Writing Accents

CadmarLegend

@Agentt found a key in the skeletons.
Joined
Jan 3, 2021
Messages
1,957
Points
153
Can you put accents on characters? Like some fancy french dude who isn't able to speak in perfect english is just like "Hello! Zis is my abode!". I wonder if those types of things can work?
 

Jemini

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 27, 2019
Messages
1,897
Points
153
I don't think intentional misspellings meant to show the accents or use of ' marks to note a silent letter are good methods to use. It is just annoying. There are other ways to portray accents though. It involves studying the word-order or turns of speech that are only used in certain regions where that accent is.

Here I might give you an example of how a British person may talk. See here how now since I've given the source of the accent and then now I've also made sure to change up the words I'm using a little bit you might be able to almost even hear it if you are someone who is the type of person to be familiar with that kind of stuff. I don't think this method would work quite so well if the reader hasn't ever heard the way a real proper Brit would speak, but I'll tell you that if anyone here actually is any kind of Anglophile they can hear it quite well in their head right now.

I suppose Southern is another rather well known accent most might maybe have heard about. All ya'all probably heard someone speak Southern before, and I'd say I'm pretty sure you might be more like to recognize it in how I'm writing now rather than that British stuff up there I just spoke. Or wrote, or what not. I suppose the point is ya'all can put across the accent you want even without all those marks. All ya'all gotta do is just use the right local words like I said up there before.

Oh, right, by the way. If you ever want to do a southern accent, ya'all is singular. It refers to only one person. If ya'all are talking bout a group, you say "all ya'all."
 

Redemit

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 23, 2019
Messages
640
Points
133
I don't think intentional misspellings meant to show the accents or use of ' marks to note a silent letter are good methods to use. It is just annoying. There are other ways to portray accents though. It involves studying the word-order or turns of speech that are only used in certain regions where that accent is.

Here I might give you an example of how a British person may talk. See here how now since I've given the source of the accent and then now I've also made sure to change up the words I'm using a little bit you might be able to almost even hear it if you are someone who is the type of person to be familiar with that kind of stuff. I don't think this method would work quite so well if the reader hasn't ever heard the way a real proper Brit would speak, but I'll tell you that if anyone here actually is any kind of Anglophile they can hear it quite well in their head right now.

I suppose Southern is another rather well known accent most might maybe have heard about. All ya'all probably heard someone speak Southern before, and I'd say I'm pretty sure you might be more like to recognize it in how I'm writing now rather than that British stuff up there I just spoke. Or wrote, or what not. I suppose the point is ya'all can put across the accent you want even without all those marks. All ya'all gotta do is just use the right local words like I said up there before.

Oh, right, by the way. If you ever want to do a southern accent, ya'all is singular. It refers to only one person. If ya'all are talking bout a group, you say "all ya'all."
As a southerner I can say you're wrong y'all is for groups all y'all is just a more aggressive form of it
 

Horizon42

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 28, 2020
Messages
89
Points
58
Can you put accents on characters? Like some fancy french dude who isn't able to speak in perfect english is just like "Hello! Zis is my abode!". I wonder if those types of things can work?
Yes, but do it sparingly. Try to misspell or highlight only 1-2 words per sentence depending on the length. Too much is distracting and can be seen as bigoted by snowflakes. If you need to represent a group with certain speech patterns or any other characteristic, make characters that represent obvious exceptions to the rule. Ex: if you have a Chinese immigrant couple that speak a certain way, then have their child that was raised there, speak perfect English
I don't think intentional misspellings meant to show the accents or use of ' marks to note a silent letter are good methods to use. It is just annoying. There are other ways to portray accents though. It involves studying the word-order or turns of speech that are only used in certain regions where that accent is.

Here I might give you an example of how a British person may talk. See here how now since I've given the source of the accent and then now I've also made sure to change up the words I'm using a little bit you might be able to almost even hear it if you are someone who is the type of person to be familiar with that kind of stuff. I don't think this method would work quite so well if the reader hasn't ever heard the way a real proper Brit would speak, but I'll tell you that if anyone here actually is any kind of Anglophile they can hear it quite well in their head right now.

I suppose Southern is another rather well known accent most might maybe have heard about. All ya'all probably heard someone speak Southern before, and I'd say I'm pretty sure you might be more like to recognize it in how I'm writing now rather than that British stuff up there I just spoke. Or wrote, or what not. I suppose the point is ya'all can put across the accent you want even without all those marks. All ya'all gotta do is just use the right local words like I said up there before.

Oh, right, by the way. If you ever want to do a southern accent, ya'all is singular. It refers to only one person. If ya'all are talking bout a group, you say "all ya'all."
I heard my texan accent when you tried the British one.
 
D

Deleted member 45782

Guest
I remember reading the Eyes Were Watching God in class. The dialogue had lot misspellings (or maybe it was from another story? i don't really remember) which kinda made it weird to me at first, but it was made that way in order to capture how the characters speak in the story.

I think sometimes you could go for a few misspellings in sentences and dialogues, like words people with certain accents may mispronounce or have a hard time pronunciating it. But don't overdo it. It also depends if you want those characters to have an accent or maybe eventually they mimic or nail down that accent perfectly but sometimes their original accent comes up. Like say, a person born in a different place and country, but moved to another place and has learned to adapt and pick up the local accent, but occasionally sometimes their native accent draws up.

What you can also do is maybe sprinkle a few words or phrases their language or regional talk may use, to paint a better idea too. Like if I say mate a lot, one might assume I'm British or Australian even when I'm not XD. Y'all. Like, yknow, like...and like... Just some things some regional accents may say often too.

It helps to research a bit through reading and youtube and internet to see how people talk and stuff and it sort of helps you paint an idea how you want your character to speak like.
 
Top