I really need help with two characters(as suggested by the title ) One is a forty something year old man from Texas, who only speaks about five sentences in the whole book. With him all I need to know is whether guys his age are likely to great two ladies with the word "Howdie" and would it be fitting if he refers to them as "lovely ladies" The other character is an Irish guy in his early thirties, who is a main characters. I really need help with Irish slang, terms of endearment, slurs, and possibly Irish misspelling(like when my Scottish friends write "A know" instead of "I know" I'll be more than grateful for any sort of help, and I wouldn't mind going private(would actually prefer it regarding the Irish character) Thanks
It's good that you're looking to get this sort of thing right. A lot of work and effort building a novel can go to waste if you misrepresent characters from a certain region, via bad representations of how they speak. Short of getting Irish/Texan people to respond on this thread—and they might—I would suggest two things: 1) If you are writing contemporary stories, see if you can find a few (a variety) of contemporary stories written by Texans or Irish people who include their own culture in the mix. See how THEY portray their language. (If you're writing about past history, do the same, but go for native authors who were writing about the period you want to represent.) 2) Write the way you think it should go now, then put portions of it up in our Workshop, asking for critique from native speakers of that form of English. A lot of how something is said changes with context. Just a word or phrase, directly translated, doesn't always float. Just an example: Here in Scotland, where I live, the phrase 'Oh, aye' is commonly said when a person is in total agreement with what the other person just said. HOWEVER it's also common to say 'Oh, aye' in a sarcastic way—meaning what the other person just said is wrong, or, more commonly, 'total shite.' (And 'shite' is not a 'polite' form of 'shit.' Shit is shit. 'Shite' is ...a total load of crap?') 'Oh aye,' said by a Scot is similar in having two meanings, as 'oh, really?' said by an American. 'Oh, really?' can mean, "Gosh, I didn't know that," but it can also mean, "I don't believe a word of it." It's a good idea to establish context whenever you're trying to get the vernacular right.
I know allot of British and Scottish people. Thus so far I wrote the Irish guy same as I would a Scottish Character(hoping for at least some similarities in the lingo) But from what I know slang, and possibly slurs, and mispronunciations(Which I would like to depict by misspelling) are completely different throughout England. Hopefully an Irish guy exist somewhere here, and will give me some pointers and feedback . The Texan is not too important, meaning I can eliminate his Texas-ness if it ever comes down to that. But the Irish mist remain Irish, which is why I am in desperate need of help, and feedback The story takes place in modern time Thailand, where the American-British(Moved from England to California as a child) protagonist meets a few characters, two of which are the Texan(Nameless), and the Irish(Connor)
I used to have so much fun back in my WoW days explaining the Brummie accent to Americans, they honestly thought I was making it up.
I once knew a guy who spoke (basic) Japanese in a broad Yorkshire accent. Most hilarious thing I've ever heard.
One thing you might try, and this parallels Jannert's suggestion, is try to find some movies made by Irish people in Ireland (as opposed to Hollywood movies, which may or may not portray real Irish accurately). Documentaries might serve the purpose well.
The Commitments https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101605/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 One of the best Irish movies I've ever watched.
Roddy Doyle and Patrick McCabe... their books are good Irish slang references (in my opinion as an American, who had to google half the words in BOTH books to understand what was going on), especially The Commitments. I also enjoy foreign films, so Disco Pigs and Once are pretty good too. I had to watch them with subtitles because, at times, their accents were so thick. But I love how beautiful they sound. One thing I did learn in my Irish Literature class is that swearing is more common there and not as taboo as it is in America. Lol, my professor, who is first generation Irish-American gave a disclaimer in the beginning of the course in saying "if you get offended easily and your ears burn at the sound 'bad words', this is not the class for you!" (went to a catholic university, so a lot of the students were religious, hence the disclaimer)
Yeah, there's allot of swearing in my book(allot from an american's point of view. Barely any from a Scottish/British one lol) Still I would much rather talk to an Irish person than try and figure it out on my own(I really want to move forward with the book and have it edited). Worse comes to worse, I'll make some adjustments, and turn him Scottish lol
I'm in Texas. Howdy and lovely ladies is pretty commonplace, I'd say. That's just saying hello and being polite. Although howdy is used less often than "good morning", "good afternoon", etc (or really "g' morning" and "afternoon").
I used to work for an Irish woman who made us all laugh because she pronounced "fuck" as "fook", as in "Ah, for fook's sake, people, get wit' the program!" Regarding Texas, using "Howdy" as a greeting is fine, and common there in some regions (Texas is large enough to have regional dialects). A Texan wouldn't (probably) say "Lovely ladies", but rather imply the "lovely" part with the look on his face and just say, "Hello ladies".
I was in Texas a couple of times visiting my dad when I was young. As I recall, most people were very friendly and charming, and they would go out of their way to say nice things, especially because me and my sister were kids. And they used phrases I hadn't heard and wouldn't expect to hear further north. Once we stopped in a steak house for lunch and a man at the next table very politely said about my sister "Well, ain't she just as purty as strawberry shortcake?" I would call it sort of elaborate rituals of politeness in that southern style.
Thanks, that helps allot. So I changed it to "Howdy ladies" (Instead of "Howdy lovely ladies") Now the only other sentence that I need help with(Regarding the Texan character) is "How can a gentleman possibly refuse such a lovely lady?" Context: a female, aged twenty-six, invites the owner(Around forty) of the bar(Empty at the time, aside from her and her sister) to join them and keep them company. Does that sound like something a Texan man would say in said situation?
I don't think he would say it in complete seriousness. It sounds like something a cheesy Texan would say if he was trying to be cute and flirt innocently.
Well that's exactly the case lol He than refuses to take her money when she reaches for her wallet. So great
That reminds me, How could I say the Commitments without mentioning one of the funniest comedies of all time. Fook? Meet Feck!
I like saying howdy. It's regional, but mostly I say it because it's funny to me. 'Ya'll' is much more likely to be said by a Texan, but not by all of them. Your Texan sounds very rustic. There are people like that, truthfully. I have a few relatives along those lines, but most urban Texans don't even have much of an accent. It's the difference between country and city. Country Texans will pull their vehicle over on the shoulder and let you pass. City Texans won't even consider such nonsense. They'll happily tailgate before passing you at ninety miles per hour. I've never seen another state where drivers pull to the shoulder and wave the faster traffic ahead. I've always liked that about Texas. Highway chivalry. You won't find any state more proud.
I've been been saying y'all, and I'm not even American lol The thing is, said character is early to mid forties, and left America a while back. He owns an American grill and bar in Thailand, and he likes being that guy from Texas, he even wears a Stetson. All I'm asking is, is it plausible for such a man, to be saying such things, without sounding like a caricature? P.S I'm shocked I have three Texans here, but zero Irish lol
