Language Advice - Writers Forum

skywalker21 · 06-28-2008, 09:44 AM

Language is hard to mock of different cultures. Most asian cultures will spoke a broken English.
In most European cultures way back it was a Germanic tongue which is close to what Middle English was.
Middle English - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reading things in these accents can be hard to understand so what I need to know is how to make characters sound their culture.

Ilasir Maroa · 06-28-2008, 12:06 PM

First suggestion, stick with the standard font and color please.

Then, be clear and specific in your questions. Is english just an example you are using? What does middle english have to do with this request? Why do you need to "make characters sound their culture"? The answer to that question will suggest to responders what method would be most appropriate.

Sam Winchester · 06-28-2008, 01:49 PM

Yeah, I second Ilasir. I can hardly read that. Plus the fact that your question really doesn't clear up what you want to know. Are you asking how to make your characters sound like Middle English people, Germanic, or what?

skywalker21 · 06-28-2008, 08:17 PM

Yeah that is what I am asking. How do you make them sound Celtic?

Ilasir Maroa · 06-28-2008, 09:19 PM

Germanic and Celtic are two very different branches of the Indo-European language family. Also, for Celtic, you could be speaking of Welsh, Gaelic, or any of several other languages belonging to the various Celtic families. Germanic languages could be English, German, Dutch, Norse, Gothic...etc.

Can we be a little more specific?

skywalker21 · 06-30-2008, 09:51 AM

My main character Mitsukai is from Japan and she is going to Scotland 1533 and I need to know the diolect of that time. How do you make her sound Japanese and how do you make her lover sound Scottish?
The story is pure fantasy so it might be out there for some.

Cran · 06-30-2008, 10:03 AM

why would you need to know the dialect of 16th century Scotland?
nobody would understand it -
not even the Scots, unless they were students of history ...

it's easy enough to find a glossary of Scots-English terms;
it's common enough to alter spelling to reflect a spoken accent ...

the main things to watch (for both characters) are how they structure
their phrases, and to avoid anachronisms ...

Foxee · 06-30-2008, 10:09 AM

I have a suggestion. Rather than trying to write a dialect that you cannot accurately 'hear' in your inner ear, do the research into what the dialect was like then mention that someone spoke that way, throwing in a few details from your research. For instance you might write something like, "Gerald spoke in a Masimusian accent with its thickened consonants and swallowed vowels." Or something to that effect. Then just write the dialogue in whatever language you're writing and let the reader mentally supply the accent.

skywalker21 · 06-30-2008, 10:15 AM

Thank you that is very helpful. I understand what you are saying.