tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post1936594271715991541..comments2024-02-05T10:41:31.777-05:00Comments on I Saw Lightning Fall: Dastardly DialectLoren Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-63244950261605289342010-03-08T08:18:12.952-05:002010-03-08T08:18:12.952-05:00I just hope we don't start writing like a teen...I just hope we don't start writing like a teenager's Facebook status update. If that becomes standard practice, I may be tempted to throw myself onto I-95.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-75067370217512142052010-03-07T21:33:01.028-05:002010-03-07T21:33:01.028-05:00On a different note, I saw the word "thru&quo...<i>On a different note, I saw the word "thru" used in a book. And not as dialect. The times they are a-changin'.</i><br /><br />The bad news is that publishers and newspapers are dispensing with copy editing as a luxury just when Americans are becoming less literate. The good is news is that humanity survived before standardized English spelling and widespread literacy and may well continue to do so.<br />============== <br /> Detectives Beyond Borders<br />"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"<br /> <a href="http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/</a>Peter Rozovskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09977933481463759162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-23814712434550729602009-11-11T08:24:16.856-05:002009-11-11T08:24:16.856-05:00America is such a melting pot and so few of us are...America is such a melting pot and so few of us are intimately familiar with dialects other than our own that unintentional charicature is always an issue. That's something I really don't want to accidentally fall into.<br /><br />So, CR, no opinion on the pork versus brisket debate in the barbeque war?Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-15321966148168135822009-11-10T18:25:07.135-05:002009-11-10T18:25:07.135-05:00A poetry prof insists that all dialect is always a...A poetry prof insists that all dialect is always a step away from racist caricature, especially in modern English. That's because English has such a great variety of dialects (some incomprehensible) which use a standard system of spelling. So when you exceed that, you're really doing something out of the ordinary.<br /><br />But yeah, mostly I agree with you. Unless I'm reading Redwall, dialect just distracts from the experience, gives me a headache. Worse, it's unnecessary--a good author can evoke a distinctive culture simply with word order, vocabulary, and punctuation.Chestertonian Ramblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550643992523840950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-44406789086377186672009-11-10T16:17:49.172-05:002009-11-10T16:17:49.172-05:00Wait "thru"? Are you serious? Man, that ...Wait "thru"? Are you serious? Man, that copy editor needs a (slightly) vigorous thrashing.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-27932684140336428442009-11-10T15:08:54.856-05:002009-11-10T15:08:54.856-05:00I have the most problems where the writer is not c...I have the most problems where the writer is not consistent. Either go big or go home, I say. Or, to fit the current discussion: you have to go it whole hog.<br /><br />On a different note, I saw the word "thru" used in a book. And not as dialect. The times they are a-changin'.B. Nagelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07620736939701035617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-30940723948051292372009-11-10T13:48:31.037-05:002009-11-10T13:48:31.037-05:00Proper barbeque is a beautiful thing. Did a pit, s...Proper barbeque is a beautiful thing. Did a pit, set it on fire, throw in a pig and leave it for a couple days. Wondrous, wondrous grub.<br /><br />Alas, I've only read Berry's non-fiction work, mostly essays.<br /><br />I'm sure there are people who can make dialect (die-uh-lekt) sing. They're probably in the literary (lhet-ir-air-rhey) camp, though, and their readers likely expect to have to work. Not that genre need be easy, but it often challenges (chal-un-gez) in different ways.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-57497020269716757072009-11-10T12:11:01.494-05:002009-11-10T12:11:01.494-05:00Hey! I listened to the first Mississippi sample an...Hey! I listened to the first <a href="http://web.ku.edu/~idea/northamerica/usa/mississippi/mississippi1.mp3" rel="nofollow">Mississippi</a> sample and he was talking about BBQ/grilling as well. <br /><br /><br />Hopefully, you have read Wendell Berry's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fidelity-Five-Stories-Wendell-Berry/dp/0679748318" rel="nofollow">Fidelity</a>. It's set in rural Ky, the fictional town of Port William. <br /><br />I agree with Lammot (and you). Dialect done poorly kills any momentum. But it <i>can</i> be done wonderfully.<br /> <br />On a technical (<i>technique-al</i>) level, the use of dialect by the author and/or narrator indicates an Otherness. If the dialect is shared, its use can communicate solidarity. If one or a few individuals are singled out as speaking differently, they are the Other.B. Nagelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07620736939701035617noreply@blogger.com