| abstract
| - Whenever you open up a story, Standard Translation is in effect, even if you hardly notice it. Standard Translation is the simple phenomenon that no matter where in the multiverse a story takes place, the characters will speak the same language as the reader, even if in-narrative they are stated to be speaking another tongue. The language the PPC deals with most often is the English language, but this convention exists for all written fiction, no matter the language. Thus, when fiction is translated into another language, it shouldn't be assumed that the canons within are suddenly fluent in that other language: they speak the language they always have, but have been translated to be accessible to readers. Languages other than the standard translated language should probably be written out in proper form (if within the writer's capability) or expressed merely through narration. For example, with statements such as, 'he turned to his companions and began muttering in German/French/Sindarin/Martian/etc.' There are other acceptable ways of handling multiple-languages in-fic, but this way is the least distracting to the reader and the most widely used.
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