Hi folks! I've recently finished a young adult fantasy. In the process of building a world, I created a language. At the end of the book, quite unexpectedly, I decided to add a translation dictionary for reference. What are the pros and cons of doing so? If I run into a strong opinion on the part of my publisher, I'd like to discuss it intelligently. So, of course, I turned to the intelligent people (that would be all of you). Thoughts?
I'm of the opinion that any invented words should be made clear through context. I hate having to flip back and forth just to figure out what a word means.
Thanks thirdwind for your input. I would say that things couldn't be more clear within the text, but it was added as a reference. This is book one of a series, and more words will be coming as the series progresses. My thinking was that the same folks that went out of their way to learn Klingon or Elfin or any number of other fictitious languages might find it handy - on the other hand, they might like to dig for it. It's that uncertainty that fueled my question.
Oh, OK. As long as it's clear within the text and I'm not forced to flip back and forth, I don't mind some sort of reference at the end. I'm guessing a lot of publishers (probably most) won't like this idea because of the extra pages they have to print and include with the book. Pretty much the only way a publisher would be OK with this idea is if you're someone very famous.
*nods* That thought had occurred to me. That's why I was looking for an argument. I really appreciate your input; thanks for taking the time.
