In my current WIP there are two distinct dialects. The story is based in outport Newfoundland, where we have a language all our own. The other belongs to my male protagonist, who is from Dublin. Luckily, many of the trickier parts of the dialect are shared. The question is just how much of this lingual diversity should be shared with the reader.I hate reading dialogue that has the accent written phonetically. The effort it takes to figure out what the characters are saying isn't worth what the writer is trying to do. Even without the accent, the dialect can be a bit much. For example, let's take this short conversation:
"If you keep it up, you'll end up back in a cell."In Newfoundland, it might sound more like this:
"I don't think that will happen."
"You'll wind up back in the Pen next thing."For a non-native Newfoundlander (say that 5 times fast) a whole novel written in such language would be a tough read. So while the dialect can add colour and help create authentic characters, it can also take the reader completely out of the story if it is over done.
"Oh yes, B'y. I'm sure to."
Here's where the problem arises. If my character is from a small community in Newfoundland, she obviously isn't going to speak like someone from big city Alberta. The dialect is, I like to think, part of our charm here, and I really want it to come through in the story. So how to put it on the page?
I'm depending on speech patterns, rhythm, and an idiom or two to establish dialect. For this WIP, the language is easy because I just have to think about how I would naturally say something, as opposed to how I would normally write it.
Newfoundland grammar in its spoken form is unique. A quick example would be our tendency to be after doing something. While you may have just spilled a glass of water, I'm after spilling milk all over the floor.
I can also toss in some often used words or phrases. We like to tack sure onto our statements, for emphasis. (I never took the car, sure), or add b'y like other people would add man or mate (Move out of the way, b'y).
So that's what I learned this week. By adding these twists of grammar I can make my characters sound authentic without adding all those annoying pronunciations. With the right descriptions, and the methods mentioned above, I'm hoping the reader can get a really good feel for the characters and setting.
How do you feel about writing or reading accent and dialect?
Accents and dialects are tricky, and really difficult to write well. I really enjoyed There Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, but much of it is written in a southern African-American dialect of the early 20th century. I love the south and I can hear those voices when I read it, but I confess that deciphering the phonetic spelling was a bit of a chore.
ReplyDeleteI think the use of accents and dialects can add a sense of time and place. It can even add charm to a piece, but it's probably going to alienate some readers. On the other hand, there will be someone who dislikes anything we write. We might as well alienate them with something that is authentic.
It's a bit like adding salt, I think. Not enough and your soup (or story) is bland. Too much and it overpowers the whole thing. You need to find just the right amount.
DeleteMark Twain provides perfect examples of dialect adding flavour to a story. Though whether you like Mark Twain is something else...
I like the way you're headed, Laurita. Strong dialects in literature turn me off as well. But I confess I found your example ("You'll wind up back in the Pen next thing." "Oh yes, B'y. I'm sure to.") perfectly understandable. Maybe that's just because I'm Canadian and more familiar with some of our accents. One of the things I love about you the most is your adorable accent. It's part of your charm and I think your characters should have as much of that charm as possible. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI didn't start out to write the dialect at all. When I got to one particular piece of dialogue, I realized that my characters sounded nothing like they should, and that threw me off. It didn't sound authentic to me, and if I'm taking the trouble to set my story in this place, I might as well go the extra mile (or kilometre) and talk the talk.
DeleteAgreed. Girl, you don't wants to be overdoing the dialects, sure.
ReplyDeleteI think it's best to confine the dialect to one or two characters and have the rest speaking your basic 'Canadian'. I found that Ed Kavanagh handled the local voice well in 'Nipper Mooney'. Not overdone at all.
Nipper Mooney was done really well. One of the books I didn't finish had one of the main characters speaking in a really strong scottish accent - written phonetically. Gave me a headache trying to read it.
DeleteDialect is a hard one to do. I have to say, I loved Stephen King's character, Odetta Holmes, in The Drawing of Three. There was a lot of dialect with that, and I'll admit, it was difficult to read at first, but then it started to flow and really took on character for me.
ReplyDeleteMixing other languages and culture in a story is a personal thing for the writer, because there will be readers who like and dislike both.
I just put full on Mandarin in one of my short stories, wondering all the while if it would fly with the readers. Though there are only a few phrases, and I explain later, in due time I hope with the story, what the passage says, I'm hoping it adds to the character's anxiety and feelings of isolation in the story, 'showing' how he is in a different world.
Great post, Laurita. I guess I'm on the fence. It can be both good and bad.
I think Stephen King does dialect really well in most of his work. You've also done it quite well in a few of your stories. I think if it is used as a tool (as you described) and not as a gimmick, it can work well.
DeletePhonetics make a lot of sense in prose that grapples with dialect. If you want verisimilitude or realism, writing things closer to how they sound can have merit, though you're right that it will simultaneously damage readability and story flow. The best solutions I've encountered and heard are to listen to people with such dialects for great lengths, picking out popular phrases and words. This slang can be as strong a marker as deviant pronunciation, as can the patterns of speech.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree.
DeleteThe trick is representing the dialect without getting into the accent. People often confuse the two. If I ask how you are you might say "fine". I would say "grand". That's part of the dialect. Trying to represent the flat A's and hard R's in writing, that's a mess. :) Word choice and speech patterns are the key to implying accent.
I have a character in a book who speaks Jamaican Patois, which in real life can be extremely difficult to understand. It's also difficult to convey in writing, but I think you've nailed it here. It's all about balance. A little touch of flavor goes a long way, in writing.
ReplyDeleteVery tricky. I think the way you're headed is a good compromise. When writing my version of "highlander-speak" I throw in dinna and aye but don't change the sentence structure from my own writing. (I wouldn't know where to begin anyway)
ReplyDeleteDialect is a hard act to balance. I think I agree with Alan and that keeping it to a couple characters adds the most interest without being overpowering.
DeleteI read somewhere that the English spoken on the East coast is still the same dialect and form of when people first immigrated to Canada - it is a couple hundred years old. I was quite intrigued by this.
I agree. You can give a character one dialect idiosyncrasy and readers will pick up on it and it will define and identify that character. If you go overboard, it doesn't work.
ReplyDeleteHelen Ginger