Amongst the myriad things that will be discussed today are the use of slang, the alteration of speech, and the use of catch-words and -phrases.
Hold onto your horses, trim your (metaphorical) sails, and brace for impact.
What is in a word?
Letter, undoubtedly letters.
You may have heard the turn of phrase, 'a picture is worth a thousand words.' I would make the case here that the careful choice of a word or key phrase is at least worth a few hundred.
Take a moment to think about it. A character might use a certain, uncommon word (e.g. voluptuous instead of shapely) which informs the reader about the character in a clever way. Here is a character who has a specific way of perceiving and and describing appearances. It encourages the reader to think a little more deeply about just who this character is, and why the see the world the way they do. Further, this single use of a word can, when employed skilfully, depict the character more succinctly that an entire page of dry descriptions.
Perhaps a character greets people with 'wotcher' rather than the conventional 'hello.' What does that tell the reader about the character? Does a particular image come to mind of the type of character who might use such word?
For an example that is close to my heart, if someone came up to you in the street, and greeted you with "G'day", what would you immediately assume about them?
The important point here is that how someone speaks is intimately bound to who, and what, they are. Someone who takes part in academic discussion on a regular basis might seem to speak in a normal manner in the opinion of their peers. Ask a builder though, and he might suggest that the individual in question is 'pretentious.' Or, more to the point, he wouldn't. Instead, he might use the phrase "stuck up little ****."
Vocabulary
Thus we plough on into the diverse and wondrous world of vocabulary. That is "what words we know, or don't." A fun little activity before we plunge on into the abyss is always a good idea. Go to www.dictionary.reference.com and punch in some words that you use on a regular basis whether verbally, or in your written work. The website has a wonderful little slider that will tell you how commonly known and used each word is. You might surprise yourself.
The point is that for a writer vocabulary is terrifically important. Unless all your characters are scholars, I would suggest that they should not all speak and write at your level. If you a writing (for example) a dialogue between a prince and a night soil remover, should they speak on the same 'level'? While it is possible to create a scenario that allows them to have matching vocabularies, it is much more likely that they would be talking on different levels.
For every character, the writer should consider their background, education, and environment. The character's voice is one of the most important parts of shaping who they are, and their vocabulary (or lack thereof) should reflect that. A former drill sergeant would certainly use different words to express himself than would an economist, even if they were talking about the same thing.
Let us have a play with the idea. Here is a very plain sentence:
"The police officer walked down the street."
A pickpocketing street urchin might rephrase that as:
"The pig waltzed down the track as though he owned the joint."
Whereas a magistrate might tackle it as follows:
"The senior constable proceeded at a pace along the avenue, carrying out his duties as a law keeper."
In both cases the reader both receives further information about the police officer, and come to understand the speaker better, while still receiving the original message that "the police officer walked down the street."
While the original sentence is perfectly functional, delivering the information in a clear manner, the other versions make for a more interesting, and informative, read.
Slang
Another neat little segue. Slang is an excellent way to define a character's speech. However, for it to do so, it needs to both feel natural, and be understood. If it is complete gibberish (even well written gibberish), it will achieve little in regards to deepening a character. The writer doesn't need to provide a dictionary definition of the slang, or a discourse on the nuances of its use, but the slang should make sense to the reader.
At the same time, slang needs to preserve its sense of mystery. Slang is often restricted in its use. To go back to the Prince and night soil collector, it is quite possible that due to his class, occupation, and social circles, that the night soilman uses slang that the Prince doesn't use or comprehend. In this situation the slang serves not only to flesh out the characters, but to reaffirm the social structure (particular in relation to class divide), in which the Prince is superior. However, because of this class superiority, the Prince is excluded from certain parts of society, not just by rank, but by language. Here, despite their speaking the same language, these two characters are impeded by a language barrier.
The power of language, particularly of slang, should never be underestimated. It can often make the characters, or the entire narrative, seem disingenuous if characters are using language that cannot be logically ascribed to them by the reader. To call up from the distant past my discussion about Credibility, you can extrapolate the importance of appropriate use of language.
In Summary
As I have (hopefully) illuminated here, the words and language used by characters within the narrative plays a huge role in how the reader interprets them. They are shaped by their words, not just their actions, and as such their language should accurately, and consistently reflect who they are.
As always, it feels as though I have barely scratched the surface of the week's topic, but I sincerely hope that it has been of help. I also hope that it has encouraged you to think a little more deeply about how we, as writers, use speech to shape out characters and our narratives.
Until next week!
NNBC
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