Using the vernacular in dialogue

I can't think of a reason not to use it. As long as you're not using it to stereotype your characters, or assuming all southerners have bad grammar, it should be Ok. Vernacular is far preferable over everyone speaking perfect English, or writing dialogue with misspellings in attempt to sound like an accent.

I don't know whether aight/aiight has made it from alternate pronunciation to alternate spelling yet.

I'd be cautious about phonetic spelling; a little goes a very long way.

Agree with Devil. Definitely use vernacular in the sense of using local expressions etc., but avoid phonetical rendition of that vernacular. Use plain English - it's easier to read.

As a native (non-black) New Yorker I have no idea what "aiight" is supposed to represent. Is it meant to be a phonetic spelling of something? I would depend entirely on contextual clues to interpret it.

In general I hate attempts at phonetic spelling. They require me to mind-read what sounds are in the writer's head and then try to apply that projection to the written text in order to derive sounds in my mind that I then have to translate again into meaningful words. Unless the writer happens to share my own accent, this process tends to fail at step 1.

There are a variety of standardized written forms that stand in for certain dialects, but they should be used sparingly -- they are at best a rough approximation of actual speech, not a true representation, and yet they make the dialog much more difficult to read than plain English.

benbenberi said:

As a native (non-black) New Yorker I have no idea what "aiight" is supposed to represent.

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It's a version of alright where the L and R are silent.

I use vernacular for some of my characters, one in particular. I don't see any problem with it as long as it isn't difficult to comprehend. The way I see it it adds dimension and some color to a character and their world: it echoes our own. Most people speak in the vernacular in life and if your novel is attempting to capture that reality, you shouldn't hesitate to write it in. But, as Devil mentioned: no stereotypes.

AW Admin said:

I'd be cautious about phonetic spelling; a little goes a very long way.

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This ^^^. Too much gets annoying to read, but a little can be good.

Good luck with it, ErinGlover!

CJ

One of the earliest lessons I learned as a youthful writer was the importance of conveying character through idiosyncrasies of speech, and accent is an important part of that - Yorkshire accent for instance. In Britain it's not uncommon to hear the Yorkshire accent spoofed by comedians (Monty Python’s ‘Four Yorkshiremen’ sketch is world famous), so I knew I had to be very careful. Luckily I had a good friend at work who was a Yorkshire lass, so, when writing recently, I went to her for advice – which I then partially ignored. But her advice was very useful. The problem with accents is how far to go. An author can never use it at all for the sake of maximum readability, or they can use it thick and full for maximum authenticity, like Richard Adams’ Geordie fox, The Tod, in The Plague Dogs. But The Tod’s speech is almost unintelligible, and, for me, his sections make for uncomfortable reading – and mostly skimmed. So I decided to go for a happy medium, using many of the characteristics of a Yorkshire accent, and using them consistently, but not going too far. In a nutshell - never sacrifice readability for authenticity.

AW Admin said:

I'd be cautious about phonetic spelling; a little goes a very long way.

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True, but above all - be consistent!

Writing heavy accents and using "phonetic" spelling can only work at all if the reader is familiar with the accent you're trying to convey. It's worse than useless for readers who don't know what they're supposed to be hearing when they see it. That's one reason why the common advice is to use vocabulary and diction, not spelling, to suggest an accent.

Stephen Palmer said:

never sacrifice readability for authenticity.

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First, I agree totally with this comment. But, second, there really isn't any "authenticity" to faux-phonetic spelling. Standard written English as a long stretch from being spelled phonetically. If you doubt this, say these words aloud:

cough
tough
though
through
bough
bought
doubt
debt
wet
sweat
beat
bear
fear
fare
are
caught
laugh
you
yew
ewe
word
bird
herd
curd
ford
sword
ward
bard

. . .

caw

Devil Ledbetter said:

It's a version of alright where the L and R are silent.

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As opposed to the chinese version where Ls sound like Rs......

GoreQuill NachoVidal said:

As opposed to the chinese version where Ls sound like Rs......

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Seriously?

I use this all the time, but am careful about readability. My characters all have preferred word choices, slang and whatnot, and I think using it adds depth to the character.

A small dose can help give your characters different voices. I'm in the use-it camp.

A large dose, my opinion, needs to be important to the story that the character speaks the way you are writing the dialogue. And it often is.

GoreQuill NachoVidal said:

As opposed to the chinese version where Ls sound like Rs......

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Bless your heart.

GoreQuill NachoVidal said:

As opposed to the chinese version where Ls sound like Rs......

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You're new here, aren't you?

GoreQuill NachoVidal said:

As opposed to the chinese version where Ls sound like Rs......

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It's the native Japanese speakers who tend to have this problem. Chinese natives tend not to have it - though you might have trouble saying their R sound. It's closer to erh, with the tip of your tongue further up and backward.

Rs are different in so many languages. The Spanish R is a tongue-tap sound which sounds more like a D to English speakers and is pretty tough for most of us. Unless the R is the first letter of a word, where it's even harder for Anglos. It's a trill!

Right now I'm studying French an hour a day. The French R is killing me.

Back to the original question: As with others, I say use vernacular but sparingly. Like any spice, a little goes a long way.

GoreQuill NachoVidal said:

As opposed to the chinese version where Ls sound like Rs......

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Yeah, 'cos none of us is able to pronounce "L" as opposed to "R".

Vernacular question: I'm with everyone else. IMO, it's best to use it sparingly.

The term "vernacular" doesn't mean, or even imply, alternative faux-phonetic spellings. What it does mean is word choice and sentence construction.

caw

Snitchcat said:

Yeah, 'cos none of us is able to pronounce "L" as opposed to "R".

Vernacular question: I'm with everyone else. IMO, it's best to use it sparingly.

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Vernacular has nothing to do with phonetic spelling, and it seems to me vernacular is best used as often as possible - not sparingly.

Laer Carroll said:

It's the native Japanese speakers who tend to have this problem. Chinese natives tend not to have it - though you might have trouble saying their R sound. It's closer to erh, with the tip of your tongue further up and backward.

Rs are different in so many languages. The Spanish R is a tongue-tap sound which sounds more like a D to English speakers and is pretty tough for most of us. Unless the R is the first letter of a word, where it's even harder for Anglos. It's a trill!

Right now I'm studying French an hour a day. The French R is killing me.

Back to the original question: As with others, I say use vernacular but sparingly. Like any spice, a little goes a long way.

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I would even say the Chinese "r" is something like "rzh"...

I myself have no problem with the French "r" (or the more aggressive German version), but the English/Celtic hard staccato "r-r-r-r" sound is rather an impossibility for me. Not that I would ever need it unless I want to be a singer in a trad punk band, but still...

...I would also like to add, that "vernacular" makes me think about anatomy and butchers. Perhaps some pork delicacy.

I am from Mississippi and I think my southern vernacular comes out in my writing. HA, that's probably why it reads so bad. I do not ever use the word ain't, but my dad does. I haven't heard many black southerners use it either, unless your story takes place 50 years ago. Mostly, African Americans in the south speak a mixture of Ebonics. I think the only word I use and can't shake is ya'll.