Native Accent

[MetaBob]

Have any of you fine authors found a way to convey a character's native accent when writing dialog? I am outlining a new story in which the MFC is of European descent and I'd like for readers to 'hear' her accent as they read her her dialog. I know this is asking a lot, but her accent is a big part her charm that attracts the MMC.

I know I could try to spell the words as they might sound in her Americanized native accent, but that's probably another whole can of worms in itself. Especially since most of my stories are dialog heavy.

I thought of adding a note at the beginning to encourage readers to try and imagine the accent, but that's liable to blow up in my face, putting readers off. If anyone has any ideas I'd be more than happy to entertain them.
Thank You!

WB

What Elmore Leonard had to say on the subject:

7 Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly. Once you start spelling words in dialogue phonetically and loading the page with apostrophes, you won't be able to stop. Notice the way Annie Proulx captures the flavour of Wyoming voices in her book of short stories Close Range.

I use patois occasionally, but not so much in spelling as in word order. Example from Chapter 1 of my Cascade Fire:

"Mari is not goddess," Sati said to me as we neared Klamath Lake, the first time she'd spoken to me in English since we started our 2-day bus trip.

You can imagine my response.

"Mari is ... what you say ... shifter. Strong one, maybe, but not goddess." She seemed ... sniffy. "This place we go is school. Perhaps I feel bad to take you, but you will like it, I know. Students have much to learn. You can teach, awake or no. I am sorceress, and trickster, and you have tricks to teach, sleeping sorcerer. Is good place to teach, good students, this I know."

That said, I have occasionally dabbled in word substitution for characters with accents. Particularly Scots But I've always kept it minimal.

 

[Duleigh]

EEEEEEEEE IT'S DISCWORLD EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE Discworld, especially my heroes Ridcully and Gaspode

 

[Voboy]

That said, I have occasionally dabbled in word substitution for characters with accents. Particularly Scots But I've always kept it minimal.

I only do that when the result will be a humorous mishearing.

Welsh does this beautifully and understatedly. At one point (for example), Sick Boy is trying to romance Nikki, an English girl. He comes out with this amazing quote, and she's shocked and impressed; she exclaims "Kant!" because that's who said the quote. She's then put off when he gets all moody.

Later, from Sick Boy's perspective, we learn he was merely quoting a song lyric (Soul Coughing, I think) and is very perplexed when she replies by calling him a cunt.

No need for phonetics there. She's speaking Estuary English, he grew up in Leith. The context makes it clear how she pronounces it and how he hears it.

 

[onehitwanda]

I only do that when the result will be a humorous mishearing.

Welsh does this beautifully and understatedly. At one point (for example), Sick Boy is trying to romance Nikki, an English girl. He comes out with this amazing quote, and she's shocked and impressed; she exclaims "Kant!" because that's who said the quote. She's then put off when he gets all moody.

Later, from Sick Boy's perspective, we learn he was merely quoting a song lyric (Soul Coughing, I think) and is very perplexed when she replies by calling him a cunt.

No need for phonetics there. She's speaking Estuary English, he grew up in Leith. The context makes it clear how she pronounces it and how he hears it.

I knew a philosophy major in Uni. He was musing over what to name his kittens, and was toying with naming them after his favourite philosophers. Then, he said, he realised what it would look like if he stood in his garden at night in a small half-horse town shouting "Here, Kant! Come here, Kant!" at the top of his voice.

His brother had a cat that he named Chairman Meow.

Yeah. University was... yeah.

 

[djrip]

I knew a philosophy major in Uni. He was musing over what to name his kittens, and was toying with naming them after his favourite philosophers. Then, he said, he realised what it would look like if he stood in his garden at night in a small half-horse town shouting "Here, Kant! Come here, Kant!" at the top of his voice.

His brother had a cat that he named Chairman Meow.

Yeah. University was... yeah.

Katy Perry's cat is Kitty Purry.

 

[onehitwanda]

Katy Perry's cat is Kitty Purry.

my current cat answers to many names:

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"Must you lick the carpet?"
"Can't you lick the carpet instead of eating it?"
"Can't you... you know what, never mind, you do you."
"You stupid fucking sack of bones"
"Come here, rat bag."
"Christ, you really are the dumbest cat ever to live."
"Dinosaurs used to eat things like you."
etc etc.

I love her to bits, but she's a little hard of understanding. Heart the size of the galaxy though. Can't sit still for love or money.

 

[yowser]

My paleographer Sophie Eastern has a tabby named Leibniz.

 

[oneagainst]

EEEEEEEEE IT'S DISCWORLD EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

...followed by words spoken so high that only dogs can hear...?

 

[Duleigh]

...followed by words spoken so high that only dogs can hear...?

Gaspode responds with words spoken low enough for people to hear.

 

[Bramblethorn]

If you leave out articles, it'll convey a non-English feeling.

Yes, though depending on what specific flavour of non-English is intended, it may or may not be the right choice.

Russian doesn't have articles, so omitting them in English is very common for native Russian speakers. But for German it's more nuanced - German has articles and mostly they work the same way in English, although English is a bit simpler with only one gender to learn. However, there are some differences in when the article is used.

For instance, German will attach an article to abstract nouns ("der Tod" where English would just say "Death") and omit them for things like occupations or nationalities ("ich bin Lehrer/in" vs. "I am a teacher").

If in doubt I usually try to find an example of a non-fluent speaker from the appropriate background and pay attention to how they talk; Wikiing basic grammar etc. is also helpful.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I knew a philosophy major in Uni. He was musing over what to name his kittens, and was toying with naming them after his favourite philosophers. Then, he said, he realised what it would look like if he stood in his garden at night in a small half-horse town shouting "Here, Kant! Come here, Kant!" at the top of his voice.

His brother had a cat that he named Chairman Meow.

One of my friends had a Nom Chompsky.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"Must you lick the carpet?"
"Can't you lick the carpet instead of eating it?"
"Can't you... you know what, never mind, you do you."
"You stupid fucking sack of bones"
"Come here, rat bag."
"Christ, you really are the dumbest cat ever to live."
"Dinosaurs used to eat things like you."
etc etc.

I love her to bits, but she's a little hard of understanding. Heart the size of the galaxy though. Can't sit still for love or money.

Cats are a good reminder that "understanding" and "caring" are different concepts. I think mine recognise their names, but what they answer to is the sound of a treats packet being opened.

 

[SimonDoom]

my current cat answers to many names:

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"Must you lick the carpet?"
"Can't you lick the carpet instead of eating it?"
"Can't you... you know what, never mind, you do you."
"You stupid fucking sack of bones"
"Come here, rat bag."
"Christ, you really are the dumbest cat ever to live."
"Dinosaurs used to eat things like you."
etc etc.

I love her to bits, but she's a little hard of understanding. Heart the size of the galaxy though. Can't sit still for love or money.

Cats I've had in the past have been equally indifferent to all names, which I guess is basically the same thing.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Pertinent example that just came up in work correspondence: to a non-fluent English speaker, "may I contact you?" and "may I touch you?" seem like they should mean the same thing, but they really really don't.

 

[onehitwanda]

One of my friends had a Nom Chompsky.

Oh my god. That is purrfect.

 

[Duleigh]

I've always named my cats "Kat"
Why go through all that effort to name something that won't come when you call it?

 

[SimonDoom]

I've always named my cats "Kat"
Why go through all that effort to name something that won't come when you call it?

I named my cats Scowl, Stare, and Stay, and they always responded to my calls perfectly.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Have any of you fine authors found a way to convey a character's native accent when writing dialog? I am outlining a new story in which the MFC is of European descent and I'd like for readers to 'hear' her accent as they read her her dialog. I know this is asking a lot, but her accent is a big part her charm that attracts the MMC.

I know I could try to spell the words as they might sound in her Americanized native accent, but that's probably another whole can of worms in itself. Especially since most of my stories are dialog heavy.

I thought of adding a note at the beginning to encourage readers to try and imagine the accent, but that's liable to blow up in my face, putting readers off. If anyone has any ideas I'd be more than happy to entertain them.
Thank You!

WB

I’ve never tried to do this. If we exclude aliens having slightly odd vocabulary, that is.

The only time I had people of different nationalities in a story, I had the MMC (and narrator) refer to the FMCs accent, but I didn’t try to differentiate them further. Indeed, as I explain in an endnote to it, I stuck to my own (admittedly slightly messed up) vocabulary and spelling for the story, whereas the MMC should really have had a slightly different vocabulary and spelling. This was basic laziness and a worry that I’d not be able to get away with mimicking someone from another county.

It wasn’t really important for the story either.

Em

 

[WyreBendr0417]

I’ve never tried to do this. If we exclude aliens having slightly odd vocabulary, that is.

The only time I had people of different nationalities in a story, I had the MMC (and narrator) refer to the FMCs accent, but I didn’t try to differentiate them further. Indeed, as I explain in an endnote to it, I stuck to my own (admittedly slightly messed up) vocabulary and spelling for the story, whereas the MMC should really have had a slightly different vocabulary and spelling. This was basic laziness and a worry that I’d not be able to get away with mimicking someone from another county.

It wasn’t really important for the story either.

Em

It may turn out to be a misfire, but I'm going to give it a shot. Between a lot of helpful advice here in AH and my ongoing research, I have a little more focus on how I want to write it. With minimal use of a phonetically spelled word here and there to mimic Russian interpretation of some English vowels, e.g. 'i' becomes 'ee' and so on. But mostly by leaving out articles, and 'letting syntax do the heavy lifting' as MelissaBaby put it so well.

I may get widely dragged over concrete for it, but at least I tried and the notion will be out of my system(maybe).

WB