Hi everyone, Enunciation in dialouge has always been an iffy subject for me, so I'm asking once and for all, is it appropriate to use poor enunciation in dialouge? example: 'Where do ya wanna eat tonight?' 'Where do you want to eat tonight?' I know when writing dialouge you're supposed to keep it as real as possible and clear, but can this be appropriate? At the moment I have three characters between the ages of 20-23 and using this type of language would be common.They wouldn't over do it by enunciating poorly every time they speak but it's part of who they are. Any clarity on the matter would be appriciated :redface: Thanks!
do or d'ya 'Where dooo ya wanna eat tonight', seems to fall between two stalls. I suppose if you are going to write in dialect then you have to read it aloud first. 'Where d'ya wanna eat tonight', flows easier.
Second this ^ . Also, just give enough to let the reader have an idea about the speech, don't try and write every word as it sounds. BTW--enunciation = how clearly a person speaks. You mean pronunciation = the way the person says the words, e.g. what accent they have, if they aspirate the 'h' in 'white', etc.
Avoid phonetic dialogue. Some forms are common enough they are recognizable as words anyway -- ya gonna would qualify -- but mostly phonetic speech just breaks the flow of the dialogue. The reader has to sound out each word instead of recognizing it as a whole word pattern.
Agreed. And before everyone starts posting, "But, hey! In this one book I saw it all over the place, and in this other book..." There are exceptions to every rule. And think about how often you actually see phonetic dialogue compared to standard spelling. It is the exception. The exception should not become the rule. Again, I will tout out my usual advice: Remember to whom you are writing. The odd sprinkling of these kinds of things is well enough, but when the Geordie picks up your book and has to wade through the phonetics of American Brooklynese dialect, frustration is going to set in within three lines, and the average American is going to be completely perplexed at what is meant by bruvuh if/when the character in the story is from certain parts of London.
I am new here and just starting off, but with regards to writing and people reading almost everyone I know reads quickly. And that comes down to word recognition more than anything. Reminds me of that joke email going around that had a few sentences where the only letters in the correct place were the first and last letters and everything inbetween was out of order. However, your brain still recognizes the words. Again, not knowing a thing, I would still say better to use actual words.
Thanks for all your advice it has helped a lot . In response though I’d only be using a couple of ya's, wanna's, whaddya's etc here and there just because I believe it would suite my character/s. Just like we say them occasionally in a conversation. Thanks again,
