Accent & dialect HUH!?!?!?!

New York City

Everyone has an accent & a dialect!  If you went to Georgia, you would sound funny to them!

Accent & dialect in books  Authors help readers ‘hear’ characters’ accents in the way they write the dialogue.  Dobby from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:  “Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, sir. They lets Dobby get on with it, sir. Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments …”  Authors help readers ‘hear’ characters’ accents in the way they write the dialogue.  Dobby from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:  “Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, sir. They lets Dobby get on with it, sir. Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments …”

Accent & dialect in books  Authors help readers ‘hear’ characters’ accents in the way they write the dialogue.  Hagrid from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:  “I’m on’y jokin’.” … “I knew yeh hadn’t really. I told Lockhart yeh didn’ need teh. Yer more famous than him without tryin’.”  Authors help readers ‘hear’ characters’ accents in the way they write the dialogue.  Hagrid from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:  “I’m on’y jokin’.” … “I knew yeh hadn’t really. I told Lockhart yeh didn’ need teh. Yer more famous than him without tryin’.”

You try:  How would you make the reader ‘hear’ how this character talks?

Across Five Aprils  Many of the characters in Across Five Aprils have accents and dialects that Irene Hunt, the author, has helped us to ‘hear’ by carefully writing their dialogue.