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ELA 5: Dialect 1364 Views
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Description:
Today we're gonna teach ya'll about dialects and their uses in creative writing. Ya hear? Well, you will once you watch the video.
Transcript
- 00:04
[Coop and Dino singing]
- 00:13
Have you ever been writing a narrative, but found that your dialogue's just a little bit…[A woman cooking a stew]
- 00:18
bland? Maybe you thought it could use a little something to spice it up?
- 00:22
This is not the right type of paprika...So what is
- 00:25
the right ingredient...Dialects!
Full Transcript
- 00:27
A dialect is a particular way of speaking [Coop discussing what are dialects]
- 00:29
a language in a certain part of the world.
- 00:32
Even though a language like English is spoken all over the Earth, it changes from
- 00:35
region to region.. which is why a vermont-native
- 00:37
visiting mississippi might wonder if she's travelled to some sort of alternate dimension where English is an entirely different language.
- 00:44
In the American South it's pretty common to hear "y'all," which means “you all.”
- 00:49
We don’t know why, but people in the South love them some “y’all.” [Southern American man on a farm]
- 00:52
So because a whole bunch of people in a particular region say it, "y'all" is a part of the Southern
- 00:57
dialect. Dialects aren't just great for the diversity of [Girl walks to a writer's block sign]
- 01:00
the English language; it can also be used when you're writing fiction.
- 01:03
One common problem with dialogue is that sometimes all of the characters end up sounding the same.
- 01:08
Which just isn’t realistic. Seriously, next time you’re in the cafeteria, take a second
- 01:14
just to listen. No two people talk the same way..
- 01:16
If there aren't clear differences in the voices of the various characters, your dialogue can [Girls sitting on a bench and two men appear]
- 01:21
end up sounding like one single, boring voice.
- 01:23
Which, for those of you who haven’t picked up on it yet, is a bad thing.
- 01:27
Always at least consider sprinkling a dialect or two if it makes sense to do so. Maybe one of your
- 01:31
characters is from France, and speaks English with a French dialect. [French woman eating a croissant]
- 01:35
Or maybe one of them is from Southern California and speaks like a surfer.
- 01:38
These two characters definitely won't sound alike.
- 01:40
And their conversations together will probably be awkward
- 01:43
But a word of warning – don’t overdo it with the dialects. [Dialects added to a stew pan]
- 01:46
The last thing you want is for the doctor in your story to speak like he’s from Tunisia for no good reason.
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