How to Write in Your Third Language

Writer: Micki Berthelot Morency

Like with every skill, writing comes easier to some than others. My elementary school language teacher in Haiti often would call on me to read my stories to the class.I was the teacher’s pet of writing. Back then, Haitian Kreyol was only a spoken language.But it is the language every Haitian speaks.I wrote in French which was the official language of my birth country.Haiti was a French colony before becoming the first black republic when it gained its independence in 1804.

Growing up without a library and limited resources to purchase books, I wrote the stories I wanted to read. My narrow vision of the world did not limit my imagination from traveling to other worlds that I had built. My French words gave me wings to fly.

When my family emigrated to America, I lost my voice. I enrolled in an English school for immigrants. I met people from many countries in the world. It was the quietest school I had ever attended. No one wanted to speak the new language we were all learning for fear of making mistakes. We used body language to communicate our homesickness and our losses.

When I started to write in English, I would think of what I wanted to say in French and using the French-English dictionary that was my constant companion, I’d translate the words into English. It was not a good idea.I read these stories in class in heavy accented broken English and no one laughed. We all sounded the same.

However, high school was a different experience. By then, my writing had improved, but my voice hid deeper inside refusing to come out. Classmates laughed at my clothes, my hairstyle, my food, my name, my accent, and my silence. I ignored them while I read like I needed to read every book in the Boston Public library.

I wrote everyday because I had a lot to say to myself to assimilate into this foreign culture where nothing was like anything I had ever known in my life in Haiti. Nothing. Except our humanity. But some people wanted to take that away from me as well. 

I was an alien.

How to not talk to an immigrant: 

  • Don’t step into her space. She can hear you from where you stand
  • Don’t speak loudly. She’s not deaf. She only has an accent
  • Don’t.Speak. Slow. She can’t necessarily read lips
  • Don’t codes witch. Speak normally
  • Don’t laugh. Please don’t laugh

Of all the things I have lost coming to America, I have also gained a new language. I have only ever published in English. Go figure! It happened when I caught myself one day “thinking” in English. I knew then, I could also write in the new language. 

Many years later, Haitian Kreyol had evolved into a written language. Now I can write in three languages. I choose to write in English because I live in America. I can reach a wider audience and it had become my second language, pushing French down to third. 

Here are some tips to improve your writing in a foreign language

  • Read voraciously in the new language
  • Write something daily
  • Don’t translate verbatim from your native language to the new one
  • Think in the foreign language
  • Speak in the new language 
  • Take classes in the foreign language to immerse yourself in the culture
  • Don’t ever let anyone steal your voice

In the end, writing in a foreign language is no different than writing in your native one or any other language. Great writing is about following the universal rules of proper grammar, relevant research, and weaving a compelling story that will keep your readers up at night turning the pages.

About the Writer

Micki Berthelot Morency was born in Haiti. She is a graduate of Northeastern University and The Institute for Writer. Micki advocates for the voiceless in her community. She is Vice President of the diversity and inclusion department at the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA). Her debut novel, THE ISLAND SISTERS, launches on June 20 2023 by BHC Press. Her stories have appeared in Writer’s Digest Magazine, The Tampa Bay Times, The Weekly Challenger, print magazines and e-zines. She lives in Florida with her husband.

Website: mickimorency.com