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She's not very adept at languages, never was a quick study. She lived in Germany until she was in her early twenties, so she never had a chance to use her English very often. So she still has something of an accent, even though she's lived in America since then. I just need to understand how things are phrased differently in German as opposed to English. I'll have to ask my German-speaking friends! heart

and re: "schteen" I was just trying to imitate the line from Young Frankenstein in text XD See the problem I have?

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LeslieLark
and re: "schteen" I was just trying to imitate the line from Young Frankenstein in text XD See the problem I have?


It's okay, I caught the reference! It's not a problem with your writing, it's a general problem with pop culture references -- there will always be someone who hasn't seen what you're referring to.

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Kyousouka

Leslie: I learned English as a preteen and no one notices. I don't even have an accent (or rather, I have one, but it's acquired and completely unrelated to my first language).
It is when you learn a language later in life that you might have a very noticeable accent or different pattern of speech.

Edit: It's not "schteen" D:
Anyway, if you really want them to speak differently, perhaps try adding a few grammatically awkward sentences every now and then. I know my parents do this a lot, they basically translate what they want to say into English words but use Russian grammar. Or sometimes they "overdo" English grammar and end up with something like "tell to me."


Oh, jesus, you too? : D

(What part of Russia?)

LeslieLark: the most notable feature of fluent-but-ESL speakers is the fact they tend to revert to their native grammar; either when stressed or distracted or upset or just "slip up" by accident. She'd probably have some trouble with pronounciation, still.

Also, how old is she? After a couple of decades, the accent would have dulled down - depending on how good a mimic she is, how well she learns, if she actively tried to get rid of it, etc.

EDIT: Oh, right, you mentioned that she doesn't learn very fast. But still, how long has she been living in an English-speaking country?

I know that my grandfather, whose first language is not Russian, is fluent in it now and does not speak his actual mother tongue any more, through lack of use.

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Tovarish Groznaya


Oh, jesus, you too? : D

(What part of Russia?)

LeslieLark: the most notable feature of fluent-but-ESL speakers is the fact they tend to revert to their native grammar; either when stressed or distracted or upset or just "slip up" by accident. She'd probably have some trouble with pronounciation, still.

Also, how old is she? After a couple of decades, the accent would have dulled down - depending on how good a mimic she is, how well she learns, if she actively tried to get rid of it, etc.


Right, and I'm trying to figure out whether or not to use stuff like "zat" "zere" in the dialogue and what not.

She's seventy something, I can't remember exactly, 78 I think. She is a very quiet person and not naturally talented at learning languages or fond of it, and her job never necessitated her to talk to people a lot. So I think her accent would still be noticeable, especially in stress situations. I want it to be obvious she has an accent when she speaks, but I don't want to use another font or anything for it, so I'm not sure.

Oh, and she's been in the US for about forty-fifty years, but she came in her twenties. I keep thinking of Marlene Dietrich when I think of the way she speaks, but a little more obvious.

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iianbe

When first scripting a scene, I have my husband read the written dialogue - if he can't tell who's speaking without seeing the characters on the page, I keep making changes until he can.
Oh my god, you're the TJ and Amal artist oh my god. I am going to buy the hell out of your book when it's done, it's really clear that you enjoy and understand your characters and their stories, and that pretty much always makes for a good read. The art is fantastic too.

Ok, I am done embarassing myself. stare

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iianbe
When first scripting a scene, I have my husband read the written dialogue - if he can't tell who's speaking without seeing the characters on the page, I keep making changes until he can.


Just for the record, I am very much looking forward to TJ and Amal being finished. I can't wait to read it.

LeslieLark
Right, and I'm trying to figure out whether or not to use stuff like "zat" "zere" in the dialogue and what not.

She's seventy something, I can't remember exactly, 78 I think. She is a very quiet person and not naturally talented at learning languages or fond of it, and her job never necessitated her to talk to people a lot. So I think her accent would still be noticeable, especially in stress situations. I want it to be obvious she has an accent when she speaks, but I don't want to use another font or anything for it, so I'm not sure.

Oh, and she's been in the US for about forty-fifty years, but she came in her twenties. I keep thinking of Marlene Dietrich when I think of the way she speaks, but a little more obvious.


She probably would still have trouble with "th", because most ESL speakers I know do.

If she uses mostly correct -- but slightly odd -- grammar and has some pronounciation quirks that are typically German/Eastern European, that should be enough for most people.

There are two important things about German grammar that make German syntax very different from English syntax: first, the verb tends to be the second part of statements. Sometimes, it's pushed to the end, but I can't remember the details of that right now. Second, place, time, manner and so on are often placed before the verb, in which case the object is pushed to third place or further.

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I'll just run all her dialogue through the English-German Babelfish and back :V

Also what I've seen of TJ and Amal looks spectacular, jumpin on the gasp bandwagon.

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A website you might consider using for various English dialects.

http://web.ku.edu/~idea/

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Mr McGrumpypants
A website you might consider using for various English dialects.

http://web.ku.edu/~idea/

omg it's like a treasure box of dialect/language-nerd porn *__*

Off the subject of English dialect/pronunciation, but http://www.omniglot.com/ is also pretty amazing, esp. if you're looking for sparks or structure ideas for a fantasy/fictional alphabet or syllabary.

oh god i just got sucked in this is worse than tvtropes someone help

And thanks, guys redface

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I don't know how expansive the accents section for various foreign accents in the English language is but there's a pretty good library for sound samples of English-speaking countries.

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Oh my god this site is amazing :O

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Links have been added to the OP. smile

Shadowy Phantom

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User Image
Groznaya: Moscow.

I've seen Young Frankenstein but I completely forgot about that part, probably because it always really bothered me that he pronounced his own name wrong.

Thanks for the website, Held.

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Tovarish Groznaya
There are two important things about German grammar that make German syntax very different from English syntax: first, the verb tends to be the second part of statements. Sometimes, it's pushed to the end, but I can't remember the details of that right now. Second, place, time, manner and so on are often placed before the verb, in which case the object is pushed to third place or further.


You have reminded me what one of my favorite authors had to say about the German language.

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I don't think I've read how much someone hates a language.

That said, I love the part where he compares German to a mountain range.
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