Character Dialects too much Characterization?

Use this forum to discuss the November 2019 Book of the month, "Deadly Waters: The Vietnam Naval War And Its Aftermath", by Randy Miller.
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Re: Character Dialects too much Characterization?

Post by KitabuKizuri »

I enjoyed all the accents very much.
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Post by La Cabra »

You've raised a great point, Lyore. I do like it when authors include such spellings to illustrate dialects and accents, but off sometimes, like you said, I have trouble understanding what the characters are even saying. I think JK Rowling did it very well in her Harry Potter, where very few character talks funny, but her spellings never confused me.
In this book, the funy spellings are introduced right from the start. If nothing else, they do make the characters stand out!
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Post by Kanda_theGreat »

The use of slang by characters added some aesthetic beauty to the text and gave it a sense of origininality. I however disliked the fact that I had to repeatedly read some sentences to decipher their artistic meaning. The author's choice of specific slang and dialect for certain characters not only helped in placing the text at its immediate context, but also aided readers in distinguishing between different characters.
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Post by Nikolas Farmakis »

I think the character dialects make the book difficult to read. I did not even understand some words that the author wrote with a dialect.
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Post by Nikolas Farmakis »

I think that authors should not include too many characters dialects, because it spoils the flow of the story, making the book hard to read and understand.
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Post by fictaddict »

I like a little dialect, especially when on character notices another character has a regional phrasing or word choice. But I can't deal with a whole novel in dialect, we have standardized English spelling so readers don't have to sound out and guess what the author means.
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Post by randy6175 »

Nickolas Farmakis wrote: 23 Dec 2019, 07:44 I think the character dialects make the book difficult to read. I did not even understand some words that the author wrote with a dialect.
That's why there is a glossary in the back.
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Post by hmorgan90 »

At first, I found it to be a little annoying and it slowed my reading down a lot. It was hard for me to get into the book. When the conversation had a non-accented speaker, I found it easier to read and understand. I had the context to help me out.
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Post by Cwaganagwa Dorothy »

Yes, I think the writer should have specified especially if the dialect had more than one sentence. " Ovah" is one of the words that gave me a hard time bridging it with the rest of the story. I also wonder if some of the grammars mistakes where faults or intents.
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Post by Saraion »

I enjoyed the dialects written in the book. Although it sounds a bit difficult to read with these dialects, it does give a real sense of humor to the human being.
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Post by dhwanis »

While I think adding dialects is good to the story as it adds to the authenticity. However, if it is too much it tends to turn me off as it becomes hard to read, especially for someone who is not fimiliar with the dialect.
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Post by Gathoni1991 »

Dialects helps with the story being credible. The characters become well fleshed out and sound real.
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Post by randy6175 »

CYSON DOROPH wrote: 11 Jan 2020, 22:15 Yes, I think the writer should have specified especially if the dialect had more than one sentence. " Ovah" is one of the words that gave me a hard time bridging it with the rest of the story. I also wonder if some of the grammars mistakes where faults or intents.
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Post by Jyockel08 »

I struggle with dialect sometimes, but I’d rather think about what they are saying, rather then be confused on whom is speaking because all the characters sound exactly the same.
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Post by Cwaganagwa Dorothy »

randy6175 wrote: 21 Jan 2020, 16:18
CYSON DOROPH wrote: 11 Jan 2020, 22:15 Yes, I think the writer should have specified especially if the dialect had more than one sentence. " Ovah" is one of the words that gave me a hard time bridging it with the rest of the story. I also wonder if some of the grammars mistakes were faults or intents.
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