I'm sure that this has been done before but what do folk think about accents in writing? I often put them in but am beginning to suspect that this is about MY enjoyment rather than the readers.

Do you think that by using accents I am telling rather than showing and leaving any accents to the readers imagination? I usually imagine my character with an accent and write this. Is this making it too personal?

Please help me through my current crisis.

Love

Peter

Peter

I don't think this will help in your crisis management.

And you're right - this was discussed at some length in a forum thread some months ago - and I think the jury is still out! Ask a gaggle of writers for their view on this and you'll probably get a different response from each one.

There are no rules - apart from the rule that says there are no rules.

Personally? I avoid them, and tend to write in straight evreyday language - whatever that is! I find that as a reader attempts to translat accent and dialect to the written page only serve to confuse.

I read most of Stephen King's 'From A Buick 8' and thought that because of the way in which his dialogue was written one character was a southern-state black man. He was, in fact, of Swedish extraction (if my memory serves me correctly!).

So go with what feels right to you, but remember it's not about what you like, its about what the reader takes from what you've written

All the best

jumbo

ps what is the collective term for a group of writers?


<Added>

Okay, so some punctuation might help.

I find that, as a reader, attempts to translate accent and dialect to the written page only serve to confuse (me).

It's no better, is it! Ah well, it is very late.

Personally I find accents gimmicky, to me they distract rather than enrich.

Grinder

do you mean accent or dialect if you mean accents I agree they distract dialect on the other hand is different matter

I think the previous comment was a good 'un. Accents I think are not necessary to accentuate but a dialect is, especially if the character being portrayed is important to have that dialect. I use dialects in my work when I want the reader to feel the character rather than just read about him.If a reader gets confused trying to decipher it - or distracted - perhaps it's not written well or the reader is a bit lazy.I think its a valid tool of the writer and helps the reader to feel part of what he or she is reading.But, hey, go with your feelings.

Dave

I think you will find that increasingly in spoken English the two words 'accents' and dialects' are becoming interchangeable with very few exceptions. For example most people will say 'He has a foreign accent'.

'Accent' refers primarily to the sound of the words while 'dialect' includes more of the structure of the sentences reflecting a geographical area or region. However language is constantly changing.

As regards writing, I think it is essential with many characters to let them 'speak' with as much of the accent that will be accepted by the reader. For example 'cockney' rarely includes rhyming slang but many writers successfully introduce a few phrases to clearly establish that character. I think this is a cheap way to imitate the accent and is almost equivalent to the 'Eeee By Gum' that some writers think is spoken by everyone North of Watford. If they were to write as most cockneys speak then very few readers would be able to follow what they were saying. I guess this is true of many accents. However the challenge is to achieve the effect you want by having your characters speak 'naturally' but with an accent.

However that should not put off any writer if it is essential that the character is to be truly portrayed.

Len

Thanks for your thoughts good people of Writewords. I appreciate what you say Jumbo, accents may well serve to confuse.

I feel on the other hand that accents are dying out and kind of like the idea of 'enshrining' them in writing. My family are originally from Glasgow are and we lived in the North of England and London. I find accents enchanting and interesting.

I'm thinking that maybe I should use them sparingly in my novel and in short stories only.

Accents and dialogues are rich and colourful and should be preserved. But that doesn’t mean they should be shoved down a reader’s throat. When I’m reading I find written accents laborious and irritating. I don’t want to have to translate what I’m reading into English and I’ve been known to stop reading perfectly good novels because of the writer’s contorted attempts to write an accent.

It’s quite possible to convey the accent of a character without resorting to ‘worralorra teeth you have, grandma’ gruesomeness.

I’m working on chapter 16 of The Winter House at the moment (shameless plug #472) where the main character has a meeting with an American client. I think (hope!) I’ve give enough flavour in his dialogue to convey his nationality without spelling out his accent. ‘Gonna’ is the only nod I give to his accent and I think it works. Maybe you’ll let me know if you disagree when I upload it… please!

And it’s not necessarily correct to say that writing dialogue is easier. For instance, in Yorkshire it’s common to drop the word ‘the’ (something I’ve struggled desperately against in the fifteen years I’ve lived here!).

“Let’s go to pub.” In reality the question has a tiny beat between ‘to’ and ‘pub’ which is frequently written as ‘t’pub’ which drives me insane when I see it written. It’s another layer of stereotyping.

As writers we should be able to steer our readers into accepting a character’s accent and dialect in the same way we convey their personalities. I am Northumbrian. I could post stuff on here which would be indecipherable gibberish to most people (probably including a lot of Northumbrians because they’re not used to seeing their language written down.) but that’s not what writing is about. It’s not about preserving regional idiosyncrasies. It’s about entertainment. And if your reader has to stop what they’re reading to decipher your writing… well don’t be surprised if they pick up another book instead…

Dee

A very interesting aspect of this question is to consider writing for stage and TV work. Here it is not necessary to include 'accents' as such, but as 'dialects' will often require words to be omitted or condensed, the challenge is 'how far does one go in writing such material?'

It can be argued that all this depends upon the skills of the Producer and, of course, the actors themselves, provided a very clear character definition has been set by the Author.

However, in reality, the Author will nearly always write in such a way that makes it obvious and easy for the actors to perform but the Author never writes phonetically (which, if one is being pedantic, is the only true way to accurately 'instruct' the actors).

Len

Don't beat about the bush Dee. Just get straight to the point (joke).

No, I agree with you, the more I think about writing in accents the more I feel that I'm doing it for me rather than the reader.

Peter

Beat around the bush? How could you accuse moi of such a thing?

Actually, I’ve just been commenting on this theme in Error Brain by Nudgy. It’s a great story and I’m thoroughly enjoying it but the Geordie accent made me go YEURK!

(sorry Nudgy! I love the story – honest!)

Dee
x

No probs Dee - shoot straight from the hip!

Where's Northumbria?

Dave x

Is everyone around here intent on winding Dee up?

I hope she's having a good day (or was - up til now, that is!)

And you know what I'm like when I'm wound up, don't you Jumbles....

Yes, Miss.