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

[andhiswife]

Where and when are they from originally? A long time ago, in a far away land.
What is their accent? English, fairly close to RP but leaning just a touch towards a kind of generic working class un-posh-ness.
Do they curse? Under what circumstances? Sometimes, when particularly stressed or disgusted. She usually goes with 'bloody,' but I hope to one day come up with a suitable excuse for her to say 'fuck.' Let Greta Say Fuck 2k??
What influences the way they speak? Greta's a product of her somewhat loose fairy tale time and social status, but she's also from a Sondheim show. So she usually has a lot of words to say, if only internally, but not in a manner that's too flowery. I like to sneak in references to the show when I can swing it. Reprises are a thing, too.
Has their speech changed since arriving in Darrow? In what ways does it differ from canon? She's picked up some modern vocabulary, though it hasn't really worked its way into her slang, yet. She's not consciously trying to hold on to her speech patterns from home, but they were never all that archaic to begin with, so she can get by just fine without making any big adjustments.
Have they picked up any specific language/slang/vocal tics while in Darrow? Not really, aside from the vocabulary words. I think it'll take a bit longer for anything new to sink in, especially since the people she spends the most time with are either children or also kind of old-fashioned.
What slang do they use, if any? She uses 'for goodness sake' a lot, mostly because good versus nice is kind of a Theme in her canon.
Do you have anything specific you keep in mind when writing their dialogue? Avoiding those modern idioms!
What else should we know about how they speak? She can sing so pretty!