tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post4048348221203838854..comments2024-03-29T04:38:14.302-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: Dial D for DialectLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-64260814642323742462015-04-05T23:55:05.960-04:002015-04-05T23:55:05.960-04:00Thanks, Rob!
Jeff, don't let 'em fling yo...Thanks, Rob!<br /><br />Jeff, don't let 'em fling you in DAT briar patch.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-71061940127011602192015-04-05T23:09:15.240-04:002015-04-05T23:09:15.240-04:00Henry Kuttner's stories about the Hogbens have...Henry Kuttner's stories about the Hogbens have lots of Kentucky dialect--some California born writers can pull that off! Speaking of dialect, I'm reading some of Joel Chandler Harris' stories right now!Jeff Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00316081079528920123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-64362567276457050122015-04-05T09:38:27.226-04:002015-04-05T09:38:27.226-04:00Lovely stuff. I have had two stories published na...Lovely stuff. I have had two stories published narrated by a Kentucky fiddler and I worried about overdoing the dialog. No one complained to me, at least. <br /><br />Two weeks ago the story I reviewed at Little Big Crimes was by my buddy SJ Rozan, and narrated by the mother of her character Lydia Chin. Her writing, presumably in Chinese, is rather formal but when she switches to English to speak to "the white baboon'" her daughter's partner, Bill Smith, she suddenly loses pronouns and articles. It works well.Robert Loprestihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08844889305615182897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-15305052298820850702015-04-04T20:58:46.430-04:002015-04-04T20:58:46.430-04:00I have corrected the error that Eve found--my apol...I have corrected the error that Eve found--my apologies to all. (Does this mean I shouldn't try to write these columns at two a.m.? Surely not . . .)John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-74072490341813403742015-04-04T19:04:19.876-04:002015-04-04T19:04:19.876-04:00Eve--Huck didn't drive a Pontiac GTO??
That q...Eve--Huck didn't drive a Pontiac GTO??<br /><br />That quote is from Beth Hill, not from Mark Twain--that's what comes from copy/pasting quote #1 into slot #2.<br /><br />Not proofreading is as bad as using too much dialect.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-51776394295109998852015-04-04T18:29:12.410-04:002015-04-04T18:29:12.410-04:00I think you can show accents through rhythm and wo...I think you can show accents through rhythm and word order, without having to use phonetic spelling or at least, very rarely. That's the way Robert Louis Stevenson handled Alan Breck Stewart in "Kidnapped":<br />"There are some pretty men gone to the bottom," said the stranger [Alan], "that I would rather see on the dry land again than half a score of boats."<br />"Friends of yours?" said Hoseason.<br />"You have none such friends in your country," was the reply [Alan]. "They would have died for me like dogs."<br />You can hear the lilt without having to mangle the spelling.<br /><br />PS - I don't know where it's from, but that quote "Ma and Pa always did hanker for a new car..." is definitely NOT from Huckleberry Finn. No cars in it. Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-15330495770156069212015-04-04T10:32:46.920-04:002015-04-04T10:32:46.920-04:00Good thoughts, David. And yes, some words/phrases ...Good thoughts, David. And yes, some words/phrases are so familiar I don't even realize I'm using them when I write. You're right, less is more. It DOES get old fast.<br /><br />Melodie, it's me, John--but I do look a little like Leigh when he's wearing his hat.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-59585767905927213582015-04-04T10:26:52.811-04:002015-04-04T10:26:52.811-04:00Brings to mind Twain's remark at the beginning...Brings to mind Twain's remark at the beginning of HUCK FINN, that the reader shouldn't think all the characters are trying to speak alike, and not succeeding.<br />Then there's Kipling, who uses a lot of dialect in the Three Soldiers stories (and elsewhere), regional Midlands and South Coast, various Irishisms, and so on, and it gets old fast.<br />Another example I can think that works is using inverted word order, instead of slang, to give a sense of local flavor. <br />Basically, less is more. And a trick I've used myself is to spell a word like 'business' or 'Indian' properly in dialogue, but with an aside that whoever it is pronounced it 'bidness' or 'IN-din.' <br />Some localisms come so naturally, too, that you don't notice you're using them. Milkshake/frappe/cabinet, for instance - these are New England - and hoagie/hero/grinder/sub comes to mind. I'd like to hear some other examples from you guys. <br />David Edgerley Gateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05302818835018859164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-53058737857965002842015-04-04T09:55:19.748-04:002015-04-04T09:55:19.748-04:00Good post, Leigh! I find new writers are always k...Good post, Leigh! I find new writers are always keen on using dialect. I try to discourage them, and encourage choice of words/syntax/placement instead of weird spellings. When a reader hits a word that is spelled incorrectly, it takes them out of the story. Melodie Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07870938103759179132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-73547577739301546282015-04-04T01:34:03.219-04:002015-04-04T01:34:03.219-04:00Leigh, I think the thing about using dialect in wr...Leigh, I think the thing about using dialect in writing is that because we so want the reader to "hear" those familiar (to us) accents and expressions, we (at least I) tend to overdo it. Or at least I used to--as I said, I hope I'm better about it now.<br /><br />What amuses me is how wrong it comes out when the actors in movies try to do it. There, it's almost ALWAYS overdone.<br /><br />John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-59340090432544837462015-04-04T01:06:10.141-04:002015-04-04T01:06:10.141-04:00Having grown up with an earful of James Whitcomb R...Having grown up with an earful of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z03zt9lriR0" rel="nofollow">James Whitcomb Riley</a>, I can attest that dialect is enjoyable for a little while but wears thin quickly.<br><br>Regarding contractions, I thought it interesting that the Star Trek Next Generation (TNG) character Data’s supposedly more advanced ‘brother’ Lore used contractions but Data did not (except for an occasional lapse).<br><br>Your article has caused me to rethink dialect in a story set in the Midlands (UK), which I’d written for verisimilitude. Hmm…<br><br>I’m curious about about Pittsburghese with its muddy vowels. For example, ‘pool, pole, and pull’ are pronounced the same. I’ve had confusingly funny conversations with Pittsburgers about the tahl in the bathroom (towel? tile?) and the tahr on the car (tar? tire?).<br><br>An’ that’s ’cause I like dis article.<br>Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.com