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

[minute_by_minute]

Where and when are they from originally? Oslo, Norway, 2016
What is their accent? Middle East Norwegian, specifically the Oslo dialect/accent
Do they curse? Under what circumstances? Even swears in Norwegian and English, especially when frustrated, and sometimes when something is funny. He particularly says "fuck" in English.
What influences the way they speak? Like most teenagers, Even is influenced a lot by media (music, tv, films) in all the languages he is capable of consuming it in (in this case, his native Norwegian, as well as his secondary Swedish and English).
Has their speech changed since arriving in Darrow? In what ways does it differ from canon? In Darrow, Even speaks more English than he spoke in Norway. He still speaks Norwegian with Isak, and they speak it together almost exclusively.
Have they picked up any specific language/slang/vocal tics while in Darrow? Even hasn't picked up any specific vocal tics in Darrow.
What slang do they use, if any? Even has Norwegian vocal tics and slang, but these do not necessarily translate into English.
Do you have anything specific you keep in mind when writing their dialogue? Because I write all of Even's dialogue in italic translation, it can be really difficult to conceptualize certain things, like verbal tics, slang, idioms, and that sort of thing. When possible, I try to have clear Norwegian, but without the language skills present for it, I feel that I do the language a disservice to do so.
What else should we know about how they speak? Any time Even's not specifically speaking English, he's probably speaking Norwegian.