Slang in Dialogue

I think slang in dialogue, or even in the descriptions (normally fits better if the writing is in first person) can add a lot to the voice of the character. I personally don't want to read about people that sound like robots.

Words I find myself using often in dialogue:

Gonna
Wanna
Shoulda

Things like that, where the word is cut off the way that I normally hear it being said. Not sure if that really counts as slang or not, but you get the idea.

So instead of " I am going to go to the store." I end up with "I'm gonna go to the store."

Do you think this adds or takes away from the characters?

Gah, I do that so much. I love dialogue just because I like to mimic how we speak nowadays. And how teens like to say "like?" Ahaha, that's fun. Like... It's amusing.

It adds plenty of character. People who speak with proper grammar are either uber grammar nutty or robots. As much as I love grammar, I'm not that much of a nutcase. I'll say "like, gonna, shoulda woulda coulda, etc." I'm such a teen gangsta. I even spell "'Sup, dawg?" like that. (I have a gangster character in my novel. He's so much fun. XD)

Some words call for two apostrophes 'cause their that slang. I can't think of the word-- Oh! "Why couldn't've I gone?" A weak example, but I use words like that.

Yay, slang! =D

And lately, it's been difficult to resist adding smilies at the end of some quotes. XD Like, if a sweet, innocent kid's all... innocent, I have the urge to put a ^_^ at the end. xD

And lately, it's been difficult to resist adding smilies at the end of some quotes. XD Like, if a sweet, innocent kid's all... innocent, I have the urge to put a ^_^ at the end. xD

Haha, I totally know what you mean.

Anyway, as to the topic: slang definitely adds. Of course, there is such a thing as too much dialect (try reading Jack London's French-Canadians... *brains melt*) but slang in all it's glory is one of the writer's greatest tools in characterization. Yay for slangness!

Dialogue does not call for the same grammar rules as prose writing. People don't generally talk in perfect grammar (<-- see?). So, a 'lil slang ain't gonna hurt nobodys, a'ight?



~GryphonFledgling

It adds, 'long as it's not overdone! Like Jack in Nate's loverly fanfic If you're using a real setting especially anyone from that location will know immediately if your slang is off, so you have to be careful, too, and the more densely populated the area, the more diverse the slang, at least in my experience. So even more fun!

But yes! Speaking is much different than writing, prescriptive vs. descriptive grammar, if you ask a ling. nerd (which I am turning in to). So the difference between the formal writing and grammar, and what's actually used. /slightly relevant tangent ^^

Wanna know what's real fun? Having that one character who does speaks perfect grammar, 'cause it really illustrates the difference between how a person speaks and what written language looks like.

It's a double edged sword. Personally, I use word order or "generation words" depending on the place/time the character comes from.

I mean, a Chinese immigrant would not use the same sentence structure as a Boston local, y'know? But little "cushion words/phrases" that we use such as: "like", "speaking of", and "don't get me wrong" also give clues to the characters personality. Hell, so does word choice in general. Oh, and also, characters, like people, talk in fragments. So the difference between an average and an intelligent character might be that an average character would talk more in fragmented sentences with lower level vocabulary then the intelligent character.

But I guess I find all these ways cause I hate reading "s'pose", "gonna" and "hafta" every time a character has a line of dialogue.

I don't like it, but fortunately, I don't do real world stories, so it works out.

"Gonna" annoys me. Not hearing it, but seeing it written reminds me of bad fanfics. It's like writing accents -- it can get really annoying if it's over done. Other slang though, can really add.