You might use a language other than English for the same reasons you might use different varieties of English: to represent the actual words of a speaker, to make a point, to connect with your audience, or to get their attention.

See how Gerald Haslam uses Spanish to capture his great-grandmother’s words as well as to make a point about his relationship to her.

“Expectoran su sangre!” exclaimed Great-grandma when I showed her the small horned toad I had removed from my breast pocket. I turned toward my mother, who translated: “They spit blood.”

“De los ojos,” Grandma added. “From their eyes,” mother explained, herself uncomfortable in the presence of the small beast.

I grinned, “Awwwwwww.”

But my Great-grandmother did not smile. “Son muy tóxicos,” she nodded with finality. Mother moved back an involuntary step, her hands suddenly busy at her breast. “Put that thing down,” she ordered.

“His name’s John,” I said.

—GERALD HASLAM, California Childhood

In the following passage, a linguist uses Spanish, with English translations, in her discussion of literacy in a Mexican community in Chicago:

Gracia (grace, wit) is used to refer to wittiness in talk; people who tiene gracia (have grace, are witty) are seen as clever and funny. Not everyone illustrates this quality, but those who do are obvious from the moment they speak. As one middle-aged male said,

. . . cuando ellos empiezan a hablar, desde el momento que los oyes hablar, tienen gracia. Entonces, la gente que tiene gracia, se va juntando gente a oírlos. Y hay gente más desabrida, diría yo. No tiene, no le quedan sus chistes. Aunque cuente uno una charrita . . . ya no te vas a reír igual.

( . . . when they start to speak, from the moment that you hear them speak, they are witty. So then, the people who are witty begin to have a listening crowd gather about them. And then there are people who are more boring, I would say. They don’t have, their jokes just don’t make it. Even though they may tell a joke . . . you’re not going to laugh in the same manner.)

—MARCIA FARR, “Essayist Literacy and Other Verbal Performances”

Here, Farr provides a translation of the Spanish, for she expects that many of her readers will not know Spanish. She evokes the language of the community she describes, however, by presenting the Spanish first.

In general, you should not assume that all your readers will understand another language, so including a translation is usually appropriate. Occasionally, however, you may have a reason not to translate: when the words from the other language are clear from the context, for instance, or when you want to show readers what it’s like not to understand.

Considering disabilities: American Sign Language