I'm also a non-English speaker, and my personal opinion is that foreign languages in fic are usually only fun when the reader can speak both languages -- at least when it's something that isn't immediately translated.
I have actually done this in the past, but I've always tried to make sure that it isn't too much text, and that it's either translated right away or that the same or another character explains what is being said. You know, like this (this was for a show called ReGenesis):
It didn’t take long until he heard a familiar voice at the other end, and he greeted her with, ”Hej Lotta. Jag var plötsligt tvungen att åka till Kanada, därför ville jag... Ja, ja, jag mår bra... Mh-hm.”
He looked up at a noise from the doorway and saw his daughter, bleary-eyed and sluggish, scuffling closer, stopping in the doorframe.
He continued his phone conversation, “Ja. ... Jag kommer stanna här ett tag, därför vet jag inte... Javisst... Ja, det vore toppen. ... Ja, jag kommer tillbaka, men jag vet inte när. ... Tack, hejdå.”
He hung up the call and Lilith looked at him questioningly. “You sleep here after all?”
“Yeah,” he just said.
“What was that all about?”
”Just some business with the house I had to take care of.”
”You in trouble for bailing, or something?”
”No. I just called to let them know I’m gonna be away for a while.”
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That said, I personally don't like reading fics where a lot of foreign language I don't understand is being used. Even if the translated text is given right with it, it disrupts the flow and pulls me out of the moment.
It's even worse when the translation isn't given right away but maybe only at the end of the chapter, because then you have to re-read everything and switch back and forth. Sometimes those fics feel almost like showing off, as in, "Check it out, I can speak more than one language!"
Re: writing non english dialouge
I have actually done this in the past, but I've always tried to make sure that it isn't too much text, and that it's either translated right away or that the same or another character explains what is being said. You know, like this (this was for a show called ReGenesis):
It didn’t take long until he heard a familiar voice at the other end, and he greeted her with, ”Hej Lotta. Jag var plötsligt tvungen att åka till Kanada, därför ville jag... Ja, ja, jag mår bra... Mh-hm.”
He looked up at a noise from the doorway and saw his daughter, bleary-eyed and sluggish, scuffling closer, stopping in the doorframe.
He continued his phone conversation, “Ja. ... Jag kommer stanna här ett tag, därför vet jag inte... Javisst... Ja, det vore toppen. ... Ja, jag kommer tillbaka, men jag vet inte när. ... Tack, hejdå.”
He hung up the call and Lilith looked at him questioningly. “You sleep here after all?”
“Yeah,” he just said.
“What was that all about?”
”Just some business with the house I had to take care of.”
”You in trouble for bailing, or something?”
”No. I just called to let them know I’m gonna be away for a while.”
-------------
That said, I personally don't like reading fics where a lot of foreign language I don't understand is being used. Even if the translated text is given right with it, it disrupts the flow and pulls me out of the moment.
It's even worse when the translation isn't given right away but maybe only at the end of the chapter, because then you have to re-read everything and switch back and forth. Sometimes those fics feel almost like showing off, as in, "Check it out, I can speak more than one language!"