Breathless In the Bush: accents

Monday, 6 July 2015

Accents: How to Write Them So Readers Hear Them

with guest blogger Alli Sinclair

If you've learnt another language, you know there is so much more than grammar to get right. There are inflections, complicated word orders, slang, rolling r's, silent t's… it can take years to master. Writers with foreign characters in their stories must not only have a good grasp on cultural differences, they need to understand the speech patterns of the nationality they're working with. It's easy enough to throw in oui or sí but most readers expect more than this.

Having learnt Spanish in Argentina, I understand the nuances of an Argentine speaking English, but you don’t need to move to a foreign country to perfect the accent you're working on; not with TV shows and movies giving us access to an array of nationalities to study.

In Luna Tango, the heroine is Australian and the hero is Argentine. My next book, Flamenco Fire, has an English heroine with a Spanish hero. His speech patterns and many of his words are different to my Argentine character—even though they both speak Spanish. It's like an Englishman speaks differently to a South African who speaks differently to an Australian.

So, how do I deal with these challenges? Bang my head against the desk? Some days I do, but that gets painful. So I resort to my network of foreign friends, immerse myself in movies or TV shows that have authentic characters from the nationality I'm writing about, and sometimes I just have a good look around YouTube.

Here's an example of how I wrote an Argentine speaking English (from 'Luna Tango'):
'Venting is cathartic, no? But please refrain from this when I am doing the teaching.’ He cleared his throat. ‘It is important for the leader to make sure the follower is feeling safe because if she does not, she will not reach a state of the meditation and this would be of great tragedy.'

You'll notice the extra 'the' and 'ing' words in this sentence. La and el (the) are used a lot in Spanish, so when my Argentine speaks English, extra 'the's' pop into his speech. And instead of saying 'this would be tragic', he says 'this would be of great tragedy'. Spanish is a beautifully poetic language so when Spanish speakers speak English they tend to use more words to say what they need to. Also, someone who doesn't have English as a first language often won't use contractions, so changing a don't to a do not can give extra authenticity. Just be careful you don't go overboard on this otherwise the character will sound like a robot!

Another thing to consider is your character's educational background. Are they now living in an English-speaking country? Someone who speaks English every day will be more fluent than someone who learnt it in a classroom in their native country. If English is their first language, where did they grow up? The UK has a wide array of accents that can affect how a character speaks.

Freaking out a little right now with so much to think about? Don't worry! There are many resources out there to help you nail the accent so beautifully that your readers will think you've channelled someone from the nationality you're writing about.

The best way to overcome the accent challenge is to research, listen, write. It may take a while to perfect but it will be worth it—your character will be more authentic and your readers will be thankful you went the extra mile.

Writers: have you ever tried writing your characters with an accent, and if so, how did you overcome the challenge?

Readers: can you recommend any authors/books that write character accents really well?

I love to love … my friends. There’s nothing better than connecting with someone who has a good heart and is fun and positive.

I love to laugh … at the crazy antics of my kids. They are an absolute joy and they love putting on performances to make people laugh.

I love to learn … of people's good news! It always makes me happy when good things happen to good people.