英语语法：215 Writing Accents and Dialects

Grammar Girl here. Today's topic is how hit the right tone when you give characters accents and dialects.

Guest-writer Charles Carson writes,

To flavor a novel and provide authenticity², authors often use dialect in their written dialogue. But the use of dialect in writing is tricky³, and if you don't use care and sensitivity, it may backfire. It may say more about the author and his or her assumptions than about the characters, or it may distract readers to the point that what is being said is overshadowed by how it's being said.

First, let's talk about the difference between accent and dialect. When we talk about a person's accent, we're referring to how they pronounce words. So when Eliza Doolittle sings, "Just you wait, 'enry 'iggins! Just you wait!" she is using standard English with a Cockney accent. Accents are caused by interference from one's native language, as with Arnold Schwarzenegger, who speaks with an Austrian accent, or by interference from one's native dialect, as with Holly⁴ Hunter, who speaks with a Georgian accent. Both speak accented standard American English.

Accents In Writing

When writing for a character with an accent, it is tempting⁵ to render the character's speech phonetically⁷ using nonstandard spellings. However, this practice is risky⁸ and should be avoided, unless you specifically want to emphasize how a character speaks. First, there's the question of how accurate to be. The more accurate the phonetic⁶ spelling, the more frustrating⁹ it will be to read. Most adults read word by word, not sounding words out letter by letter, so forcing adults to sound out nonstandard phonetic spellings would slow readers down, potentially irritating them, and thus distract them from the actual story. Second, if you decide to render one character's speech phonetically, what about that of the others? In Gone With The Wind, Margaret Mitchell uses nonstandard spellings for the speech of blacks while using standard spelling for whites even though the speech of both groups is phonetically very similar. Earl Conrad argues that Mitchell is typical of white Southern writers of her day who employed dialect to reinforce the erroneous belief that blacks are inferior--that their speech is so bad it can’t even be spelled properly.(1) Finally, don't use nonstandard spellings for common pronunciations, such as gonna, g-o-n-n-a, and gotcha, g-o-t-c-h-a. These pronunciations are present in all dialect of English, so there's no need to distract the reader by drawing attention to them.

The other option for communicating a character's accent to readers, which I recommend, is to use standard spelling along with a description the character's speech in the text introducing the character. One might write, "Her roots in the South were evident in her slow, melodious¹⁰ speech," while using standard spelling when writing out her speech. This method is much easier for the reader and avoids inadvertently stigmatizing¹¹ a character.

Dialects In Writing

Dialect is about what words are used, how they're pronounced, and how sentences are put together. For example, use of the word pop to mean a carbonated drink is characteristic of the Midwest dialect, the fact that cot and caught are pronounced the same is characteristic of Utah speech, and use of the construction might could in sentences like We might could meet for lunch next week is a feature in the South. Standard American English is itself just another dialect.

Nonstandard Grammar

When writing for a character who speaks a nonstandard dialect, in addition to dealing¹² with the spelling question, you have to be sure to get the grammar right. The phrase nonstandard grammar may sound like an oxymoron, but nonstandard varieties of English are also governed by rules. After all, for communication to happen, there must be collectively agreed upon rules underlying¹³ all language.

The majority of grammar rules for someone's native dialect, whether standard English or a nonstandard variety, aren't taught in school; instead, they are formulated¹⁴ unconsciously at a very early age based on patterns in the surrounding speech.* Even before children start school, they are able to form complete sentences; they use suffixes¹⁵ to make nouns plural¹⁶ and to make verbs past tense; they invert¹⁷ word order to form questions; and they negate¹⁸ sentences with no and not. And, while we might not be consciously aware of all of these rules and can't explain why a sentence "sounds wrong," we still recognize a grammatical error.†

Authentic¹ Dialect

The same is true for speakers of nonstandard dialect. If an author writes dialect dialogue that violates the internal rules, at best the character will sound inauthentic, at worst the writer will be criticized for stereotyping¹⁹ or presenting a caricature. For example, speakers of African American English add the word be before a verb to indicate that the action is habitual²⁰ or ongoing²¹. The sentence He be sleeping on the couch means 'he sleeps on the couch on a regular basis', while He sleeping on the couch mean 'he's sleeping on the couch now.' People trying to imitate African American English in speech and writing often overuse this grammatical form, which linguists²² call "habitual be." Instead, they insert it in front of verbs throughout without realizing their mistake.

To sum up, if you’re going to write in dialect, make sure you know the rules of that dialect so you don’t insult your readers and be conscious of how nonstandard spelling and dialect might influence your readers’ opinions of your characters and of you as the writer.

Guest Writer, Charles Carson

Also, thanks again to Charles Carson, managing editor of the journal American Speech, for guest writing today's episode.

Contact

Finally please send your questions to.....or call them in to the voicemail line at 206-338-GIRL. We also have three relatively²³ new shows at Quick and Dirty Tips: The Sales Guy, The Small Biz Tech Girl, and Make-It-Green Girl. Check them out if you haven't already.

That's all. Thanks for listening.

 

1 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

2 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

3 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

4 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

5 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

6 phonetic   

adj.语言的，语言上的，表示语音的

参考例句：

• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。
• English phonetic teaching is an important teaching step in elementary stages.语音教学是英语基础阶段重要的教学环节。

7 phonetically   

按照发音地，语音学上

参考例句：

• In actual speech, a phoneme is realized phonetically as a certain phone. 在实际会话中，音位总是以某个音素的形式得以体现出来。
• Though phonetically alike, they are written with different ideographs. 虽然语音相同，它们的书写却不同。

8 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

9 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 melodious   

adj.旋律美妙的，调子优美的，音乐性的

参考例句：

• She spoke in a quietly melodious voice.她说话轻声细语，嗓音甜美。
• Everybody was attracted by her melodious voice.大家都被她悦耳的声音吸引住了。

11 stigmatizing   

v.使受耻辱，指责，污辱( stigmatize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Laing regards the concept of mental illness as both unscientific and stigmatizing. 菜恩认为精神病的概念是不科学的和诬蔑性的。 来自辞典例句
• The existing social benefits are considered to be stigmatizing and repressive. 现存的社会福利被指责为是无价值的、残暴的。 来自互联网

12 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

13 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

14 formulated   

v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示

参考例句：

• He claims that the writer never consciously formulated his own theoretical position. 他声称该作家从未有意识地阐明他自己的理论见解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This idea can be formulated in two different ways. 这个意思可以有两种说法。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 suffixes   

n.后缀，词尾( suffix的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many domain name suffixes have failed to gain general popularity. 很多域名后缀没有获得一般的通用性。 来自互联网
• For example, consider the use of prefixes and suffixes. 例如，那前缀和后缀的使用来说。 来自互联网

16 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

17 invert   

vt.使反转，使颠倒，使转化

参考例句：

• She catch the insect by invert her cup over it.她把杯子倒扣在昆虫上，将它逮住了。
• Invert the cake onto a cooling rack.把蛋糕倒扣在冷却架上。

18 negate   

vt.否定，否认；取消，使无效

参考例句：

• Our actions often negate our principles.我们的行为时常与我们所信奉的原则背道而弛。
• Mass advertising could negate the classical theory of supply and demand.大宗广告可以否定古典经济学的供求理论。

19 stereotyping   

v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I realize that I'm stereotyping. 我认识到我搞的是老一套。 来自辞典例句
• There is none of the gender stereotyping usually evident in school uniforms. 有没有人的性别刻板印象通常是显而易见的。 来自互联网

20 habitual   

adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的

参考例句：

• He is a habitual criminal.他是一个惯犯。
• They are habitual visitors to our house.他们是我家的常客。

21 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

22 linguists   

n.通晓数国语言的人( linguist的名词复数 )；语言学家

参考例句：

• The linguists went to study tribal languages in the field. 语言学家们去实地研究部落语言了。 来自辞典例句
• The linguists' main interest has been to analyze and describe languages. 语言学家的主要兴趣一直在于分析并描述语言。 来自辞典例句

23 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。