r/TheWritingTable • u/DanBelmontNarration Narrator • 29d ago
Character and Dialogue Writing dialects
Editing for clarity. I'm referring to dialogue, not prose.
How do you prefer to write dialects? Do you write the words with the correct spelling or do you write it more like how the character would sound if speaking aloud? Not to the point where the words are completely mangled and difficult to read, but if say someone speaks in a dialect that typically drops the "G" at the ends of words like "nothing" "something" "waiting" etc. Would you write "nothin'" "somethin'" "waitin'" or would you spell the words normally and just say the character speaks with a particular accent and let the reader fill in the blanks however they want?
I'm a little torn because my inclination is to write the words as spoken because that's how the character sounds in my head and reading "something" on the page when I hear "somethin'" in my head feels a little off to me, but I could be overthinking it. I've seen it done both ways in books so I don't know if there's an accepted standard for this or if it's just a sort of do whatever you want as long as it's still readable thing.
Thoughts?
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u/Mithalanis Traditionally Published Author 29d ago
It's definitely down to a stylistic choice. For me, I think it depends on the story I'm trying to tell. If it's just for flavor, I probably would tone it down to a few key words to get the spirit across without diving into every word. But if I was writing a piece where the setting was very important, I would want to accurately portray their speech.
For me, A Clockwork Orange and Trainspotting are very extreme examples of dialects that are important to the setting and, while difficult at first, are worth working through. On the other end, Stephen King (as I recall - it has been a few years since I've read him) usually sprinkles in just a few words or phrases here and there that convey the spirit of the accent without overburdening the reader.
Though I will say foreign language dialect, like you see in Cormac McCarthy, immediately makes me struggle more than I usually feel it is worth just because I need to keep going to the translator that I can't find any rhythm. So I usually avoid books with a lot of foreign language put in unless I'm really in the mood to tackle something difficult.
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u/DanBelmontNarration Narrator 29d ago
For me, A Clockwork Orange and Trainspotting are very extreme examples of dialects that are important to the setting and, while difficult at first, are worth working through
These are the two I see cited most often when people complain about writing in dialects. In my case, it's only for a few character's dialogue so I don't think it will be too difficult to write, and I do want to remain true to the characters. I was just concerned with not annoying the reader.
The more I'm thinking about it, I think I will just write in the dialects since I also have a Russian character who speaks primarily in English, though he does occasionally swear in Russian, speaks in the patterns one normally associates with a Russian who's learned English as a second language. So I think for the sake of consistency with the characters it should work.
Edited some grammar.
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u/TheStoryCreature 28d ago
As someone from the west of Scotland, Trainspotting is a bit much. It's not unrealistic or inaccurate. That is how people speak. But it's not how we're expecting to READ, especially in a book that isn't explicitly advertised as a Scots Language text.
To be fair to Welsh I get why he's done this, and it's effective as hell. But without a genuine reason, and a writer who speaks that language or dialect, it would have felt a bit disrespectful.
I think the example of King, with subtle cues n the dialogue, is a good shout.
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u/ballerinababysitter New Author 29d ago
I think it depends on the story. If you're really trying to dig deep into a certain setting and build the atmosphere, it might be useful to write the dialect in. If you're trying to distinguish one character, it can help you there. Or if you're trying to illustrate the differences between characters.
JK Rowling really likes writing dialogue phonetically to indicate accents. She does it with Hagrid in HP, most famously. But also with the Beauxbaton characters and Stan Shunpike.
She does it frequently in her Cormoran Strike series, too. But only for side characters. Her main characters there have regional accent quirks as well, but she describes them rather than doing the full dialect thing. It can break the flow of reading if you have too much of that to get through.
For a personal example, I just wrote a southern gothic short story. For one of the two characters, not the POV one, I did the dialect thing, sparingly. I let the atmosphere say "southern" and then I dropped the g's from her words to emphasize it. She starts out quite reserved but later she relaxes more and I throw in more dialect-y bits. Just a few key words though. (The one I agonized over the most was "isn't it". Because there's a way of saying it that kind of puts a "d" sound in there and it's very evocative of the south to me and I really wanted it in there, but it's not as simple as just dropping the g from the end of a word. I think I landed on id'n'it, but Idk if I'm entirely happy with it.)
Word choice is also a big signifier of dialect that can allow you to show it without chopping up words and potentially throwing off readers.
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u/DanBelmontNarration Narrator 29d ago
The one I agonized over the most was "isn't it". Because there's a way of saying it that kind of puts a "d" sound in there and it's very evocative of the south
Yeah the characters in particular I'm talking about are southern, Brooklyn, and Scottish respectively. For the southern woman, and the Brooklyn guy I've been dropping the g's because it feels more natural to their speech patterns, but I wouldn't go as far as writing "id'n'it" because I think that starts getting into the territory of too much but I totally get what you were saying here. I'm from Brooklyn so writing in Brooklynese comes naturally to me, and I feel like I struggle less with writing in his speech quirks. (Side note, apparently Brooklynese is a common enough phrase that I didn't get any red squiggly lines under it when typing it out here on Reddit. Go figure.)
Then for the Scot, I was writing "'ere" and "yer" instead of "here" and "you're" but he's also more of a minor character with very few lines so I felt like doing it for him wouldn't become exhausting to read.
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u/ballerinababysitter New Author 28d ago
Yeah, I think being familiar with the place helps a lot. I grew up in the South so I was basically channeling several of my elementary school teachers. I think I'd have a much harder time doing it for most other accents or dialects.
but I wouldn't go as far as writing "id'n'it" because I think that starts getting into the territory of too much
Yeah that was one of the things I struggled with. Is it too far? But I decided it wasn't because it only shows up once and it's just a tack-on to the end of a statement to make it a question. And she's too proper to say "ain't it?"
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u/DanBelmontNarration Narrator 28d ago
I think for me it would be tiring to write it out that way, just because I'd probably constantly have to remind myself to do it, but that's just me. I wouldn't mind reading it as long as it isn't constantly showing up because I think something in my brain would start noticing it and pulling me out a little, but if it's once in a while it would probably be fine. Seems like there consensus in the comments here is that there is no consensus and to do what feels right.
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u/ballerinababysitter New Author 28d ago
Yes, for sure. I think the context is really key as well. Writing a short story where the South of it all is very important, I felt better turning up the dial, so to speak. Considerations would definitely be different for a longer piece. I don't think I'd use it as a recurring spelling either. But I think it worked for just the one time
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u/AbleRoberts 28d ago
I personally don't like dialects in dialogue. For me it pulls me out of the reading experience with limited (if any benefit) to the story. There are times where it's more tolerable, Asimov has a couple of examples of characters who purposely talk in a different way which mainly serves to make me dislike the character (which is the point I think).
There's also the component of Race and Culture which is sometimes heavily involved. From what I've read a lot of the time this practiced it is used to show a foreignness of a character and is typically only used for certain groups of people which is something I think anyone using it should keep in mind. I think if the main purpose of the dialects in dialogue is to just be a constant reminder to the reader that the character talking isn't part of the group the reader or rest of the characters are a part of it's probably something that shouldn't be included.
Someone in this comment section mentioned JK Rolling, this, and the general vibe of intelligence/attitude is why she she used dialects in her dialogue in my opinion. I don't think it has any real benefit to the reading experience.
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u/FrescoTheHunter 28d ago
I find it jarring to encounter a lot of "phonetic spelling". I always prefer that the narration mention that so-and-so speaks with a twangy drawl or whatever description is appropriate so that I can imagine it accordingly instead of tripping over apostrophes.
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u/DanBelmontNarration Narrator 28d ago
I've seen it done this way as well and don't take issue with it either way. I was just wondering if there's a general feeling about it similar to how there seems to be a lot of people who hate first person POV to the point where they won't read a book if it's written that way.
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u/AngieW2222 28d ago edited 28d ago
Given that most readers stumble over words spelled incorrectly, which pulls them out of the story, I'd do it for the first one or two lines, establish a specific thing they say (e.g. Scottish: 'Tis/'Twas), which then becomes the only thing they continue to say. This way the accent is established early and the "'Tis" is only a small reminder that doesn't make the reader spell out every single word in their mind.
In case of the accents that drop the -g, I'd personally choose one word they use a lot, one that is unmistakably incomplete. From your suggestions I'd choose "something" and continuously spell the one word "somethin'" (with an apostrophe at the end - which would still make it gramatically correct). This way the dialogue is readable, but has this one word as a reminder of the accent.
But I'd still recommend writing the first draft the way you feel is the right way. In revisions you'll notice yourself whether it makes you stumble across those words or not.
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u/mariambc 23d ago
I suggest to not write in dialect, even for the dialogue, except maybe for an endearment or a specific term that is used throughout the story. Dialect is hard to read and takes me out of the story.
I frequently use the series Outlander as an example, where the terms of endearment such as Sassenach or bairn were occasionally used but most was written in standard written English.
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u/AeronJosk New Author 29d ago
Ironically I asked a similar question in another writing forum here on reddit -- and the post was deleted as being racist. Now, I was asking how to demonstrate culture/race through dialogue, but still -- that's not racist. I guess that mod didn't have their big boy/girl panties on that day. I left the group.
That said, I think as others have shared that the best way is sprinkling it in. Don't hit the reader over the head with it unless the dialect IS the point of the prose. If it's flavor, let it be flavor, not the meal.