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I received a criticism of sorts a while ago because I apparently used words that did not fit within the North American experience. Of course, the world is a larger place....but I am at the moment trying to write a very different idiom, that of Geordie. I have been trawling through youtube to find some examples, so I hope this helps. One thing I did find was a whole series of videos by a voice coach, but the one he did for geordie was actually, er, crap. So...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNMbbo5je_0&feature=related
Comments
Tell your critics to "eat cake".
Yes, we do have some language experts here whose attitude seems somewhat like the Mutaween (religious police)of Saudi Arabia. I'd not let them get to you. I try to write like a woman from Worcester, but I am one of those damn colonists from the Northwest of what is now called Oregon, in the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Colony, so, I've not got a proper accent do I?
I've worked very hard to learn the Queen's English, but I seem to have made quite a muck of it. Full Stop.
I do think that your clips are quite entertaining, don't I.
Much peace
Gwendolyn
I understand...
I understand the concern... I'm writing a story that takes place in the UK... And, in early episodes (despite having an editor in from the UK) I was strongly criticized for having my UK natives sounding like they were from the USA... I added a second UK editor and the criticisms ended (probably because the individual gave up on my story).
I dunno... It's very easy to criticize... And, it seems that it doesn't matter how much effort one puts into things, someone can take exception to it. Even saying "North American" leaves you WAY open to criticism about dialect - speakers from some areas of the US are all but unintelligible to some other areas and they all claim to speak English.
Best luck to you in your endeavor.
Anne
When The Boat Comes In
Many years ago there was an English TV series of that name starring James Bolam (I think) which chronicled the adventures of a Geordie family and purported to have the characters speaking Geordie. How the real Geordies must have laughed at the way their dialect was watered down so that all those effete Southerners could understand them.
I know I would have been totally lost if they had spoken like the men in the YouTube clips, but I did like the show,
Joanne
Tyneside
There was outcry a while ago when news reports from a certain crime-ridden housing estate put subtitles in English for the locals!
The first video is laying it
The first video is laying it on a tad thick there though. I come from a city disturbingly close to Newcastle so if you want someone to check things against feel free. Can't guarantee how good I'll be at it though :-)