Addressing a character as 'son'

[John Carroll]

If a character in my book addresses someone as 'son' even though the person isn't related as in: "Say, what’s your name, son?” Will this confuse readers whose first language is not English?

I ask because I get more and more readers throughout the world and I try to make my writing as understandable as possible. At the same time, slang adds a flavor to characters if done in moderation.

[ekster]

If it's part of the dialogue? I don't see it being a problem. I never had trouble with that, and English is not my first language (not even second!)

And if there's an expression someone doesn't understand, it doesn't take long to find the meaning with Internet these days.

[ScalyFreak]

I think slang and similar expressions are more easily understood across the world now than they were even a few years ago. Not only because English is the unofficial official language of the internet, but because movies and TV shows made in the US are all over the world as well. So unless it's something extremely obscure, you can probably assume it will be understood. Especially in dialogue, where the context will help the reader understand.

[Keryl Raist]

Are you having the book translated into different languages? I could see how trying to get one slang into another could be problematic, but if you're keeping it in English, it shouldn't be an issue. From the context, most people should be able to figure out what's going on, but if you think it might be puzzling, add a bit extra to make it clear the people aren't related.

"Well, son, you've got a long way to go before you can fly solo."
John bristled at the remark. Todd wasn't that much better of a flyer, and he certainly wasn't enough older than John to warrant calling him 'son!'

[John Carroll]

It won't be translated into other languages . . . unless I become super-famous. I was probably just overthinking the whole thing. The word fits the character's demeanor, so I don't think anyone will be too confused.

Like ScalyFreak and ekster said, people are getting used to American slang and the internet makes it much easier to research meanings.

Thank you all for your help.

Here's a little more of the context. It's a positive context.

“The Skull Squadron seems like a cool name,” The private pointed out.
“Yeah . . . It’s alright. Say, what’s your name, son?”
“Private Herman Anderson, Sir.” He smiled and sat up straight, obviously proud.
“Huh.” It didn’t impress Gregg, but it was a decent enough name. “Yeah. The Skull Squadron is a good name. I wasn’t too sure about it when I was first asked to join. I’m glad I did though. It’s family now.”

[michaelryannh]

In my current novel I am writing, I have a character that refers to another one as boy when everyone knows that the character in reference is not a boy, but a full grown character. I do go on to explain, like Keryl describes, that this is a personality trait of the character. Being much older with more wisdom he will always see my main character as a boy. It is required for his character development.

I believe as long as you shortly explain the context of how the term is being used, secondhand English readers will be able to decipher what you mean.

That's just my two cents though. Some people may disagree with me.

[mr ploppy]

Sonny would avoid any misunderstanding about relationships, but I wouldn't worry about it myself. I worried about Americans being able to understand me, and even thought of adding a translation dictionary at the back at one point. But people who read are usually intelligent enough to figure it all out themselves.

[Keryl Raist]

I don't see any issue with what you wrote.

I mean, you're selling the book in English. One can probably pretty safely assume the readers are pretty fluent in English if they are going to be buying it.

[EileenG]

The fact that he's asking what his name is should be a big clue to the reader that he's not the father of the other person. We have to credit our readers with a bit of wit, and not explain or dumb down everything.

[VydorScope]

Yea I think "son" here is fine. I read books form UK and other english areas, and its not that hard to figure out slang. I like, adds a bit of local color to the dialog.

[SeaKing]

The context is very important. In post #5 the usage makes it very clear.

Again others are right that a translation can cause problems.

The typical usage that would most probably be for a relative would be something like:
"Hi Son."

Less clear would be:
"Son, move that box out of the doorway."

Even for those, dependent on what happened before, the meanings could be very clear, or quite muddled.

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by John Carroll

If a character in my book addresses someone as 'son' even though the person isn't related as in: "Say, what’s your name, son?” Will this confuse readers whose first language is not English?

No. It's quite common in several languages, actually. Besides the context is fairly obvious, what kind of father would not know the name of his own son?

Originally Posted by John Carroll

I try to make my writing as understandable as possible.

Stop that. Just write English in whatever way pleases your native understanding of the language. That's what makes it as understandable as possible. If you try to mutilate language in hopes of making it easier to understand for foreigners, you'll just end up confusing everybody instead.