thats so true
though the way they might speack is cool a charecter them selves wont be interesting or poupular unless they have the personality and story to mach!
Mmm. And here I thought striving for consistency would be a given....
And that way, it has a lot more impact when characters do use more formal language for whatever reason.
Yeah. That was what I was after, really. And I agree; a differentiation between common and formal speech would be desirable, unless one happens to have a character who is formal all the time.
The other reason I feel this way is because not that many writers are capable of making the constant use of formal dialogue worth it for the reader.
Maybe. But I don't feel that is a reason to not use it at all. Such failure is only an indicator that the writer in question needs more experience with the nuances of the language.
Criminy. Now I'll probably have to go back and read LotR again.
Basically seconding everything Dagger said. As long as I'm not using wildly modern slang (having a character scream "OMG" would definitely take me out of things), I usually prefer to stick with more-or-less modern English, unless there's a situation in which the characters need to be formal, or a character who is very formal in general.
I was planning to post more around here... but not until school releases me from its chokehold. XD
Using particular speech patterns in dialogue can be useful, just as long as you stay consistent for each character (unless you want a character hiding their accent). It would be like Hagrid in Harry Potter, how his dialogue has distinctive shortenings and alternate spellings (*couldn't think of a better example*).
If you use modern English in a medieval setting, I doubt most would care. It has always been a "Thee, thou thine" type of time period for me, but I don't give much of a damn. I occasionally use the word "whilst"; I'm one for all types of speech patterns.
...just as long as consistency stays. If that fails, it all fails hard.
Personally, I'm a fan of using reasonably modern vernacular dialogue even in medieval (or otherwise non-contemporary) fantasy. Particularly if it takes place in another world--in that case, the fact that the story is appearing in English itself already creates a philosophical self-contradiction, so I prefer to just pretend that the story has been translated from its "original" language to clean, modern English. And that way, it has a lot more impact when characters do use more formal language for whatever reason.
The other reason I feel this way is because not that many writers are capable of making the constant use of formal dialogue worth it for the reader. It may not necessarily stop me in my tracks, unless it's truly ponderous, but I can't think of many works where it's really added anything to the story, either. Tolkien is an example of an author whose dialogue is predominantly formal, but it's also fluid and beautiful and demonstrates a lot of variety, including rougher forms of speech and dialects. So he's just skilled with dialogue in general.
I have encountered really extreme characters in stories where they speak in vernacular English. I had a terrible time trying to read them, but when I got used to reading it, it gave me an idea of pronunciations and other "grammatical errors" that peasants or common folk tend to have.
Raid Boss (Otaku Eternal) | Posted 12/09/08 | Reply
I think you're ok with "won't" and "I'm" which from what I've seen in fantasy are more common. I don't really see, well, "don't", "can't", "you're"...uh...yeah. But like SG, say consistent. You don't have to say "shan't", but keep it believable.
red kie
Otaku Eternal | Posted 12/09/08 | Reply
thats so true
though the way they might speack is cool a charecter them selves wont be interesting or poupular unless they have the personality and story to mach!
)Oo~ Black rabit ~oO(
Allamorph
Spiritus Memorae (Otaku Eternal) | Posted 12/09/08 | Reply
Mmm. And here I thought striving for consistency would be a given....
And that way, it has a lot more impact when characters do use more formal language for whatever reason.
Yeah. That was what I was after, really. And I agree; a differentiation between common and formal speech would be desirable, unless one happens to have a character who is formal all the time.
The other reason I feel this way is because not that many writers are capable of making the constant use of formal dialogue worth it for the reader.
Maybe. But I don't feel that is a reason to not use it at all. Such failure is only an indicator that the writer in question needs more experience with the nuances of the language.
Criminy. Now I'll probably have to go back and read LotR again.
NightBeck
Otaku Eternal | Posted 12/09/08 | Reply
Basically seconding everything Dagger said. As long as I'm not using wildly modern slang (having a character scream "OMG" would definitely take me out of things), I usually prefer to stick with more-or-less modern English, unless there's a situation in which the characters need to be formal, or a character who is very formal in general.
I was planning to post more around here... but not until school releases me from its chokehold. XD
Nehszriah
Hits Self With Axe (Otaku Eternal) | Posted 12/09/08 | Reply
Using particular speech patterns in dialogue can be useful, just as long as you stay consistent for each character (unless you want a character hiding their accent). It would be like Hagrid in Harry Potter, how his dialogue has distinctive shortenings and alternate spellings (*couldn't think of a better example*).
If you use modern English in a medieval setting, I doubt most would care. It has always been a "Thee, thou thine" type of time period for me, but I don't give much of a damn. I occasionally use the word "whilst"; I'm one for all types of speech patterns.
...just as long as consistency stays. If that fails, it all fails hard.
Be true, be you and of course, be otaku.
Dagger IX1
Team | Posted 12/09/08 | Reply
Personally, I'm a fan of using reasonably modern vernacular dialogue even in medieval (or otherwise non-contemporary) fantasy. Particularly if it takes place in another world--in that case, the fact that the story is appearing in English itself already creates a philosophical self-contradiction, so I prefer to just pretend that the story has been translated from its "original" language to clean, modern English. And that way, it has a lot more impact when characters do use more formal language for whatever reason.
The other reason I feel this way is because not that many writers are capable of making the constant use of formal dialogue worth it for the reader. It may not necessarily stop me in my tracks, unless it's truly ponderous, but I can't think of many works where it's really added anything to the story, either. Tolkien is an example of an author whose dialogue is predominantly formal, but it's also fluid and beautiful and demonstrates a lot of variety, including rougher forms of speech and dialects. So he's just skilled with dialogue in general.
jomz
Otaku Summoner (Otaku Eternal) | Posted 12/09/08 | Reply
I have encountered really extreme characters in stories where they speak in vernacular English. I had a terrible time trying to read them, but when I got used to reading it, it gave me an idea of pronunciations and other "grammatical errors" that peasants or common folk tend to have.
red tigress
Raid Boss (Otaku Eternal) | Posted 12/09/08 | Reply
I think you're ok with "won't" and "I'm" which from what I've seen in fantasy are more common. I don't really see, well, "don't", "can't", "you're"...uh...yeah. But like SG, say consistent. You don't have to say "shan't", but keep it believable.
Wow, that was hellaconfusing.