: Re: How can you make up a convincing dialect? I often need to introduce one, if not several, made up dialects. We're talking about fictional worldbuilding: so any real world dialect is ruled out.

@Dunderdale623

Vote Up Vote Down

This is a difficult conundrum. Some sounds and ways of pronunciation are simply not made for paper. For example, the dragging of the vocal on the end of a word is impossible to onomatopoetically convey. You cannot write "wooord", that can be very misleading, takes the reader out of the reading and just looks goofy. Unless you're writing an absurd, goody comedy, then this is not an option.
So what is the alternative? Illustrate the language. Take this example:

"Never have I seen a man like you".
The vocals of his words stretched out like a river in the fields, bending and breaking along the way.

This is a comparison, a metaphor would work just as well (if not better). Note how I am no actually explaining how he pronounces the words, I am explaining the nature of the river, who I have claimed to be the same.
This is a more colorful way of explaining the quirks of someone's dialect, instead of just straight up saying "he dragged on the vocals, often converting them into diphthongs". And writing that way would also make it sound like a linguistics lesson, and perhaps even leave the reader completely lost on what was described, due to a lack of knowledge in linguistical terminology.
So instead of writing every quirk of their dialect in the dialogue, describe it. But, there are a few exceptions.
Take the Irish accent for example. Whenever I write people with an Irish dialect, I do feature some quirks of that accent, but I don't go full pseudo-phonetic transcription. Here's an example.

"Get yer halfwit bum over her'e ye bloodie pollock!"

Sorry if that wasn't accurate, but it shows the point. Quite recognizable is the use of "yer" instead of "your" and "you're".
With a made up dialect, you loose a lot of the recognizability, but a lot of altered words are understandable, given context and a consistent phonetic alteration. That's important, when creating your dialect, create a pattern. Readers are smart, they'll catch up quickly on the traits of the dialect, just as we do in real-life. And the consistency is essential in making it believable and convincing, and giving it an actual tone. Is it a rugged language/dialect of savage people, or is it a delicate language/dialect of highborns?
Good luck. I recommend looking at phonetic tables, and what sounds are used by different dialects within the English language, and find out how you want to transcribe them.

(0)

Login to post a comment!