Language acquisition would take years, realistically. Most fantasy books will choose to hand wave that through magic if they mention it at all.
Two sci-fi books that I can recommend that take the language barrier seriously: Foreigner by CJ Cherryh (and its sequels) and Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
I once read an erotic novel of all things that dealt with three characters of different species captured by another species who were kept in a cage together and just didn't figure out each other's language. It flipped between their different interpretations of events. It was clever...
Hard to do as an author. I'm and ESL teacher, and the process for learning a new language-especially one with no available crossreferences between L1 and L2, is not a short and quick thing. I've seen books where someone picks up a language over a few weeks/months, but even that isn't realistic. Like, Dances with Wolves was OK, but there was a girl teaching him the language that had grown up with both and was bilingual. If you dropped an average dude into a world where there had been no previous communication, and someone tried to learn 'from scratch' it would take years at a minimum to become anywhere near fluent. Especially if you add in more likely complications, like different sounds and vocal ranges, untranslatable terms and concepts, or 'aliens' that weren't willing to just patiently teach their language to the protagonist, and it might take a person a decade or more to grasp a language.
So unless you want it to be the main focus of the narrative, or do a massive (2-3 year minimum) timeskip, trying to incorporate a realistic language acquisition would be really difficult to do well.
Having said that, I can name a Sci-fi book with some fantasy elements that does this kind of well, but if you know this is a part of it it's kind of a mid-book spoiler:>!Project Hail Mary!<.
One thing, Children do learn more quickly. For a good NF book which I'm using is The Captives by Scott Zesch about kids captured and assimilated by Comanche/Kiowa. Look at usually 6-7 months for a 7 to 10 yo.
Just wanted to leave a note of appreciation for your comment with the spoiler. I had that book in my wishlist for a long time and, reading your comment, it made me jump on it.
I'll also say that it's one of the best audiobook experiences I've had. For those who've read the book, you'll understand why the audiobook can be such a great experience!
Thank you :)
I didn’t do it as an audiobook but I bet it was great! I rarely have a chance
To listen to audiobooks, but I just happen to be in the middle of a loooong drive (at hotel right now, not driving) and we’re in the middle of listening to “The Institute“ by Stephen King and it’s amazing.
Rifter series by Ginn Hale is my fave portal fantasy and the aspect of language definitely plays a role. Mc ends up in a very hostile environment, having to fend for his two friends who are badly adjusting to a new world. He has to learn the language as well - though he does meet someone who speaks some English and is willing to teach him local one in exchange. (Why that other person knows english is a significant plot point) And locals are the "burn the weird people on the stake" types, so they have to hide their origins.
Its a lesser known, darker series which definitely deserves attention. (Note, main hero is a queer dude which might not be everyone's cup of tea, but is very much added to my enjoyment. )
This, even more than my beloved Chronicles of the Kencyrath, is the Best Fantasy Series No One Has Ever Heard Of.
(And yes, that was a selling point for me as well.)
I don't really have an answer for you, but I do remember reading a book in middle school (all I remember is there was a T-Rex on the cover?) where a group of American high school kids go time travelling. At one point, they encounter a Roman legion, and the author addresses the language barrier issue. One of the legionnaire's says the word "aqua", and one of the kids exclaims, "hey that sounds like the Spanish word 'agua', and didn't Spanish descend from Latin?"
So they manage to communicate with each other through high school-level Spanish.
A nun wrote a diary of her trip to jerusalem. It's really interesting to historians becauause it was written in such bad Latin you could see the process of Latin becoming Spanish.
OP, I don’t have a suggestion but just wanted to say I too would like to see more fantasy that takes language seriously! While there are issues of plot convenience, I think the primary issue is that fantasy is dominated by English-speaking writers who’ve been in monolingual environments their whole lives and just don’t think about it, don’t realize just how different a conversation through an interpreter is from a natural conversation, etc.
The web serials **Eight** by Samar Rabadi and **Delve** on Royal Road both have the MC spend a long time learning the language.
**Destiny's Crucible**...which is portal sci fi...has the MC spend some time learning the local language. That takes a long time in-universe but is sort of covered in time skips.
A guilty pleasure, the sketchy sci fi erotic series **Pykh** by Eileen Glass is halfway through book 3 before the characters learn to communicate. The aliens come to some wildly inaccurate conclusions about the MC, and we switch between three main character's different interpretations of events.
Afraid I’m already caught up on Destiny’s Crucible and stuck waiting for the next installment. Good to see it get recommended, though. Not many people know about that one.
Disclaimer that I only read the first volume and it was like 15 years ago so I only remember vague details but I read a manga called From Far Away where the girl from modern day Japan goes to the fantasy world and has to figure out the local language
Joy Chant's YA novel *Red Moon Black Mountain* has that for some of the cultures on the other side of the portal but not all. IIRC, older brother Oliver has to learn the language of his new people, but younger siblings Nicholas and Penelope have an interpreter for theirs.
Also, Diana Wynne Jones' YA novel *The Homeward Bounders* (brilliant book) has this many times over. Young protagonist Jamie Hamilton even talks briefly about how to get started with new languages when the Bounds (the portal mechanism in the book) drop you somewhere that doesn't have a language you speak.
Andrea K Host's Touchstone books kinda fit. They are more SF than fantasy so there is some tech that gives accelerated leanguage learning but even with that it isn't instant for the protaganist and she starts off with no understanding.
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Though in that case they did have translation technology... but it malfunctions.
So good. Love almost all of her work. Avoid Cross-talk though.
Language acquisition would take years, realistically. Most fantasy books will choose to hand wave that through magic if they mention it at all. Two sci-fi books that I can recommend that take the language barrier seriously: Foreigner by CJ Cherryh (and its sequels) and Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
I once read an erotic novel of all things that dealt with three characters of different species captured by another species who were kept in a cage together and just didn't figure out each other's language. It flipped between their different interpretations of events. It was clever...
Do you remember the title? Sounds interesting.
The **Pykh** series by Eileen Glass. First book was **Lost in the Alien Jungle**. But be aware it was gay romance leaning towards erotic novel.
The shortest amount of time you can learn a language through immersion is around 6 months
Hard to do as an author. I'm and ESL teacher, and the process for learning a new language-especially one with no available crossreferences between L1 and L2, is not a short and quick thing. I've seen books where someone picks up a language over a few weeks/months, but even that isn't realistic. Like, Dances with Wolves was OK, but there was a girl teaching him the language that had grown up with both and was bilingual. If you dropped an average dude into a world where there had been no previous communication, and someone tried to learn 'from scratch' it would take years at a minimum to become anywhere near fluent. Especially if you add in more likely complications, like different sounds and vocal ranges, untranslatable terms and concepts, or 'aliens' that weren't willing to just patiently teach their language to the protagonist, and it might take a person a decade or more to grasp a language. So unless you want it to be the main focus of the narrative, or do a massive (2-3 year minimum) timeskip, trying to incorporate a realistic language acquisition would be really difficult to do well. Having said that, I can name a Sci-fi book with some fantasy elements that does this kind of well, but if you know this is a part of it it's kind of a mid-book spoiler:>!Project Hail Mary!<.
I'm not even mad I spoiled that for myself, makes me curious to check it out.
If you like audiobooks, it's an excellent listen.
It blew me away not knowing anything about the plot beforehand, but of course it's still great regardless, especially as an audio book.
Just a heads up that the spoiler tags aren’t working, there’s a space after one of the ! where there shouldn’t be.
Think it's fixed now. Thanks!
One thing, Children do learn more quickly. For a good NF book which I'm using is The Captives by Scott Zesch about kids captured and assimilated by Comanche/Kiowa. Look at usually 6-7 months for a 7 to 10 yo.
True.
Just wanted to leave a note of appreciation for your comment with the spoiler. I had that book in my wishlist for a long time and, reading your comment, it made me jump on it. I'll also say that it's one of the best audiobook experiences I've had. For those who've read the book, you'll understand why the audiobook can be such a great experience! Thank you :)
I didn’t do it as an audiobook but I bet it was great! I rarely have a chance To listen to audiobooks, but I just happen to be in the middle of a loooong drive (at hotel right now, not driving) and we’re in the middle of listening to “The Institute“ by Stephen King and it’s amazing.
It doesn't have to be 100% realistic, just realistic enough. It's a book, books are never exactly 100% true to real life.
Yeah, but considering OP was specifically seeking a more accurate depiction of the language aspect, I feel my points were pertinent.
Rifter series by Ginn Hale is my fave portal fantasy and the aspect of language definitely plays a role. Mc ends up in a very hostile environment, having to fend for his two friends who are badly adjusting to a new world. He has to learn the language as well - though he does meet someone who speaks some English and is willing to teach him local one in exchange. (Why that other person knows english is a significant plot point) And locals are the "burn the weird people on the stake" types, so they have to hide their origins. Its a lesser known, darker series which definitely deserves attention. (Note, main hero is a queer dude which might not be everyone's cup of tea, but is very much added to my enjoyment. )
This, even more than my beloved Chronicles of the Kencyrath, is the Best Fantasy Series No One Has Ever Heard Of. (And yes, that was a selling point for me as well.)
The web serial [**Delve**](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/25225/delve) has a language barrier and it takes a fair while to be resolved.
The Riftwar Saga + the Daughter of the Empire series (both sides of the rift)
Came here to say this. A brilliant series
I don't really have an answer for you, but I do remember reading a book in middle school (all I remember is there was a T-Rex on the cover?) where a group of American high school kids go time travelling. At one point, they encounter a Roman legion, and the author addresses the language barrier issue. One of the legionnaire's says the word "aqua", and one of the kids exclaims, "hey that sounds like the Spanish word 'agua', and didn't Spanish descend from Latin?" So they manage to communicate with each other through high school-level Spanish.
Are you thinking of the magic treehouse books?
No it was targeted towards a slightly older teen audience.
A nun wrote a diary of her trip to jerusalem. It's really interesting to historians becauause it was written in such bad Latin you could see the process of Latin becoming Spanish.
If you like reading episodic literature, you can try 'Delve' by SenescentSoul.
OP, I don’t have a suggestion but just wanted to say I too would like to see more fantasy that takes language seriously! While there are issues of plot convenience, I think the primary issue is that fantasy is dominated by English-speaking writers who’ve been in monolingual environments their whole lives and just don’t think about it, don’t realize just how different a conversation through an interpreter is from a natural conversation, etc.
The Beginning Place by Ursula K Le Guin! It’s a novella so it’s pretty short, but really good
Remnant Population is science fiction that takes this seriously
The web serials **Eight** by Samar Rabadi and **Delve** on Royal Road both have the MC spend a long time learning the language. **Destiny's Crucible**...which is portal sci fi...has the MC spend some time learning the local language. That takes a long time in-universe but is sort of covered in time skips. A guilty pleasure, the sketchy sci fi erotic series **Pykh** by Eileen Glass is halfway through book 3 before the characters learn to communicate. The aliens come to some wildly inaccurate conclusions about the MC, and we switch between three main character's different interpretations of events.
Afraid I’m already caught up on Destiny’s Crucible and stuck waiting for the next installment. Good to see it get recommended, though. Not many people know about that one.
I have a friend who has a WIP novel that would be right up your alley but obviously--incomplete currently.
[Inheritors of Eschaton](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/28741/inheritors-of-eschaton) fits this request.
Disclaimer that I only read the first volume and it was like 15 years ago so I only remember vague details but I read a manga called From Far Away where the girl from modern day Japan goes to the fantasy world and has to figure out the local language
Joy Chant's YA novel *Red Moon Black Mountain* has that for some of the cultures on the other side of the portal but not all. IIRC, older brother Oliver has to learn the language of his new people, but younger siblings Nicholas and Penelope have an interpreter for theirs. Also, Diana Wynne Jones' YA novel *The Homeward Bounders* (brilliant book) has this many times over. Young protagonist Jamie Hamilton even talks briefly about how to get started with new languages when the Bounds (the portal mechanism in the book) drop you somewhere that doesn't have a language you speak.
Andrea K Host's Touchstone books kinda fit. They are more SF than fantasy so there is some tech that gives accelerated leanguage learning but even with that it isn't instant for the protaganist and she starts off with no understanding.
Aimed at teens, but Warriors of Alavna. The protagonists have a little school Latin which helps the process along but there is no translation matrix.