tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125325709844932289.post2165469522561891563..comments2023-09-07T07:16:10.305-04:00Comments on Flights of Fantasy: Speech quirksMarian Pererahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15700524210146863718noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125325709844932289.post-63849930725039268442009-04-21T17:17:00.000-04:002009-04-21T17:17:00.000-04:00I've thought a little, and I've concluded that suc...I've thought a little, and I've concluded that such speech quirks ought not to be <I>too</I> different from normal speech. Turning adjective-noun into noun-adjective while leaving the rest the same is not too difficult to understand once one recognizes the pattern, but more drastic rearrangements can be difficult to follow, like<br /><br />I a little thought have, and <I>too</I> normal speech from different be to not ought, that, I concluded have.Lorenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13984896453534621864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125325709844932289.post-9659303543860928022009-04-02T14:57:00.000-04:002009-04-02T14:57:00.000-04:00Hi writtenwyrdd,You're right about the common slan...Hi writtenwyrdd,<BR/><BR/>You're right about the common slang being better when used consistently. I was thinking more of unusual spellings like the skedule/shedule example, or of dropping h's to show a character is speaking with a French accent. <BR/><BR/>Those are unusual enough to be noticeable, whereas in something like <I>Firefly</I> I barely notice the characters' cowboy-speak ain'ts because that's something I take for granted - and so the writer can use those consistently.<BR/><BR/>Also found <A HREF="http://ljconstantine.com/column15.htm" REL="nofollow">an article</A> on the subject when browsing a fanfic site.Marian Pererahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15700524210146863718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125325709844932289.post-58462148170198676982009-04-02T12:59:00.000-04:002009-04-02T12:59:00.000-04:00"Doing this just once or twice might be more effec..."Doing this just once or twice might be more effective." I have to disagree on that point because teh reader relies on the written speech to 'hear' it, IMO. I think the best way to indicate dialect is a consistent pattern in the character's speech. if readers do know who is speaking without a tag, you've done that successfully.<BR/><BR/>I think common slang like 'ain't' and 'gonna' can be used quite successfully, in particular.writtenwyrddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02280711822302493122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125325709844932289.post-75581049181263064382009-04-02T11:11:00.000-04:002009-04-02T11:11:00.000-04:00"Scrambled syntax" of that sort can be an effectiv..."Scrambled syntax" of that sort can be an effective way of indicating that a character is foreign (with respect to whatever the "normal" language and culture is). As long as you keep the rules of word order as consistent as a real grammar, you might not even need to sprinkle made-up foreign words in.JHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07899470444492391820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125325709844932289.post-73286827382382910392009-04-02T08:38:00.000-04:002009-04-02T08:38:00.000-04:00I've been toying with a speech quirk where a chara...I've been toying with a speech quirk where a character always puts the adjective after the noun, e.g. "I'll take the dress long red and the coat white."Marian Pererahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15700524210146863718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125325709844932289.post-13703232766523526722009-04-02T08:24:00.000-04:002009-04-02T08:24:00.000-04:00Any opinion on something like Yodaspeak? That is, ...Any opinion on something like Yodaspeak? That is, verb-object-subject and object-subject-verb order instead of common orders like subject-verb-object and subject-object-verb.<BR/><BR/>This <A HREF="http://www.yodaspeak.co.uk/" REL="nofollow">Yodaspeak-generator site</A> turns<BR/>I am speaking Yodaspeak<BR/>into<BR/>Speaking Yodaspeak, I am<BR/><BR/><BR/>I was reminded of someone in certain messageboards who has posted <A HREF="http://www.heathen-hub.com/showthread.php?p=10882#post10882" REL="nofollow">this</A> about an odd affectation in certain of her posts:<BR/><BR/>Hmmm. It bes not Gollum/Smeagol though you bes not the first to thinksy. Its humanspeak bes modelled after the "pagans" in the Thief series PC games. They sound like it thinksy/feelsy so we adopts it. :D Makes translation into humanspeak easier.<BR/><BR/>You need not "buy" anything, as it bes no sellsies. It can assure you its experiential reality will continue to be precisely the same whether you accord it the same integrity and authenticity you would want accorded to yourself or not.Lorenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13984896453534621864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125325709844932289.post-18130516216203611652009-04-02T06:47:00.000-04:002009-04-02T06:47:00.000-04:00I hate, hate spelling out dialect phonetically. M...I hate, hate spelling out dialect phonetically. Mercedes Lackey did it in one of her thief books, for the main character. I was only halfway through, and I finally gave up because it was so difficult reading, and I could hardly follow the story because I didn't always understand the dialogue.<BR/><BR/>When I see a character's dialogue in all caps, I think they're shouting. When it's in italics, I tend think they're communicating telepathically!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125325709844932289.post-48724321946824932872009-04-02T05:08:00.000-04:002009-04-02T05:08:00.000-04:00Regarding accents, I think it's usually better to ...Regarding accents, I think it's usually better to make reference of it. Then the reader can simply imagine the character speaking such. Constantly using it in dialogue can be very distracting.<BR/><BR/>A few writers are quite adept at it, though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125325709844932289.post-72636449979713483052009-04-02T04:30:00.000-04:002009-04-02T04:30:00.000-04:00What about just italics?What about just italics?Marian Pererahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15700524210146863718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125325709844932289.post-13598763574665716972009-04-02T02:49:00.000-04:002009-04-02T02:49:00.000-04:00Sometimes you need asterisks or something besides ...Sometimes you need asterisks or something besides quotes to distinguish telepathy from ordinary speech.Tara Mayahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09095632631554776002noreply@blogger.com