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writercises Original Posting May 1, 2019
Writer's Digest, August 1993, pages 25-27 and 59, have an article by Michael Orlofsky talking about discreet dialect. The subtitle is "When handled poorly, dialect can demean your characters and make them into superficial stereotypes. Follow these precepts, and you'll craft dialect that'll have editors saying, 'this dog will hunt.'"Michael starts by pointing out that dialect can be problematic. Substandard English, boorish concerns, perpetuate stereotypes and don't create good dialect! Basically, we all need to be honest and careful in the characterization that dialect portrays. "I think all writers need to take dialect personally. Our challenge is implicit in all the diverse and wonderful voices and sounds we hear." Beware of the natural tendency to try to write dialect that re-creates speech patterns verbatim. All too often, this undermines the character, making them parodies or stereotypes. Simply overusing contractions, dropped letters (a.k.a. elisions) and other misspelled words really doesn't make a dialect. "The best dialogue is rarely written exactly the way it's heard."So, how do we distill dialogue and dialect to their essence? Well, dialogue must reveal personality. "My cardinal rule is this: when it comes to dialect, a little contriving goes a long way." Personality and sound often come from just one word. It's easy to read, and it can convey the character. So, how do you create dialogue that has cultural verisimilitude but dodges the stereotyping bullet, the hard to understand bullet, and the bias bullet. Try these alternatives.Euphony and rhythm. No, not you phony, the sounds! Take a look at Hemingway. Standard English, but it has a Spanish flavor. Short sentences, simple clauses, no contractions.Word choice. Sometimes ethnic, cultural, and regional groups have words that are unique, but not quite slang. Valley girl talk might be a common example. Regional usage. You're going to need context clues to help the reader understand these terms, visual descriptions, whatever.Slang. This is word choice, pushed a little bit further. It's a quick and easy way to sketch dialect. Be aware, it's dated very quickly. "Basically, slang is the substitution of a usual word or phrase with an unusual word or phrase." Or, I would've said it's substituting an unusual word or phrase for a more usual word or phrase. Take a look at Shakespeare's slang. "The trick is to avoid obviously short-lived slang and to opt for slang that so classic or entertaining that it, too, lives beyond its own time."Foreign terms. Some of the immigrants will use their own words. A single word, sometimes a translated phrase, you can use the other language.Weltanschauung. A German word for world outlook, or philosophy of life. This is probably one of the most subtle, and yet very effective, ways to portray cultural identity. How does this individual look at life differently because of their culture or society? "You probably can't learn the sensitivity and sensibility needed to understand other cultures – you're born with it. But you can cultivate what you have. Listen. Watch. Interview. Research. Read."Jargon! Groups within groups often have special words or phrases, their own jargon. Workgroups, religious groups, all kinds of groups develop their own special language. "What a character does for a living should enter into his speech and help us know him."Simile, metaphor, and colloquialism. Certain parts of a country have their own phrases. Keep track of those similes and colloquialisms when you hear them.Gestures and underlining. Dialect is not always words, sometimes it's body language. Snapping fingers, gesturing hands, and so forth. Underlining gives a word a little bit more stress, which might be just what you need to remind us that it's dialect."Each of these techniques is designed to vividly render dialect while maintaining the honesty and dignity of the character."I'm not sure that I would say he has exactly defined how you use all these, but it's an interesting collection of tools for tackling the problem of dialect. You might use it as a checklist, see whether you can use one or more of his tools. He has a lot of examples in his article, but finding the article is probably going to be kind of hard. Anyway, it's something to think about. How do you use dialect to help with characterization, and what are the writing tools to build that dialect into your dialogue?
Writer's Digest, August 1993, pages 25-27 and 59, have an article by Michael Orlofsky talking about discreet dialect. The subtitle is "When handled poorly, dialect can demean your characters and make them into superficial stereotypes. Follow these precepts, and you'll craft dialect that'll have editors saying, 'this dog will hunt.'"Michael starts by pointing out that dialect can be problematic. Substandard English, boorish concerns, perpetuate stereotypes and don't create good dialect! Basically, we all need to be honest and careful in the characterization that dialect portrays. "I think all writers need to take dialect personally. Our challenge is implicit in all the diverse and wonderful voices and sounds we hear." Beware of the natural tendency to try to write dialect that re-creates speech patterns verbatim. All too often, this undermines the character, making them parodies or stereotypes. Simply overusing contractions, dropped letters (a.k.a. elisions) and other misspelled words really doesn't make a dialect. "The best dialogue is rarely written exactly the way it's heard."So, how do we distill dialogue and dialect to their essence? Well, dialogue must reveal personality. "My cardinal rule is this: when it comes to dialect, a little contriving goes a long way." Personality and sound often come from just one word. It's easy to read, and it can convey the character. So, how do you create dialogue that has cultural verisimilitude but dodges the stereotyping bullet, the hard to understand bullet, and the bias bullet. Try these alternatives.Euphony and rhythm. No, not you phony, the sounds! Take a look at Hemingway. Standard English, but it has a Spanish flavor. Short sentences, simple clauses, no contractions.Word choice. Sometimes ethnic, cultural, and regional groups have words that are unique, but not quite slang. Valley girl talk might be a common example. Regional usage. You're going to need context clues to help the reader understand these terms, visual descriptions, whatever.Slang. This is word choice, pushed a little bit further. It's a quick and easy way to sketch dialect. Be aware, it's dated very quickly. "Basically, slang is the substitution of a usual word or phrase with an unusual word or phrase." Or, I would've said it's substituting an unusual word or phrase for a more usual word or phrase. Take a look at Shakespeare's slang. "The trick is to avoid obviously short-lived slang and to opt for slang that so classic or entertaining that it, too, lives beyond its own time."Foreign terms. Some of the immigrants will use their own words. A single word, sometimes a translated phrase, you can use the other language.Weltanschauung. A German word for world outlook, or philosophy of life. This is probably one of the most subtle, and yet very effective, ways to portray cultural identity. How does this individual look at life differently because of their culture or society? "You probably can't learn the sensitivity and sensibility needed to understand other cultures – you're born with it. But you can cultivate what you have. Listen. Watch. Interview. Research. Read."Jargon! Groups within groups often have special words or phrases, their own jargon. Workgroups, religious groups, all kinds of groups develop their own special language. "What a character does for a living should enter into his speech and help us know him."Simile, metaphor, and colloquialism. Certain parts of a country have their own phrases. Keep track of those similes and colloquialisms when you hear them.Gestures and underlining. Dialect is not always words, sometimes it's body language. Snapping fingers, gesturing hands, and so forth. Underlining gives a word a little bit more stress, which might be just what you need to remind us that it's dialect."Each of these techniques is designed to vividly render dialect while maintaining the honesty and dignity of the character."I'm not sure that I would say he has exactly defined how you use all these, but it's an interesting collection of tools for tackling the problem of dialect. You might use it as a checklist, see whether you can use one or more of his tools. He has a lot of examples in his article, but finding the article is probably going to be kind of hard. Anyway, it's something to think about. How do you use dialect to help with characterization, and what are the writing tools to build that dialect into your dialogue?