"Mom? Moooom?" still looks like the second pronounciation is one syllable. "Mah-uhm" isn't recognizable. How do you write Mom in more than one syllable?
"Mom? Moooom?" still looks like the second pronounciation is one syllable. "Mah-uhm" isn't recognizable. How do you write Mom in more than one syllable?
I';m partial to using dialogue tags:
"Mom," Casey called in a long, drawn-out whine. "You said last week I could go."
The problem with a hyphenated variant like "Mo-om" is that no matter how you do it, it is going to look unnatural. Plus, the dialogue tag lets you add in more emotion or explanation. The hyphenated word is just the sound, at best.
The hyphenated word is just the sound, at best.
I disagree. The hyphenated word 'shows', while the dialogue tag tells.
"Kevin, go round next door and fuck your classmate Stacy."
"Mo-o-om, I don't even like Stacy."
"I know, but she needs you to qualify for her 'Fucked All the Boys in My Grade' Girl Scout badge."
AJ
Mo-o-om looks like Moe-oh-ahm.
Ma'um would at least read smoothly or maybe Mah'um. The phonetic spelling might work best.
And...I haven't written a girl scout story yet, what an oversight.
And...I haven't written a girl scout story yet, what an oversight.
Nobody's perfect!
AJ
Mo-o-om looks like Moe-oh-ahm.
Ma'um would at least read smoothly or maybe Mah'um. The phonetic spelling might work best.
Not to me. Then, I don't speak English at all, and by default use Latvian phonetic alphabet to decipher any text in Latin letters. That means, I have no distinction between w and v besides other quirks like every vowel having exactly one fixed sound, and I will religiously pronounce every h as in have, regardless of context. So your Mah'um I read as mahatma umpire with a click in the middle. Sure, that's probably quite extreme and, yes, I know I'm doing it wrong (and I'm aware you couldn't comprehend this text if I read it aloud the way I do internally). But I think it perfectly illustrates in what weeds you can drive with non-standard spelling supposedly illustrating the sound of something.
The hyphenated word 'shows', while the dialogue tag tells.
Trust me, you really don't want to go down this logic road. The whole "show don't tell" idea is from a specific school of writing, applies to a specific type of writing that isn't common on SOL, and is over-quoted while being poorly understood.
While I'll agree that text in dialogue should show the actual sound of the spoken words as closely as possible so that the reader can "hear" what is being said, this breaks down when you move away from standardised spelling. There's a similar issue when writing in patois. Sure, it shows exactly how an accent or dialect sounds, but it also causes most readers to have to slow down to parse what is being said.
Force readers to slow down or re-read passages to understand what they already read is one of the biggest signs of bad writing. The whole point of writing standards is to make it easier for readers to be able to ignore the medium of writing so they can concentrate on the actual story and characters.
The whole point of writing standards is to make it easier for readers
True! And it should apply in other media as well. I get frustrated by TV dramas and films where the actors mumble or use unintelligible dialects; sure, its more 'authentic', but if the audience has to rely on subtitles then they are not going to be enjoying the drama that much. (And as for the lighting...)
where the actors mumble
I don't remember the director, but there's one who does the mumbling thing on purpose. It's an awful thing to do.
In the first 20 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan," Spielberg intentionally made it impossible to hear everything that was being shouted because in the real battle they couldn't because of the noise. I foiled him the last time I watched it. I turned on closed caption.
I think the best option is always context dependent. In my 'girl scout' snippet, I'd be very surprised if anyone had to go back and read it again to understand it.
AJ