#bilingual lance

[garden-secret-ao3writer]

Hunk and Lance, who start speaking Spanish to each other mid-conversation without even realizing they switched: ¿Todo bien, Pidge? (Is everything alright, Pidge?) Pidge, getting annoyed because she was also talking to them: I swear I'm going to start speaking Altean right now and we’ll see who beats whom.

[szecretary]

Alright, Voltron fic people, I’ve come to share my thoughts on our favorite starboy, Lance, and his unexplored potential as a bilingual legend.

(Nevermind the fact that I'm like 5651 years late to the fandom and that VLD is a touchy subject for most people, I like the damn show and I want better Lance fics dammit, so let me ve el dee on main in peace.)

But first!

The purpose of this post is not to determine the Correct Way to write Lance. This post is simply the end product of me watching a show, enjoying it, finding out a character is one of those I consider “my people”, proceeding to read fanfiction about him, and finding out a lot of people have trouble writing about him, and then deciding to speak about this as if someone actually cares. No one asked for this, but this is what I do with my free time, I write long posts about stuff I like.

So this is what you’re getting, manic ramblings about Bilingual/Hispanic Lance. Or how I imagine a more obviously hispanic Lance in the world of Voltron: Legendary Defender, without sounding too forced if you are not hispanic or bilingual yourself. Some of these are from a thread I wrote on twitter, but this is the extended version no one asked for.

Let's break it down into parts. Full post under the cut, because it's long, turns out I’ve thought about Lance a lot.

I’m going to assume people reading this don’t know much about the continent of America outside of the United States, so let’s clarify some terms first.

Hispanic means you come from a country where Spanish is spoken. That’s all this means. I use this term for Lance because it’s the broadest term. The others are Latin American, and Caribbean, as Cuba is a Caribbean Country.

I will not be using latino for a couple of reasons. One, because I can’t speak for Cuban people and I don’t know if a majority of them identify with that term, and two, in my experience, Latin Americans usually don’t refer to ourselves as “latino” first, as it is a term commonly used in the United States to lump us all together, we typically introduce ourselves by nationality or ethnicity, and I don’t consider latino to be either of those things. This will be different for people all over the continent, and especially for diaspora, so if someone from Cuba can comment on this via ask or something, I’ll be super happy to read from you.

This post only focuses on Lance as a bilingual character, this is not a guide to write every Latin American character, or any Cuban character. I speak Spanish and am from this region, but I’m not Cuban, so I can only talk about what I know.

Part 1, the problems I see most frequently in fics that try to make him speak spanish.

Not enough spanglish.

You might think this is weird, but hear me out. I’ve read a bunch of fics where Lance is a focal character, and whenever there’s a scene where Lance code-switches, it's to random, full spanish sentences, as if a bilingual person would just forget one of their languages. 

You have to keep in mind Lance doesn't have anyone to speak spanish with in the castle, so if he were to code-switch for some reason, it would be in spanglish a lot of the time, not only full spanish, and I think the ratio of spanish/english would most likely lean to english because of the environment he’s been living in.

Not having in consideration his upbringing, or his life before the events of the show.

Think about how he’s written in the show, or at least consider what little we know of him and how he speaks. We have enough clues as to imagine a possible life story, and how that would affect his relationship to spanish. Ignoring the fact that the VA is not a native spanish speaker, you can interpret Lance as:

Someone whose first language is Spanish that learned English when his family immigrated to the US, maybe early enough for him to default to English in most social situations by the time he’s a teenager.

Or,

Someone who grew up bilingual, using both languages at home but Spanish in school and in his social life, who then, when his family immigrated to a new country, only could speak Spanish at home or with other hispanic people he met.

I myself like to imagine him as someone who had to learn english at a later age, around 13 or something. Kids are great at learning languages, especially when they’re totally immersed in them.

Lance says he’s a “boy from Cuba”, meaning he was probably born and raised there, he mentions Playa Varadero, so he probably spent a lot of his time in Matanzas or La Habana.

Given that his last name is McClain (at least, I think so), you can also make him a mixed kid who just looks more like his dad, it’s not like we have their entire family history, so have fun with it! Latin American and Caribbean people can have crazy family stories, don’t be afraid to ask around to make it a little more believable. 

Also? You can keep his last name, there's diversity over here, buddy, remember colonialism is a thing, sometimes people that look stereotypically Latin American/Caribbean will have european last names, but we grew up here, a character being "Latin American enough" is not your call to make if you're not one of us.

Part 2, the more tricky part, how I imagine lance’s brain works when it comes to speaking spanish.

We actually hear him say stuff like “hasta la later” (which it’s not like, proof, but it’s all I have to work with so bear with me).

I’m going to use myself as an example: when I say a spanish word in the middle of an english sentence, my default is to use the spanish pronunciation, Lance doesn't, he pronounces spanish words with an english accent. For example, when he says Varadero Beach with the English phonetics, this is obviously something on the VA’s part but I’m just gonna pretend it’s on purpose, because that's an important bit of characterization if you know a bit of linguistics and are down to theorize. Like me, because apparently this is what I chose to do with my two years worth of linguistics classes and free time after watching Voltron.

What can you learn from that fact? Well, maybe, that's a kid that still has fluency in this first language but doesn't have many opportunities to speak it, so he might not have the instinct to pronounce Spanish words in his own accent.

Moreover, he is shown speaking english even when he's alone with his sister and, granted, we can just assume that this is due to the fact the show is written in english, but if you want to have fun with me, you can also assume that it’s because they are in the middle of a mission, or because their family has been in the US long enough for them to only speak spanish between them, in intimate situations, but not in front of people outside their family or when they're wearing earpieces.

Part 3, interactions with other characters.  

Let's start with the most obvious of the bunch, Keith!

There's so much potential for wacky shenanigans if you take into consideration that Keith is supposedly from Texas, aka, a place with lots of Spanish speakers due to its proximity to Mexico.

I don't think Keith would be fluent, but if the laws of language are true there too, he at least can tell if you're insulting him, which Lance would 100% do, because spanish swearing is superior and universal. If you don’t want to risk butchering Cuban slang, worry not, I have thought about this as well.

Now, I don't know much about Cuban dialects, so I can't really give any pointers (believe it or not, spanish dialects can vary A LOT), but there's meant to be some similar words in the dialects spoken close to the border and the ones spoken in Matanzas or La Habana, so, trust in the readers and their suspension of disbelief.

Now here’s my favorite hc: Lance could've picked up some other kinds of insults during his teenage years, you can't tell me this boy didn't make friends with other immigrants. The first thing you do when you meet other hispanic people overseas is 1. gush over your shared interests and 2. learn their insults. 

These are just facts, don't argue with me.

Also, Lance probably spoke a more neutral version of his native dialect with other people, if he had the opportunity to speak Spanish with people that aren’t from Cuba. Code-switching is not something that happens only between languages, but also between dialects or registers of the same language, meaning he also has an extensive vocabulary. I’m friends with people from all over Latin America and I change the way I speak to them instinctively depending on who I am talking to.

Let’s talk about Hunk! 

As his best friend, Hunk would’ve been the most exposed to Lance's bilingual brain bugs. These happen. Sometimes you forget the english word for something and no one can help you, sometimes you’re trying to explain something in spanish and you can’t keep the english out, sometimes you can count only in one language and you have to translate in your mind before speaking it out loud, sometimes you get hurt and the only thing you can do is yell the nastiest spanish swear possible, sometimes you speak to yourself and you mix and match for added Emotion. Hunk has been a witness to all of this, you can’t tell me he wouldn’t know a few words and phrases.

About Allura~ I like to believe that Allura, being a diplomat and all, would love to learn spanish as well. If what you’re writing follows canon, then you have a lot of potential to explore. Her nature is to understand others, and Lance’s family adores her. 

This applies to Lance’s relationships wih everyone in Team Voltron, not just romantic relationships. We hispanic people are all about terms of endearment, and our terms of endearment are just, sublime, super sweet. Ask me about this, please.

And finally, Shiro, my favorite. He's Japanese, a lot of people just assume he’s fluent in both japanese and english, making him the only other bilingual person in Lance’s immediate vicinity. They would have so much fun comparing their experiences. They could teach some words and phrases to each other. It gives you a lot of wholesome potential. 

So there you have it!

You don’t have to make Lance a telenovela character, he can still speak mostly english in most situations, but if you want to make him speak more spanish, then I hope these can help you.

If you want to ask something, exchange Bilingual Lance hcs (I have a ton, in case it wasn’t obvious) please do! I love this character a lot, even if I don’t talk about him often.

[klanceficatalogue]

Hey, I read this great camp leaders au once. Keith gets dragged along to where his brother works every summer, meets lance. there is some capture the lag I think. I was just wondering if you knew it?

Honestly forgot about this fic? but I love it soooo much <3 - Twisty

something just like this by klancekorner (12/12 | 58,800 | Mature )

Keith reluctantly becomes the counselor for the Red Cabin at Camp Voltron, a summer camp in the middle of buttfuck nowhere that his older brother Shiro has worked at for years. Already unhappy with the current position that he is in, Keith prepares himself for a boring, sweaty, miserable summer; and his frustration only grows when he meets the counselor for the Blue Cabin- an insufferable asshole with a horrible sense of humor, a devilish smirk, an inexplicable animosity towards the Red Cabin, and a smile that literally looks like the sun.

Needless to say Keith is really, really unprepared for the next three months.

[zaniephoenix]

Loverboy Lance

Food for thought: what if Lance is transgender and his deadname is Taylor. So when people remember him as the "tailor" they might be saying his deadname and Lance decided to make it a joke.

Also considering that the show is set after WW|||, there is more advanced technology so top surgery scars can easily be covered or non existent. Also, when Lance was a girl, he could have already had a very flat chest and didn't think he needed the surgery. (Note: When the show starts Pidge is 15 and has a flat chest, this making my theory plausible.)

[bandishedespeon]

Ugh yknow what I crave? Bilingual Lance, who is still learning some English, and Shiro always helping him out when needed and never getting annoyed by it

[biclarity]

Klance AU Month Day 1

Coffee Shop

A Chipped Cup

Word Count: 1,361

Black hair was twisting in the harsh winter breeze, unruly strands twirling, absorbing the brute force of icy air around him. Puffs of hot breaths escaping Keith's mouth as he walked down the street, tuning out the sounds of cars and people around him, because at this early in the morning he only had one mission. Coffee. The lovely, scorching, dark liquid that graced his throat on an unhealthy basis. There wasn't a day that Keith went without coffee, not since his freshman year in college, and being a senior now, he needed it more now than ever. Four years later and he's been feeding his addiction for the hot beverage at an amazingly consistent pace. He had even settled for his favorite coffee shop. However, it's been 2 years since he went there just for the coffee. Because you see, the Mcclain's Coffee Shop had so much more to offer. A jingle sounded above his head as he entered the shop, consuming the warmth of it. "Keith!" a soft voice called. He turned to the owner of the said voice, a smile gracing his lips, "Good morning Mrs. Mcclain," he greeted while taking a seat at his table. Everyone who worked there knew it was his table. "The usual?" Mrs. Mcclain asked, already getting his unspoken order ready. "Please." Looking around the shop, it was a nice quaint shop, she had done a great job with the decor. Plants hung on the walls, and the windows had a decal design on each one. Bookshelves stood as dividers for tables, and you could either purchase those books or sign up for the shop's library card. Keith always found the idea splendid and unique, and Spanish music quietly played across the shop at all times, because Mrs. Mcclain was very proud of her, and her children, ethnicity. The decor was just one of many reasons why Keith adored the shop, another was Mrs. Mcclain, she was like a mother to him. Especially since he never had one of his own. Always insisting on giving him free coffee, but he never accepted, leaving the bills on the table and leaving before he could be scolded. While he let himself believe the coffee was his main reason, lying to himself honestly, the real reason entered the shop in a rush, the only signal of him arriving was the jingle of the bell. His gaze following the boy, with captivating sapphire eyes, movements as he sprinted behind the counter, almost knocking over a pile of plates. Mrs. Mcclain was unimpressed,  "Lance! Llegas tarde! Otra vez!" "Cálmate, mamá. Solo estaba un par de minutos tarde!" Lance reassured which only earned him a good hit on the head. With a scowl, she continued speaking, "Cálmese?! Estoy tratando de dirigir un negocio aquí y llegas tarde todos los días!" Lance sighed, "Lo siento mamá." She grumbled before the coffee machine dinged, indicating it had finished making Keith's coffee. Keith. A smile graced her face, "Solo trae este café a la mesa 6 hijo," she said handing him the cup. Keith tensed as he watched Mrs. Mcclain hand his coffee to Lance, he tried to look busy and pulled out a book, acting as though he hadn't been watching them... him. Not even able to focus on the words of the book as he heard Lance's footsteps near his table, breath shallowing as the cup was placed gently on the table. He looked up as casually as possible to say thank you, but his throat closed as those eyes bored into his own. Mouth opening and closing like a goldfish before he snapped it shut, nodding his head instead of speaking in thanks. Tearing his eyes away, his cheeks becoming red. "You sure come here a lot," Lance spoke, a hint of amusement in his voice. This shocked Keith, seeing as they'd never talked before today, two years of silent watching, observing. He cleared his throat, "Um, I like it here, it's quiet... and pretty." Lance hummed in response, eyes watching Keith's actions in interest, he'd noticed him before of course, how could he not? He was so... enthralling. There were times when Keith would run his hands through his hair while he was thinking, or studying, or just anytime honestly. It was very distracting... and made Lance's heart yearn to do the same. "Is the book good?" Keith nodded, not even looking at the book, "Very, I've read it a few times already." A smirk graced the tan boys face, "So you are trying to read it upside down now? Challenging yourself?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow up. Looking at the book Keith spluttered, it was upside down! God... he was such an idiot! "I um!" he flushed, not able to explain himself he just sipped at his coffee, trying to hide his obvious embarrassment. Lance smiled fondly, just watching Keith drink his coffee, his face went blank. Wait! He's supposed to be working! But... his mom hasn't said anything so... it should be alright? Right? Putting down the cup gently Keith sighed, he was making a fool of himself. He glanced at Lance, finding him already staring at him, his stomach lurched a bit, he moved to run a hand through his hair, an anxious tick he had. Lance's breath stopped for a second, watching Keith's hand before he tore his gaze away, eyes landing on the coffee cup instead. "Hey, your cups chipped, I'll get you a new one," he offered, starting to walk away. "No!" Keith exclaimed, catching Lance's arm before letting go quickly, "Um, your mom gives me this cup on purpose..." "Why?" "It's special..." he mumbled, the redness back on his face. He was beyond confused now, "How so?" he asked curiously. Keith sighed, "Um, it's er... it's the cup you brought me when I first started coming here." The mullet-haired boy remembered it like it was yesterday, he had arrived in the welcoming shop back in his second year of college. Pidge, his best friend, had suggested this shop because it was so close to his apartment. He loved the place immediately, soft music playing as he went up to the counter, graced with the most beautiful set of blue eyes he'd ever seen. The boy's melodic voice drowned out by his own heartbeat thrumming in his ears. Somehow he had ordered a coffee without even knowing he had spoken, and when the mug was placed in front of him on the counter he grabbed it, placing down money; quickly fleeing to the safety of an empty table. Hoping his unsteady heart would slow with a bit of distance from that shockingly handsome boy. However, when he looked down at the mug, there seemed to have been a chip on one portion of the rim, he couldn't bring himself to go back up there and ask for a new one... plus, the boy with no name had given it to him, which deemed it beyond compare. He happily sipped at the rich flavor also known as coffee. When he snapped out of his flashback, Lance had fled to another table, he sighed and tugged at his hair. He must have looked like a complete dolt! Just staring into space. Grumbling to himself out of self-pity he looked down at the table and noticed a muffin? Atop a napkin, he hadn't ordered one though? On closer inspection, there was writing on the napkin. It said 'I'll leave you to your upside down reading, for now, however, I would like to meet someplace outside this damn shop! Call me~ XXX-XXX-XXXX' and with that Kieth's heart could've stopped there. A blinding smile gracing his face, sure Lance had seen the whole thing if his red ears and quick steps to the counter were any indications. Neither boy seemed to notice, however, Mrs. Mcclain's pleased smile from across the room. It had taken her 2 years to show this useless pair of their obvious affections towards the other one, but it was all worth it to see Lance happy... And it all started with a chipped cup she had forgotten to throw out.

[fabficrex]

Disaster Squad

Disaster Squad by Melosin on AO3 ~ 34,087 words ~ Ongoing ~ Teen and Up ~ Multi

Pidge added Keith, Shiro, Lance, Hunk, Matt and Allura to Disaster squad

Pidgeon : sup fuckers

LanceyLance : I don't know half of these people but I approve this group chat

 Or ; Pidge make a group chat with all of her friends and it's a disaster.

This fic has made me laugh a lot -Jess

[beezran-moved]

lance hcs

ok so i fell in love with lance cause he's latino and so am i and he reminds me of myself a lot, ok??? and I kinda wished they had explored that a little more so here

lance's family is pretty big, he grew up with his siblings, 11 cousins from his mom's side, and 13 from his dad's

abuelita when she has to babysit all of them: ay dios mio

lance's abuelita lives with them which means lance was super loved and spoiled and dramatic

like that boy can quote so many telenovelas thanks to his abuelita

his abuelita was a dancer when she was younger so she obviously taught him and his siblings how

seven year old lance and his abuelita at 4am listening to selena: cada vez!!!! cada vez que lo veo pasar!!! mi corazon se enloquese!!!! y me empieza a palpitar!!!! bidi bidi bom bom!!!

(i probably misspelled most of that whoops)

(lance was a selena quintanilla stan and anyone who disagrees can fight me. if you don't know her..... what are you doing with your life?????)

so lance is obviously bilingual and a huge chismoso (so is the rest of his family)

lance to his siblings and around the person he's talking about: y la pendeja estaba aqui!!!

his parents would make fun of them when they say something wrong in spanish

lance to his mami: mami, me das unas modenas para comprarme algo???

lance realizing his mistake and that he will never be able to live it down: ay virgen maria

he would also switch languages mid sentence without noticing

lance excitedly talking to hunk: and then he jumped y todos gritaron!!!

hunk trying to rejister what's being said to him when he can't really understand spanish: uhhhh

ugh he forgets how to say things in a language so many times

lance: what's the word for gold in spanish???? golro?????

his sister veronica after staring at him for two minutes: oro,,,,, it's oro

he never trusts butter containers

lance opening a butter container because he wants some toast: please not beans

the container: is filled with beans

lance: this is so sad alexa play despacito

celia cruz is the shit in their house

he sings her songs when he misses his abuelita because she idolized her

he tries to teach the others spanish because he's terrified of losing the language that's his only connection to home

he panics if he can't remember a word and wishes his siblings were there to fill the blank in his mind

he even misses when his mami would cook chile, even if his throat itched and felt like it was on fire because it meant he was home

he only swears in spanish when he's really mad and ready to curse a whole family

he misses looking up diy face mask recipes with his mami

also anyone who's close to his parents immediately becomes tio/tia

lance introducing his family to the others: there's my tia carmen, tio gabriel, tia ivonne....

keith: how many siblings do your mom and dad have?

lance: not that many :))))

also his family teases him all the time, even more when he comes home with a huge crush on keith

his tia: y el novio????

lance: uhhhhh

lance used to dread family reunions because he had to greet everyone with a kiss on the cheek and "de buen modo"

now he would give anything to greet his family again even if it took forever

this was kinda sad, im sorry :(((