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Topic : Re: Introduce new English dialect I'm willing to introduce a new character who speaks a different English - he uses all the words with -ed in the past and past perfect tenses and he doesn't use - selfpublishingguru.com

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That's normal and perfectly fine

You might want to make other characters or the narrator remark about his accent if it's well-known. For example by adding a line like Ah, I take it you're from Tarehy? Say, you wouldn't happen to know anything about [important plot device]?

If it's not a well-known accent in your world you might want to let the character remark about his weird way of speaking or allude to this being similar to, but distinct from, a certain accent.

That way it feel normal for the reader. They will understand how to judge this character and his way of talking, just like your existing characters will know what to make of this weird speaking new character.

The reader might feel awkward once or twice, but then they will get used to it. It's an important characteristic of this... character and it's not like this is so different from normal English that your readers would need any explanation as to what the new character is saying.

If you were introducing something that was so difficult to read that your readers will be annoyed you might want to think it over again. Or use it very sparsely. Maybe let one of the characters translate or your narrator skipping to the confused faces of all that are currently present while the new character is talking near-gibberish.

As a little annecdote to help you judge how others may perceive this character: to me it reads like a dwarf from a fantasy setting (I am a huge fantasy fan). Or maybe a farmer in some remote area in the middle ages (think The Witcher).


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