Oct 10, 2012

English (Russian) vs. my mother's tongue

Here's another curious question that most people who know me can't really get; why on God's Earth do I write in English and Russian language when I am perfectly capable, and definitely successful since the early age, of writing in my native language?!
Well...as much as can write in my native language, the reason why I'm drawn to English and Russian is because they have nuances of one particular word. What I mean is, you take a word in English (or Russian) and look it up in some reference book, such as Thesaurus and you can see all the other soft and fine possibilities that can be used instead of that word. And it is well known that changing a word can change and set a completely different mood to the story.
Croatian doesn't have that many words that could mean the same, and it's not tactile, whereas Russian and English are. And so...when I want to describe a particular scene in Croatian most of the times it sounds unnatural; unconvincing. But when I write in English I know exactly what 'nuance' of the word I must use to get the wanted impact on the story. And besides, although nor English nor Russian are my native language I consider them to be so.

Do you write in a language different to your own?

3 comments:

  1. I write in Spanish when the need arises. For instance,when I need to communicate with certain parties in Spain. In order to get my point across, I do so in my native language. Granted, my Sapanish can at times read like a first grade attempt at conveying a thought, but the individuals I'm writing to, fully comprehend my ideas, and thoughts.

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  2. I don't write in another language, but I applaud you for doing so! I have an interest in French but had to drop the class. Maybe some day I will get back to it.

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  3. I write in Bulgarian when I leave notes to my family and when I instant message my mother or brother. This is the only time I write in my native language. I am on my way to learn Italian, taking one step at the time.

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