PC and Dialects in fiction

[J. Eulenberg]

I too write fiction, and will be using some dialect.  The reason it is
frowned on today is that there are too few editors who edit in the
publishing world (they cost money), so the person who sets the material up
for printing doesn't get checked and rechecked.  Dialect plays havoc with
this kind of scenario.  Is it right?  Is it a misspelling?  Where do I put
the apostrophe that means I'm gittin' the word right?  Etc.

I'll be coming through Minot on the train in two months.  I'll think of
you as I take my walk outside the train!

Julia Niebuhr Eulenberg <eulenbrg at u.washington.edu>

On Fri, 13 Aug 2004, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header ---------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Re: PC and Dialects in fiction
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Last time I heard anything about dialect representation in literature (this
was back when the Iliad had just come out), the favored practice was to use as
few nonstandard spellings as possible. Not because it was non-PC, but because
odd spellings distracted the reader.
>
> Of course the advice doesn't hold if you're hoping to promote your dialect.
Just 200 years after Burns's death, Scots was officially recognized as a
separate language.
>
> JL
> "Patti J. Kurtz" <kurtpatt4 at NETSCAPE.NET> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header ---------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: "Patti J. Kurtz"
> Subject: PC and Dialects in fiction
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> In addition to being an English professor, I also write fiction. One
> critique group I belong to raised the question of the representation of
> dialect in fiction and whether or not such representations are now
> considered non-politically correct.
>
> Has anyone heard anything about this? Is there a sort of move against
> using dialect in fiction because it's deemed "non PC"?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Patti Kurtz
> Assistant Professor, English
> Minot State University
> Minot, ND
> --
>
> Freeman - And what drives you on, fighting the monster?
>
>
>
> Straker - I don't know, something inside me I guess.
>
>
>
> Freeman - It's called dedication.
>
>
>
> Straker - Pig-headedness would be nearer.
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers!
>