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A neat tip if you want to write in dialect but can't get to Wisconsin or Jamaica or wherever. Just go to an online local radio station from your location of choice and listen to your dialect 'till the cows come home.
Wendy Shillam , Author , 04/04/13 , 53 AP
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00c36146-388e-486d-9b5d-a1960118d9a5I think the closure of libraries is really sad and dialect could potentially be a powerful tool in the campaign. Has it helped so far? I like the idea of making dialect accessible to all in the way you write it as well, as that will increase the audience and therefore make the campaign stronger, while not alienating dialect speakers, many of whom, sadly, due to the tyranny of 'correct spelling' will rarely have seen the way in which they themselves speak reflected in writing,
I also like your point of actors having access to dialogue coaches - it would be interesting to hear from actors who have performed in dialect about how they managed to get it right. I agree that reading in dialect can be hard work although in a way I think it is important that people continue to write in dialect and overcome these challenges finding ways to open it up to a broader spectrum? That way children who may feel alienated by RP or Standardised English can see the worth of the way they and their friends and families speak reflected in writing, something which might enrichen the literary environment in the future as it will encourage more young writers.
HopeWhitmore , Writer , 30/11/12 , 949 AP
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93dc9bd4-a027-4e82-bf2f-a11900ecb827I've just written a 400 word dialogue for the Wordpress 'Writers for Libraries' blog, created in parallel with the campaign to draw public attention to the decision by Newcastle City Council to close ten of the eighteen public libraries around the city.
Unsurprisingly the dialect used is Geordie, and rather than attempt to spell every word to reflect its phonetic structure, I relied upon the use of well known phrases like 'haway man', 'divvent' and 'wor lass' to help readers work out how the speech should sound. The dialogue is between a broad dialect speaker and a more 'educated' stranger who has learned to speak 'Received Pronunciation' but drops back into the use of informal speech to avoid alienating the broader dialect speaker, using words like 'mate', 'aye', 'nah' and 'mebbe'.
There's a distinction between writing for readers and writing for actors, since the latter will have access to dialogue coaches, and (hopefully) an ear for accents. The most difficult aspect is conveying accent and using dialect phrases and rhythms without making the task of reading too much hard work, which has sometimes been a criticism of Irving Welsh's work when read by people unfamiliar with the 'argot' he uses.
If you really want to go the whole hog, it can be necessary to provide notes and a glossary, especially when using dialect in poetry.
Like any other kind of writing, it's good to avoid the unnecessary, and to try to make sure that - even if readers don't understand everything straight away - the meaning is communicated quickly and clearly.
Grame , Writer , 29/11/12 , 315 AP
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