When you want to shorten a word...

[JasonClearwater]

But the logical abbreviation of it doesn't read correctly.

Casual... I want to say 'cashz'. You know what I'm trying to say. Or, DO you? That's the question really.

Bloody dialogue. Cash, caz, cas... catʃdʒ...

 

[SamScribble]

But the logical abbreviation of it doesn't read correctly.

Casual... I want to say 'cashz'. You know what I'm trying to say. Or, DO you? That's the question really.

Bloody dialogue. Cash, caz, cas... catʃdʒ...

Cashz being short for what???

 

[JasonClearwater]

Cashz being short for what???

'Casual'. I know, I hid the word at the start of the sentence.

 

[Jada59]

Cashz being short for what???

Casual. I do talk like that but that one is hard to spell. Dunno.

 

[SamScribble]

'Casual'. I know, I hid the word at the start of the sentence.

Well, if Maj is Maj, 'caj' maybe? Tricky.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Clearwater, I reckon that's a question with no answer.

Casj... cazh... you're right, they all look odd. Unless you're in Uzbekistan or somewhere like that.

 

[JasonClearwater]

Well, if Maj is Maj, 'caj' maybe? Tricky.

Ikr? It's not often I come across something I can't figure out how to articulate, but this relies on the reader interpreting the word in the same way as I've written it.

If, for instance, you read this sentence: "He acts all cas," would you be confused, or would the context help you read it correctly?

 

[JasonClearwater]

Clearwater, I reckon that's a question with no answer.

Casj... cazh... you're right, they all look odd. Unless you're in Uzbekistan or somewhere like that.

No answer? No answer? Not something you can find your fancy books, in your fancy 'paper' library you keep claiming exists?

 

[ElectricBlue]

No answer? No answer? Not something you can find your fancy books, in your fancy 'paper' library you keep claiming exists?

Current context, I do believe. A certain young gentlemen said the internet's the thing for current context. Libraries don't do abbreviations. In this instance, it would seem, neither does the internet.

Thus, you are stuffed .

 

[JasonClearwater]

Current context, I do believe. A certain young gentlemen said the internet's the thing for current context. Libraries don't do abbreviations. In this instance, it would seem, neither does the internet.

Thus, you are stuffed .

There's only one thing for it. I shall only release this story in Uzbekistan.

 

[ElectricBlue]

There's only one thing for it. I shall only release this story in Uzbekistan.

That will work. Lots of horses in Uzbekistan .

 

[Hypoxia]

Do you enjoy confusing readers?

 

[JasonClearwater]

Do you enjoy confusing readers?

Oh yes! It's my FAVOURITE thing!

No, but I do have a great deal of passion for 'natural' language, and character voice.

This character says 'cashj'. It's not my fault we don't have a way of expressing that on the page accurately.

Imagine you're a court stenographer. You'd have to write it then, because that's what was said.

 

[Sara2000Z]

Oh yes! It's my FAVOURITE thing!

No, but I do have a great deal of passion for 'natural' language, and character voice.

This character says 'cashj'. It's not my fault we don't have a way of expressing that on the page accurately.

Imagine you're a court stenographer. You'd have to write it then, because that's what was said.

Um, would this help? It's from The Internet, even though I am just as much a fan of printed books ... and in itself contains delicious words and phrases like 'thorny consonantal clusters', 'the satisfying thick buzz, the aural smear', and 'voiced palato-alveolar sibilant' (wtf).

http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_...t_cajzh_caszh_caj_cas_or_with_the_voiced.html

 

[JasonClearwater]

Um, would this help? It's from The Internet, even though I am just as much a fan of printed books ... and in itself contains delicious words and phrases like 'thorny consonantal clusters', 'the satisfying thick buzz, the aural smear', and 'voiced palato-alveolar sibilant' (wtf).

http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_...t_cajzh_caszh_caj_cas_or_with_the_voiced.html

Actually, yes, this does help. Why did cas', never occur to me? That works.

 

[SimonDoom]

I don't think there's a widely accepted way to write it. Something like "cazh" might be phonetically closest, but it looks weird. I would leave it out even though people do talk that way.

 

[FaeLissa]

the problem is the sound of the uncompleted transition to 'ual'. Isn't letters in English what makes that sound - needs the next part to identify it. Invents a new letter or use a rare symbol from Unicode to represent it?

 

[JasonClearwater]

the problem is the sound of the uncompleted transition to 'ual'. Isn't letters in English what makes that sound - needs the next part to identify it. Invents a new letter or use a rare symbol from Unicode to represent it?

I think the least interruptive [Yeah, I don't care, it's a word if I say it is] way is cas'. It lets you know more letters would have come after it. It's the most commonly used version on Urban Dictionary (sans the '). I'm liking it for the strongest contender so far.

 

[Sara2000Z]

Actually, yes, this does help. Why did cas', never occur to me? That works.

I don't think it would've occurred to me either, not 'til I saw it. Even tho' it's kind of obvious?! Glad it helped

 

[Alice_Rosaleen]

I had a similar debacle once and went with this:

"The yooszh." she deadpanned, using the abbreviation for 'usual' that her son used so often.

I think cas' should work for abbreving casual, better than us' for usual at least.

 

[JasonClearwater]

I had a similar debacle once and went with this:

"The yooszh." she deadpanned, using the abbreviation for 'usual' that her son used so often.

I think cas' should work for abbreving casual, better than us' for usual at least.

Heheh, yes, that's another tricky one.

 

[Handley_Page]

But the logical abbreviation of it doesn't read correctly.

Casual... I want to say 'cashz'. You know what I'm trying to say. Or, DO you? That's the question really.

Bloody dialogue. Cash, caz, cas... catʃdʒ...

Its pronounced "CAZ" over in England.

 

[FaeLissa]

Its pronounced "CAZ" over in England.

The English doesn't know how to English

the short form SHOULD sound like a meld of "sh" and "zz" to preserve the sounds what happens when you said the full word, but there isn't letters to make that sound. The adding of an apostrophe at the end of the short form can helps peoples what is normal English speakers (not them peoples what is from England, they talks weird) but probly won't helps non-English speakers.

EDIT: and even the sh-zz meld doesn't work. Needs a j or soft g sound in there, too.

 

[oggbashan]

As an author writing on an American site that has readers from all over the world, as evidenced by my comments and feedback...

I try to avoid any abbreviations, even in dialogue, that might not be understood outside a local context.

Many of my readers do not have English as a first language. It is hard enough for them to understand my stories in standard British English, because, as Grammarly keeps telling me, I use a wider vocabulary than 97% of Grammarly users.

Abbreviations, slang, dialect, foreign language words and phrases? They can all confuse readers.

Of course some readers are confused by English beyond a ten-year-old's ability.

 

[Hypoxia]

I try to avoid any abbreviations, even in dialogue, that might not be understood outside a local context.
...
Abbreviations, slang, dialect, foreign language words and phrases? They can all confuse readers.

When I use such nonstandard terms, I tend to include a translation:

"Que cabrón, what a bastard," she thought.​

I don't expect most readers to understand "Oh fuck yeah!" in Hopi.

Or, more subtly:

"Righteous," he said. I took that as 'yes'.​

Were I to use 'caazh' [shudder] I might do so as:

"We're going caazh tonight," he smirked.
'Caazh?" I queried.
"Yeah, don't dress up."​

It's fun to write for an in-crowd, but a bit lonely. Local references mean nothing elsewhere. Only folks of a certain time and place know that 'spad' means 'retard'.