Parrot talking
How do you create characters who speak a different version of English from you? Follow Jan Snook’s linguistic advice to make them sound convincing
CC BY-SA 3.0 JJ Harrison\
An editor once said – when I’d just completed a serial based in New England – that it sounded truly American, without any of the characters saying ‘shucks’ or ‘Jeez’, so how had I done it? The answer was simple: I’d lived in Connecticut for years.
I was still glowing from her praise when she suggested I write another serial. Then she suggested I set it in Australia… and my heart sank.
‘Of course!’ I agreed. ‘No problem!’ But there was a problem:
I’ve never lived in Australia. I’ve never been to Australia. I don’t have any Aussie friends and I haven’t watched Neighbours for thirty years. The nearest I come to hearing an Australian voice is on my satnav, where I prefer Australian Bruce to the prissy English woman. So as long as my antipodean hero says nothing but ‘Turn around when you can, mate, then hang a right,’ I’ll be fine. But it lacks romance, somehow, doesn’t it?