Escape Artists
The Lounge at the End of the Universe => The Writing Forum => Topic started by: iamafish on February 03, 2011, 08:55:14 AM
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I'm currently writing a short story set in rural Yorkshire at the time of the English Civil War, so inevitably most of the characters have a strong accent. When writing their dialogue, should I stick to conventional English (particularly with regards to spelling, I have little choice with regard to sentence structure and grammar), or would it be appropriate to phonetically spell some words in the way they would be said with the accent. At the moment I've tended to put apostrophes in place of 'g's and the end of words and 'h's at the begging (as those tend to be missed off up north) and run the word 'the' into the next word (or 't'next word' by way of example).
Should I simply assume people know how the people should sound and just write in conventional English? Or should I literally spell it out for the reader?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
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Personally, I don't know what a Yorkshire accent (or any other regional British one) sounds like unless someone tells me. So, I wouldn't assume the reader knows such things automatically.
Also, I have seen things like "t'next word" and "nothin' " done often enough before. So, I would say that kind of thing should be fine.
Hope that helps.
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A subtle touch, I think. A few words here and there. You can go overboard with it (coughcoughLovecraftcough), but even that can work if done well (c.f. Mark Twain). Some people say you shouldn't ever use phonetic dialects, but I think they're fine in certain circumstances.
I find them most useful when distinguishing between various types of character, though. That is, if everyone in the story is from the same odd location, then giving them all intense phonetic accents is a bit weird.
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the thing is that most of the characters do have this specific regional dialect, but one of them doesn't.
I read Dracula recently and found some of the phonetic spelling hard to understand at times (and I'm familiar with the accent Stoker was imitating), so I'm wary about going overboard. I think what I've god so far works pretty well. When I'm done I'll probably throw it in the crit group and see what you guys think.
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I think what I've god so far works pretty well...
Check what you said there... high opinion of yourself? ;-)
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I know a guy on another forum I frequent actually who actually claims to be a demi-god. true story.
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These are my suggestions:
Write the story using standard English for the first pass, so you know what's being said. Then get with someone who knows how folks spoke at that time and in that place and ask him/her for input on what to change, how much to change, etc.
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I would if i knew such a person.
The story that this topic regards is now up in the crit group for those who are interested in reading and commenting on it.
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The story that this topic regards is not up in the crit group...
Did you mean "now"?
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probably :P
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James Herriot's books are full of Yorkshire dialogue - mid-20th century, though. He does a great job making you hear it in your head, though.