If you want to show a laugh in dialogue, how do you spell it? I've never actually heard anybody sound like "ha-ha" on a genuine laugh. Is the sound made for a belly-laugh spelled a different way than that for a chuckle (the way somebody named Chuck laughs?)
I've never seen it done within dialogue and not looked contrived and stupid, that's why I have things like:
He laughed and said, ... or He chuckled while saying ....
Also, have you tried talking while laughing, it's not easy to do and be understood.
Also, have you tried talking while laughing, it's not easy to do and be understood.
I have, and it is possible. The hard part is laughing talking and breathing all at the same time. :)
Also, have you tried talking while laughing, it's not easy to do and be understood.
I have, and it is possible. The hard part is laughing talking and breathing all at the same time.
That's why I've always preferred 'chuckled', as it's not nearly as boisterous as laughter, and you can easily gently chuckle while speaking. Guffawing, not no much.
As D.S. suggests, spelling a vocal sound is similar to putting it into air (single) quotes, as you're specifying that someone's being sarcastic, rather than actually laughing (or making ANY humorous sounds).
If you want to show a laugh in dialogue, how do you spell it?
Different cultures express the sound of laughter in different ways that don't translate well.
You see the same thing with descriptions of animal noises, they are expressed very differently in different languages and cultures. Does that mean that German chickens sound different than English chickens? Nope.
It isn't worth the effort of trying to express laughter in dialog unless you are going for the evil mastermind laugh "Bwahahahahaha" or a sarcastic slow laugh "ha...ha...ha".
Railroad crossing, look out for the cars. How do you spell it without any R's?
I T.
(Old joke, applies to most questions of "How do you spell it"?)
Railroad crossing, look out for the cars. How do you spell it without any R's?
I T.
A: Do you know how to spell rhinoceros?
B: Yes
A: Okay, spell it.
B: R-H-I-...
A: No, It is spelled I-T
I rarely do. Outside of the sarcastic "Ha. Ha. Ha," anyway, or a deliberately overacted "Mwah-ha-ha-ha!" Usually I just go with "she laughed//chuckled/chortled/snorted/giggled/other verbed — being careful not to use those as tags for dialogue, of course.
being careful not to use those as tags for dialogue, of course.
Of course, they can be used action based attributions rather than dialog tags.
He laughed. "What the fuck!"
vs
He laughed, "What the fuck!"
Not the .(period, full stop) rather than a ,(comma) in the first.
I tend to prefer the former for laughing, as it includes at least a potential time-shift. He laughed, then said "What the fuck!" The second would be him laughing out the phrase "What the fuck!" which, as has been mentioned, is hard to do.
Some people always see the comma even if it's not there, though.
And yes, the second is a dialogue tag, but the use of dialogue tags other than 'said' is a source of endless controversy in either direction :)
The second would be him laughing out the phrase "What the fuck!" which, as has been mentioned, is hard to do.
Yes, talking while laughing is hard to do. But I have personal experience with doing it.
I tend to prefer the former for laughing
And for the record, so do I. I was just trying to illustrate the difference in written form between laughing as an action preceding dialog vs laughing as a dialog tag.
Some people always see the comma even if it's not there, though.
Timespans:
no comma - immediate
comma - slight pause
semi-colon - slightly longer pause
emdash or parentheses - take a slow breath before starting a new tangent
period - end of sentence, move on to an associated thought after considering what you're going to say first.
Of course, they can be used action based attributions rather than dialog tags.
Yup. I almost used a similar example.
He laughed. "What the fuck!"
vs
He laughed, "What the fuck!"
Or, more characteristically, "He laughed and whipped his lips before sitting back. "What the fuck!"
Non direct (or 'action attributions') aren't limited to the same sentence, which allows you to introduce the element of time.
