Reader Question: When writing a historical piece, how important is dialect?

Question from AC_is_On:

When writing a historical piece, in regards to dialogue, how important is dialect?

There are no rules about this and — obviously — much depends upon the story’s genre and the writers approach to tone, feel and historical accuracy.

I think it pretty much boils down to two considerations: Authenticity. Readability.

Per the former, you want characters’ dialogue to feel real, appropriate to the story’s time and place. So a writer will want to do research on language of the era including colloquialisms, jargon, and idioms.

However you are not writing a documentary, so your goal is not absolute precision, but — again — dialogue that feels real, a sense of verisimilitude.

That’s where the second consideration comes in. Dialogue has to be readable. When a writer goes too far with dialect, it can be a real stumbling block to a reader. For example:

JACKSON
 Ahm agonna git goin’ on oer yonder ‘fore eht
 commences ta rainin’ on y’all.

A writer may hear the character’s voice that way, but page after page of sides like that make for a difficult, laborious read.

That’s why my advice with the writers I teach is this: A little goes a long way. Let’s take the side above and rewrite it:

JACKSON
 Gonna get goin’ over yonder before it
 commences to rainin’ on y’all.

Not nearly as strenuous to read, but still conveys a sense of the character in that time and place.

The key is to find a balance point between dialect and language that feels authentic, but is readable.

What say you, GITS readers? What advice do you have about writing dialects, especially in historical stories?

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