tongue -- and I share mosaix's admiration for you all! You might perhaps face some difficulties with nuances of words, or odd tense usages. On the other hand, frankly you've probably had a better education in English grammar than any of us natives! I recall one Italian (I think) member asking a question about sentence structure, and I had to look up what she meant!