First letter capitalization when missing

Wordcraft · Nov 25, 2011

Are these correct for dialogue?

‘’Spose you're right.’ (I suppose you're right)

‘’e said ‘e were sorry.’ (He said he were sorry)

The first is taken from a novel, but the "S" would be the first letter of the word anyway.

The second is my own creation: Should it take a capital E (E is obviously the second letter)???

Also, it appears to be a convention to reverse the speech mark (singles - I'm from the UK) where two would form a double speech mark, hence the second "e" having the correct left mark, but the first the right mark.

Thanks!

Fallen · Nov 25, 2011

Gonna double check this, but.... Brit Eng or Amer Eng, your second "e" should be the same as the first as far as apostrophes go. Look closely at the apostrophe in any contracted form (can't, don't, won't 'cause (not so good on here)) and you'll see that they all go the same way.

-
‘(’)E said, don(’)t worry. (’)E was right. Although (’)e could(’)ve said sooner.’

One mark (think closing single speech mark) to show missing letters no matter where it is in the sentence.

Edit. Yep, It's that way for both Amrican and British Eng' usage from what I can tell.

bonitakale · Nov 25, 2011

Straight quotes avoid the quote problem.

And I think the capital E / lower-case e is up to you or the publisher. Since what you're doing is dialect, so the spelling is incorrect anyway, the capital's up for grabs. If you want to be sure, put it on the inside of the sentence instead. "I told you 'e said..."

Some things aren't covered by rules.

Architectus · Nov 25, 2011

I agree with the person above me. Personally, I would avoid it.

He said he were sorry shows enough dialect. 'e said 'e ... I just put the book down after enough of that nonsense. Too hard to read.

brianjanuary · Nov 25, 2011

I'm of the "avoid it, it's too hard to read" camp. I would write something like: "He spoke with a thick East End accent" or whatever when the character is introduced and let the reader fill in the blanks (I would, however, do a little research and throw in a local slang word or two in the character's speech).

Brian January
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LynnKHollander · Nov 25, 2011

brianjanuary's solution is workable and rather elegant. I don't write dialect/accent and hate to read it. I may have one character react to another's accent, but I don't try to write it down.

Peter Graham · Nov 25, 2011

Awreet, marra?

‘’Spose you're right.’ (I suppose you're right)

Nah. Th'apostrophe is theer ter denurt missin' letters. Th' word "suppose" starts wi' an "S", so th'apostrophe comes after t'S, sista? S'pose.

‘’e said ‘e were sorry.’

Looks awreet. Tha's writin' in dialogue an' accent an' a'. Th'apostrophe denurts a missin' letter agin, but this time th' missin' letter is the fust one. Tha' could probably get awa' wi' capitalisin' if tha' wanted, but ah reckons it's all aboot consistency.

Regards,

Peter

Wordcraft · Nov 25, 2011

Thx all - good catch with the apostrophe direction!

Constant and extreme dialect may be tough, but I don't mind something light such as Hagrid's way of talking in Harry Potter.

ironmikezero · Nov 25, 2011

The only way I've ever used the non-capitalized letter of the first word in dialogue is when a pair of characters (identical twins) habitually finish each other's sentences...

"M'lady, if you please, the carriage..."

"has arrived and awaits your pleasure."

"Shall we notify Lord Simms..."

"or is he not to be disturbed?"

My editor suggested that this is permissible, provided such usage was consistent in the dialogue of these characters.

First letter capitalization when missing

Wordcraft

Fallen

Stood at the coalface

bonitakale

Architectus

brianjanuary

LynnKHollander

This space intentionally left blank

Peter Graham

Arise Rheged!

Wordcraft

ironmikezero

practical experience, FTW