Author Topic: Unsure of the correct term...  (Read 94 times)

Offline K2

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Unsure of the correct term...
« on: March 09, 2022, 10:19:16 PM »
Hi Folks; This may be the wrong section to ask (if so my apologies), but I have a simple question regarding my conlang-ish pidgin.

In the novel I use English alphabet spellings (romanized due to its own alphabet?), written in such a way that the reader should easily be able to sound out the word. In the appendix I note that the novel spelling does not match the actual pidgin spelling (based upon its own rules).
E.g. donya : danya [dahn-yah]: don’t you (novel : romanized pidgin [MP]: translation), [MP]= to explain the pronunciation to you.

When explaining that, am I writing the novel spelling as an 'eye dialect' or is it a 'pronunciation respelling?'

Thanks for your help! Hope all is well with you folks :)

K2
« Last Edit: March 09, 2022, 10:40:06 PM by K2 »

Offline Daniel

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Re: Unsure of the correct term...
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2022, 12:55:49 AM »
An "eye dialect" is basically a literary device to indicate that a character speaks with an accent. See various examples such as in Huckleberry Finn. (My impression is that "eye dialects" are sometimes exaggerated in the spelling to give the impression of a distinctive pronunciation, rather than intended to actually accurately represent the way someone speaks, but more to highlight differences. The more exaggerated, the more likely the label "eye dialect" will be used, although of course various degrees of distinctive spelling can be found in literary works.)

That seems somewhat different from what you're trying to do from how you've previously described your project. It's not completely different, and you could call it that if you want, though.

I'm not sure what "pronunciation respelling" would mean (at least not precisely).

As I think I've answered for other questions, what you're doing is art, not science, so there's no need to be constrained by technical terminology, just use whatever seems most convenient for your readers.
Welcome to Linguist Forum! If you have any questions, please ask.

Offline K2

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Re: Unsure of the correct term...
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2022, 07:09:44 AM »
Thanks Daniel for your guidance. I had hoped there was a formal term (that was easy to look up for the reader), but in retrospect I think you're right. I've avoided some linguistic terms in many cases due to the complex nature of them. I'll work up a way (or use what I had) to convey what I intend to the reader.

Thanks again!

K2