Screenwriting : Spanish dialogue in the script? by Mariannjely Marval

I think that is up to your discretion, depending on your intended audience. I didn't bother to translate Spanish scenes in my script.

Alfonso Cuarón wrote Roma in Spanish and provided an English translation for Americans. Bong Joon Ho wrote Parasite in Korean and provided an English translation for Americans. Guillermo del Toro wrote Pan's Labyrinth in Spanish and provided an English Translation for Americans. Bráulio Mantovani wrote City of God in Portuguese and provided an English translation for Americans.

Use parenthetical (in Spanish).

Hello Marvelous Mariannjely Marval.

YOU are onto something magnificent and magical

INSPIRATION and true events are the precise blend

Would you write a script that is based on true events BUT, doesn't inspire you

Convercly, be very inspired yet based on fiction,

its like asking the question -which should I pick, ying vs yang

hope this helps and inspires you to always seek those real true stories

if you don't mind, I would happily share with you some of my favourite movies, that inspires me, because they are based on true events

How does the audience know what they are saying? Or do they know?

Always think about the audience.

(in Spanish) or "They speak in Spanish, we get subtitles" in the description works.

parenthetical (in Spanish)

Where is the film intended to be produced and who is the target audience?

Doug, intended to be produced in the US, and for english speakers. There are just a few dialogues in Spanish, it's mostly English. I guess I'm mainly concerned about the producers reading it and understand it, but then the actors using the right words depending on their Spanish speaking country.

Then you'd definitely parenthetical (in Spanish) and then write it out in English. Since Spanish can change depending where the user is from, knowing the original intent and then going from there is probably your best move.

Each language has slang and colloquial phrases. Write it in your native tongue and use subtitles until you can have it properly translated. Speaking from a professor standpoint. Industry standards may differ from country to country. Embassyworld.com

I write in the main script language and use the parenthetical. I don't expect the person who's reading to be fluent (to the point of knowing slang) in a language other than the "official" one of the script. As per both languages, personally I think that would be "too much space and extra reading" Going a bit against the "functionality" of screenplay writing. That's my opinion.

I wrote a script inspired partly by my cowriter's experiences as a Mexican student in America. He/We used sporadic slang/phrases here and there as the character naturally would even when in the US. Nichol's read liked it just missed the QF's.

If it is the odd slang word you can write it in italics within the dialogue. The first time you use it in the script you can include the meaning in brackets (but not italics), so the reader understands how it is meant going forward. If it is an entire conversation in a foreign language that you intend to have subtitled, you can say what language is being spoken in brackets under the character's name heading and then write the translated dialogue in italics. Methods of doing this vary, but the key is that your intended use of this should be clear to the reader.

Some words or phrases maybe considered derogatory when translated.

Tasha - and so?

See my previous post.

True enough if your writing/film is intended for only the delicate ears/eyes of the woke snowflake audience but down-to-earth true film is one of the rare art forms that can delve deeply into the human psyche to explore/illuminate the little dark corners therein. My advice is to not deny reality but to understand it.

If your script is geared towards the American market, producers, etc, parenthetical in Spanish. In your character description, you could add the dialect or native tongue. It's all subjective art.

I've done two things...

#1: Use a parenthetical. In my case, it was Esperanto, so (In Esperato).

#2 Use the dual dialogue function, so you'd have the character saying it side-by-side. One side in English, the other side as it's intended to be spoken in the language. Did this for a short film, so the actor knew what they'd be saying along with what they'd be saying in a different language.

Either way, he's to continued progress on your script!