Multilingual Manuscript?

Have you ever included more than one language in your manuscript? How did you deal with it?

I'm working on a novel that takes place in Thailand. One of the main characters is American-born and often prefers to speak in English, especially when he's upset. Currently, I have scenes such as this:

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to look in the urn," Jaroen said in English.

"You idiot! Everybody knows you aren't supposed to look in the urn," his father replied in Thai.

I figure that was the most concise way to express both what people were saying and in what language they were saying it.

But, now, on a suggestion that I include more of the language, I've revised some of these scenes to be:

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to look in the urn," Jaroen said in English.

"Ai ngoh! You idiot! Everybody knows you aren't supposed to look in the urn," his father replied in Thai.

Here, I'm including some of the actual Thai words and immediately translate it. The other alternative would be:

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to look in the urn," Jaroen said in English.

"Ai ngoh! Everybody knows you aren't supposed to look in the urn," his father replied in Thai.

Here, I don't translate the words, but I think the emotion behind it might still be there, even if the reader doesn't know what's being said. (The argument could be made that the reader also might now know what's being said in the second example.)

Does anyone have an opinion on the pros and cons of these examples? How have you solved the problem of having multiple languages?

Fatten Your Active Vocabulary

I often got criticized for trying to use new words in my stories. "This seems too forced," someone might say. Or, the words I have come to dread: "Too writerly." I wanted to make my language richer, but going to the thesaurus didn't seem to be the answer.

That's when I started paying attention to writers like John Updike, who used vocabulary that I was already familiar with, but in combinations or places that were unexpected. I came up with much more creative lines in my own work, like this example to describe part of a scene where a character was rummaging around his apartment after accidentally cutting off two of his fingers: "He left bird prints on the walls."

I think the key to improving your language in writing is to be able to recall more of the words you already know--your active vocabulary. I try to do this throughout the day, challenging myself to come with quirky or interesting ways to speak with other people. You'll be surprised at how fun this is! I'd say about once a week I get someone to smile simply by using an adjective that was a little unusual. It loosens me up so that when I get to my writing, I'm able to come up with a larger variety of words without having to look anything up.

How do you improve your writing language? Do you have any great lines that show off your language?