George Bernard Shaw once wrote:
England and America are two countries separated by the same language.
But it’s not only England and America – there are numerous English-speaking countries separated by the same language. In fact, there are different parts of English-speaking countries likewise afflicted.
In general, I find the differences in the use of language fascinating. I’m sure by now the internet has taught everyone that the idea of ironing one’s pants has different meanings in the UK and the US. The differences in the way we use everyday words is one of the more interesting aspects of talking with people from around the world.
When it comes to writing fiction, however, these differences take on a much greater importance than mild amusement over using the phrase “fanny pack” in the wrong setting.
Know Your Character
As an Australian, it’s incredibly frustrating to read a book where an Australian character is reduced to a caricature of himself by the over-use, and incorrect use, of slang. I’ve come across Australian characters who seem to have eaten a Dictionary of Australian Slang for breakfast, and then vomited it all over the page.
Not every real-life Australian speaks like Crocodile Dundee or Steve Irwin. In fact, most Australians – particularly those who live in cities – regard them with a certain degree of cultural cringe.
While I arrange to meet a friend for a late brekky in the early arvo, before popping in to the servo and the bottle-o on the way home, I’m not going to call her “cobber” in the process, and nor am I going to exclaim “Crikey!” at the first provocation.
If you’re writing an Australian character, you need to know how Australians speak. You need to understand the way Australians use slang, and the differences between Australian and American everyday conversation.
The same obviously goes for writing a character from any other country. I have it on good authority that not every Canadian begins a conversation by asking about the hockey, and most people from Ireland don’t say, “Top o’ the morning” to everyone they pass.
This goes beyond not using dialect, and straight to the heart of knowing your character – knowing how she speaks and thinks.
But… how?
The question, of course, is how do you do that? How do you learn how to write a character authentically if they come from a different part of the world to you?
It’s not impossible. In fact, I’ve seen it done incredibly well. But there is some extra work required.
- Get to know people from the country in question. Talk to them. Not about your novel, but about life. Pay attention to the way they phrase sentences, and the way they structure their thoughts, as well as to the specific words they use.
- Or use YouTube. One of the advantages to the wave of YouTube bloggers is that you can find YouTubers from just about every country on Earth, talking about everyday things. Watch videos made by people from your character’s country – inane unboxing videos, or vlogs about their lives are best if you want to pick up everyday language.
- Reach out to the Writer Unboxed community. One of the great things about WU is that we have a community full of people from all over the world. You may find someone who is willing to read over what you’ve written, and help you get the dialogue just right.
In the end, it’s not that different to researching the language used in Historical Fiction. Much as a 16th century noblewoman isn’t going to talk about how “lit” last night’s ball was, an Australian isn’t going to complain about AT&T – or even the coverage on their cellphone. (We may, however, complain about the reception on our mobile.)
Know Your Audience
It’s important to note, however, that unless your narrator is from a different country than yourself, I’m solely referring here to dialogue. And even then, you have to find the balance between using authentic slang and making the dialogue understandable for your audience.
I was recently helping a friend out with some dialogue in his latest novel, and we had to draw the line at using the slang phrase: “Yeah, nah.” While that’s a phrase I use quite often, it’s something that may be jarring for his predominantly American audience.
It’s Not Just Countries…
Of course, the same applies for smaller regional areas as well.
If I was to have a character say, “Why don’t y’all come inside for some sweet tea?”, it would likely feel a little jarring if I want on to explain that she’s from Detroit.
Even as an outsider, I know that there are regional variations in the way Americans speak – and that, as a writer, it’s important for me to know where in the USA my characters come from.
The same is true of other countries as well. Someone raised in Brisbane will use language significantly differently to someone raised in Melbourne. And I’m positive that the same is true of people from Montreal and Vancouver.
Do Your Research
At the end of the day, regardless of whether you’re writing a novel set in 17th century Britain or modern-day British Columbia, it’s important to get your dialogue right.
Don’t turn your characters into caricatures.
How do you go about making sure your characters speak authentically? Have you ever come across cringe-worthy dialogue from a character who is supposed to live in your region of the world?
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About Jo Eberhardt
Jo Eberhardt is a writer of speculative fiction, mother to two adorable boys, and lover of words and stories. She lives in rural Queensland, Australia, and spends her non-writing time worrying that the neighbor's cows will one day succeed in sneaking into her yard and eating everything in her veggie garden.
Nothing but solid common-sense here, Jo! Of course the characters that make educated society cringe are the ones that are the most fun to write and read about – but those colorful chaps should never represent an entire culture. It also makes a case for “writing what you know”.
Thanks for shining a much needed spotlight on a topic that’s rarely discussed.
Fascinating, Jo, and very helpful tips for getting it right. I’m thinking of setting a novel in Australia, and I suspect I’ll be contacting you for insight. Many thanks. Is it too wrong to say “G’day” to you?
Good points all. As a writer of historical fiction, I often find myself dropping language that wouldn’t have been used during the period of my novel.
I notice this most with British authors who write American characters and use terms that Americans don’t use – like flat instead of apartment, car park instead of parking lot, etc. Also, they often get the phrasing wrong, more passive than Americans generally use.
Although, last night I started reading a novel that was written by an author who is American and grew up in Iowa – yet she used a lot of British terms for things. So, I have no idea what that is about. Maybe she spent some time in the UK?
But the worst is when authors try to write dialect phonetically. It just twists your brain in knots trying to decipher what they are saying. And pulls you out of the story.
For me, I try to find the cadence and pacing that people in different parts of the world/country use. Once I can nail that, then I can sprinkle in some pet phrases and words and that seems to work for me.
As an American, I am lucky as it isn’t hard to find people from different countries and cultures in your own area. I have known people from Poland, Russia, South America, Australia, the UK, Ireland and so forth, all right here in Los Angeles.
Good article, great tips, thanks.
Excellent post, Jo. There’s a lot of variation even within one city. Being from Baltimore (the U.S. one in Maryland) I can tell you that not everyone there talks like someone in The Wire or a film by John Waters. Those shows are accurate–for certain neighborhoods or groups within certain neighborhoods, not for others.
I approach the idea of writing about someone from another country with trepidation. In a workshop in the 1990s, I was severely criticized by the participants and the leader (a popular and respected writer) for making the protagonist in my short story be English, specifically from Oxfordshire. They all said it was impossible for me to get it right, and that I had to make her an American living in England.
None of them had actually been to England while I had spent a great deal of time there; watching British shows on PBS isn’t quite the same thing as being there. Still, I’m sure that I had many things wrong. These days I’d consult an English friend and/or YouTube, as you suggest. Thanks for your other suggestions!
Jo, thanks for your excellent recommendations, which are both practical and different from others we often see.
I have to laugh. Here in the south tea comes (and is labeled on urns in fast food places) “tea” and “unsweetened tea.” Offering tea to a guest, it’s automatically assumed to be iced, sweeten tea.
Interesting! Where I live (north Alabama), most fast food places have “unsweet tea” and “sweet tea” as urn labels. But we have a lot of transplants from other parts of the country and the world here, so it makes sense. One place has the teas labeled “Southern sweet tea” and “Northern tea”.
As someone who lives in the South (U.S.), I’ve come across a lot of novels where all the southern characters have a drawl and use “ain’t” or are generally cringe-worthy caricatures with poor education. I live in north Alabama (Huntsville-Madison area) and not everyone speaks this way. Thanks to the technology and space industry companies located here, we have many people from other parts of the country and the world who have relocated here, most of whom are highly educated with doctorates in the sciences, engineering, etc. We also have an army base here, so there are plenty of not-born-in-the-South people. Any novel set here would need to reflect that diversity. (And the essentially still racially segregated nature of the city, but that’s a different issue.)
Great suggestions, especially for leveraging Youtube! It’s good to know that I shouldn’t assume UK and AUS English are the same thing with different slang and spoken accents, and that digging deeper into the regional flavors is just as important outside my native US as within. And I learned something else from your writing, here, too, which is otherwise fairly “US/UK/AUS-Neutral” — your use of “different to” (as opposed to “different from”, to which I’m accustomed), which I didn’t realize until looking it up just now is actually a US/UK English usage difference and not, as I’ve assumed til now, a grammatical problem. Cheers!
This is a good reminder of how careful we must be in writing about people from other places in the world.
For the most part, I keep my characters in the U.S. and in the area of the country in which I live. Makes it easier to write true dialogue. :-)
However, in my first screenplay I had a character who was Mexican and a cook on a ranch. I tried to write his dialogue in some form that might be true to his nationality, but I wasn’t sure about it. So I asked a friend of mine who was Mexican to read it and let me know how I did. She laughed and said he sounded like a Chinese man. She also helped me correct the dialogue.
And I was highly encouraged by an editor at Southern Living Magazine not to write a lot of dialect, and not to drop the “gs” from words to try to get the Texas twang. Outside of colloquialisms and slang, the different ways of speaking in various southern states has more to do with the rhythm of the speech than how the words are spelled.
I’ve noticed in older novels, such as those by Mary Stewart, all Americans traveling in Europe are from Texas, complete with calling everyone Honey. Apparently people from other states didn’t travel.