I don't think I've ever seen an author write out the accent of their characters in a way that improves the work. Almost invariably, it just makes it harder to understand what the character is supposed to be saying.
"You listen, Babylon mon," he said. "I a warrior. But this no m' fight, no Zion fight. Babylon fightin' Babylon, eatin' i'self, ya know? But Jah seh I an' I t' bring Steppin' Razor outa this."
Yeah...
As much as I love Neuromancer when I get to bits like that I just skip them.
I'm paraphrasing here but....."Who the fuck are you?"
I don't think I've ever seen an author write out the accent of their characters in a way that improves the work. Almost invariably, it just makes it harder to understand what the character is supposed to be saying.
On one hand, I don't think it's a bad thing for authors/cartoonists to acknowledge that some people pronounce words differently and use different grammatical arrangements than they do.
On the other, it makes it almost impossible for me to understand what's being written. Again, it's probably a dyslexia thing, but I have a super hard time with written thick accents. Especially when it's not something I hear frequently.
CambiataCommander ShepardThe likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered Userregular
I mean, other people can like accents written out like that. It can just be me that is annoyed by it, I'm cool with that.
But I feel like writing them out adds an additional layer of obfuscation, so that the "skill" of writing it out is just that you make what you're writing so compelling that lazy me is actually going to be willing to wade through it instead of just skipping it to play video games instead.
Peace to fashion police, I wear my heart
On my sleeve, let the runway start
Marty: The future, it's where you're going? Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Having never read Malky Dungeon before I gave it a shot, felt a pinch confused, and then read it out loud and yeah, that makes it easy peasy lemon squeezy.
stephen king does that kind of thing really well, I think, in that he mostly uses it to either emphasize regional slang (ayup) or when a character has a particularly thick accent, he'll do like, a sentence in plain english and then do a bit like "he pronounced it like this because of his accent" which gives you a little window in how that character talks while still giving you a way to understand what the hell's going on
I think Malky dungeon is more interesting to me as it is. The words seem natural enough, and it just drives home that it isn't american media. It feels patriotic? Is that the right word?
I mostly dislike the outright english code languages that pop up in paranatural though. There are just pages of super faint text, or reverse filled words, that can totally be read, but is just a mega pain to do so. There's nothing that feels authenticly alien about monsters/spirits speaking normal english, and so the obstructions don't really add anything for me.
stephen king does that kind of thing really well, I think, in that he mostly uses it to either emphasize regional slang (ayup) or when a character has a particularly thick accent, he'll do like, a sentence in plain english and then do a bit like "he pronounced it like this because of his accent" which gives you a little window in how that character talks while still giving you a way to understand what the hell's going on
A lot of British writers can suggest an accent through slang and sentence structure really well, I've found.
Having accents written out phonetically is pretty bad (with exceptions) in comics but in books it's straight up insufferable (I can't think of any exceptions offhand for books). There's no reason for Sal to have such a thick accent that it'd need to be constantly reinforced but in something like Malky or Vibe where the accents on display are explicitly super thick and it's believable for the characters to have such accents it's much more acceptable.
stephen king does that kind of thing really well, I think, in that he mostly uses it to either emphasize regional slang (ayup) or when a character has a particularly thick accent, he'll do like, a sentence in plain english and then do a bit like "he pronounced it like this because of his accent" which gives you a little window in how that character talks while still giving you a way to understand what the hell's going on
A lot of British writers can suggest an accent through slang and sentence structure really well, I've found.
Black American authors are also very good at suggesting differences in pronunciation the same way. Tonni Morrison's phenomenal at it.
I don't really want to have trouble reading something that is written out
Accent stuff in text means that 99% of the time I won't read it.
No amount of atmosphere or character makes up for the fact I'm having to mentally translate what that text is, because it always takes away from actually processing what is being said. Just isn't worth it imo.
Exceptions might be if you aren't necessarily intended to read what is being said, and the context of the conversation is provided by the other side.
It cranks up the heat a bit on the "not gonna read this" thermometer but no more than excessive walls of text or boring artwork. If you pare down the amount you actually have to read to compensate it's actually pretty tolerable.
Marty: The future, it's where you're going? Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Posts
I'm paraphrasing here but....."Who the fuck are you?"
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
@Berk does the accent thing
but he actually has an ear for the accent he's writing, plus it fits the story
definitely the exception
Twitch (I stream most days of the week)
Twitter (mean leftist discourse)
don't throw Chris Claremont into the ocean
even if it's mostly his fault
like sometimes people will write out australian accents phonetically and i'll be like, no
that's just how those words are pronounced
you don't need to write him as 'im or beer as beah, that's just what happens to those words when you say them out loud
On the other, it makes it almost impossible for me to understand what's being written. Again, it's probably a dyslexia thing, but I have a super hard time with written thick accents. Especially when it's not something I hear frequently.
But I feel like writing them out adds an additional layer of obfuscation, so that the "skill" of writing it out is just that you make what you're writing so compelling that lazy me is actually going to be willing to wade through it instead of just skipping it to play video games instead.
On my sleeve, let the runway start
I have no idea what anyone's saying in malky dungeon and basically lost track of the story right out of the gate
Malky Dungeon
Out
Loud
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
I mostly dislike the outright english code languages that pop up in paranatural though. There are just pages of super faint text, or reverse filled words, that can totally be read, but is just a mega pain to do so. There's nothing that feels authenticly alien about monsters/spirits speaking normal english, and so the obstructions don't really add anything for me.
when I was a kid I found an old edition of Uncle Remus Stories in the school library and it kind of grabbed ahold of me
and even when you do a good job, it's still not gonna work for everyone
Twitch (I stream most days of the week)
Twitter (mean leftist discourse)
A lot of British writers can suggest an accent through slang and sentence structure really well, I've found.
Black American authors are also very good at suggesting differences in pronunciation the same way. Tonni Morrison's phenomenal at it.
Accent stuff in text means that 99% of the time I won't read it.
No amount of atmosphere or character makes up for the fact I'm having to mentally translate what that text is, because it always takes away from actually processing what is being said. Just isn't worth it imo.
Exceptions might be if you aren't necessarily intended to read what is being said, and the context of the conversation is provided by the other side.
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Can't stop seeing boobs.
Edit: Its like a pamphlet for an at home breast exam.
look at it from another angle and its like she's breast feeding a purple star skulled infant. edit: With a fat ass head.
edit:
Filling out online job application is extra boring when there is no save option. Almost makes working a shitty job acceptable.
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
ye dinnae wroite in ye on accent, laddie
Malky needs the accents because that's an integral part of how it works
Willis' stuff does not
no yet
Miss ye, hen"
If you don't like the dialogue in Malky Dungeon then put on your gloves because you and I, we have to rumble
How quickly we forget the face of beauty
And, bereft its radiance, decry the virtue it reflects in ourselves
(Berk you are a beautiful creature, never stop)
set phasers te malky
Moonbeard