MEME: Linguistics

[citycouncil]

Prompted by a conversation on Twitter, let's take a look at the linguistic choices behind the way our characters speak! NERDS. Here are a few prompts, but feel free to talk about anything you feel like with regards to language and your characters.

Where and when are they from originally?
What is their accent?
Do they curse? Under what circumstances?
What influences the way they speak?
Has their speech changed since arriving in Darrow? In what ways does it differ from canon?
Have they picked up any specific language/slang/vocal tics while in Darrow?
What slang do they use, if any?
Do you have anything specific you keep in mind when writing their dialogue?
What else should we know about how they speak?

Let's talk about talking.

Comments

[butterfly_knives]

From: Taipei, Taiwan in a future where the poor suffer terribly and the rich are protected from both the poisonous environment of Taipei and the poor who are sick because of that environment. Zhou's one of the poor.

Accent: Taiwanese. His English is fairly good but he will have a very obvious accent and some of his words will be clipped. He also has a tendency to lapse into Mandarin right in the middle of a conversation before going right back to English.

Cursing/Slang: He's absolutely up for cursing though he's not one to do it often. It often takes an extreme situation for him to curse. Same for slang. He's more likely to lapse into Mandarin than to use any sort of slang.

Influences: Zhou will often speak badly about those with money because he comes from a place where those without money are severely oppressed. He's gotten a little better about recognizing that the wealthy in Darrow do not equal the wealthy in Taipei. Anything that requires money is oftentimes something that Zhou will shy away from because he doesn't remember that he has money.

Also, he is completely enamored by colors. Taipei was a very washed out city because of the pollution so he wants to see colors, talk about colors. He reads a ton and he will sometimes compare what he reads about landscapes in books to what he sees in front of him. So, when he talks about the sky or the grass, his voice might take on a hint of wonder and enthrallment that won't be there any other time.