How to write accent?

[ModernGold7ne]

I don't know if there is a thread for this, so I just made one.
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So... when people talk, they talk with an accent - obviously - even if they came from the same region, the way they talk will always be slightly different. Heck, even my brother sounds different when he spoke, like seriously why does he speaks like that!? So my question is, how do you translate that into words? How did you guys make it that these two different characters are different when they speak? because sometimes when I write dialog, it feels like they are just the same person, just back and forward.
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So ... help!

Write the way you want them to sound, just make sure there's clarity.
You're overthinking it, Ai-chan gave a good example.

 

[JayDirex]

@Schultz_von

If a character has an accent. You can let the reader know that the character has an accent by having the MC notice a sample of it. And then you can write out a sample of it. But then you stop after that. Just go back to normal English.

For example:

Kathy noticed Jill's Texas drawl when she introduced herself. When Jill said, 'I'm from West Texas,' it sounded more like 'Ahm frum wes tec-sis.'

So now that you've introduced that to the reader you don't have to continue writing out their accent. Reader now knows they have one

 

[Jemini]

Use colloquialisms and dialect slang as much as possible. Try to avoid just adding a bunch of apostrophes everywhere.

Yes, yes, and all the yes.

I was actually going to give this exact advice.

Examples.

You'd have to be a complete plunker to go adding apostrophes all over the place and call that an accent. All you really gotta do is just go right ahead and use words like the locals would, right? That's all you gotta do. Just speak like the people would!

Aw don't just go using apostrophes all over the place and call that an accent. I'll tell ya what you can do. Just use the words people round here use and you'll be doing just fine.

I was going to also try my hand at Canadian and New Zeland accents (NZ accent is what Crocodile Dundee used, giving everyone the false impression that was the Australian accent.) But, I found as I was trying it that I'm not all that good with those two. So, you'll just have to be happy with these two examples.

 

[Schultz_von]

Yup, thanks for the tips guys, I get the gist of it.

 

[Deleted member 70892]

I don't know if there is a thread for this, so I just made one.
...
So... when people talk, they talk with an accent - obviously - even if they came from the same region, the way they talk will always be slightly different. Heck, even my brother sounds different when he spoke, like seriously why does he speaks like that!? So my question is, how do you translate that into words? How did you guys make it that these two different characters are different when they speak? because sometimes when I write dialog, it feels like they are just the same person, just back and forward.
...
So ... help!

Make the difference in accents with the " ' " symbol in their words. IDK much, you can read some of the stories which have distinctive accents inside it.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Actually, I wasn't kidding about the use of fonts to indicate accent, however, it is far better to use it as an indication of emotion. I;ve seen it used in a story that way, where the author switched between various fonts to indicate the emotional state of the speaker. You know that font that looks all Lovecraftian? He used that when the speaker was possessed, and he had a very square and angular font for when they were speaking without emotion. Comic sans for when they were being sarcastic.

The story was shit, mind you, but the concept was well exicuted.

However, back to the topic of accents itself.

When writing actually conversations, in writing, it is an acceptable convention to write in ways that people would never actually speak. We condense conversations down to the essence and skip chatter. Most people when speaking have a lot of Umms... Ahhs... Mmm.. ehhs... Most people actually, if you translated the speech directly would use ellipses constantly, or use pronouns ALL THE TIME. We know what the conversation is about when we talk, but the reader doesn't. So we throw in proper nouns all the time in the story and focus on the important part because, well,

Brevity is the soul of wit.

Here's how you handle accents

FIrst, write out the types of accents you want. I have in HKN three accents. The kindon of Eirin, Lyonesse, and the MC's accent because he's American. You know what his accent consists of?

A'rite.

That's it. THAT is the only word I use to show he has an accent.

Lyonsess speaks normally, but they all speak proper. I avoid the use of contractions. Well, the nobles, at least.

Eirin speaks with contractions and I often leave off the first part of certain words. Because becomes 'Cause. That sort of thing.

What is important is what WORDS you use. Turns of phrase. 'Stop standing there with all your teeth in your mouth.' or 'No room to swing a cat' Take certain phrases and designate them as ONLY for certain types of language. Also, People in Lyoneses refer to commoners are boy or girl, regardless of age. In Eirin, it is Lad and Lass.

By refusing to use certain words for people based on their origin and having them use certain phrases, you don't NEED to type in an accent. You can then just make sure you have one or two odd ball words as well when denoting a lower class person from the upper class. Here becomes Har. What? becomes Wut? Hound Becomes Hoon'd.

When you go overboard, it becomes difficult for the average reader to figure it out, especially if you are dealing with someone who doesn't have english as a native language. However, if you just have a FEW altered words here or there, scatter them about and are very careful to make sure you remember that Hoon'd is only said by mouth breathing peasants, and you stick to accents for only the outlying dialog, you can use it to make certain characters distinct.

If you do it well, you can actually have people talk without ever having to put down, BOB SAYS, "xxx". People will know only Bob says, "A'rite".

 

[AstraChroma]

I don't know if there is a thread for this, so I just made one.
...
So... when people talk, they talk with an accent - obviously - even if they came from the same region, the way they talk will always be slightly different. Heck, even my brother sounds different when he spoke, like seriously why does he speaks like that!? So my question is, how do you translate that into words? How did you guys make it that these two different characters are different when they speak? because sometimes when I write dialog, it feels like they are just the same person, just back and forward.
...
So ... help!

You don't have to do things this way, but for me, if I wanted to make my characters' dialogue more distinct, I would try to change the words they use. However, for characters who have a similar social standing, it makes less sense to distinguish them in that way. If a character is from a foreign or notable place, then I would find it reasonable to point out their accent and remind the reader through narration. Another thing I can think of is to give certain characters pet phrases that they use recurringly in the story. But I can imagine that overdoing it would be bad for readers.

This last part might be a little contrary to your query. I know you want to make character dialogue more distinct, but I thought it would be a good idea for me to mention character development. If you do a good job presenting your characters in the story, then that helps distinguish them some already, especially if you make it obvious which character is talking. Anyway, I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to call attention to different manners of speaking. I hope you find a way that works you.