‘Oh, six or seven, over the yirs. But he’s well inae the drink, y’ken. Y’canny be sure someboady like that isnae gauny pop off any day noo. Then you’d be tellin’ y’self, Ah couldy went and seen John Martyn, an’ now he’d deid! An’ whit did Ah dae instead, eh? Watched telly mebbe!
This excerpt is from Michael Faber’s surreal thriller “Under the Skin”, which takes place in the Scottish Highlands. The book itself was given to me by a friends, who not only lives in the Highlands, but informs me that Faber himself lives five minutes away.
While I’m enjoying the book, I’ve never really taken well to the written accent. It makes me wonder how many screenwriters write lines in foreign accents using the phonetic spelling instead of intonation directions. Sometimes, I even find this intentional misspelling to be haphazardly used. The main character in this book, for instance, is described to have an exotic accent that is foreign to the Scottish natives, yet (probably) European (she even claims to be from Germany at one point). Even still, all of her lines are written in proper British English.
Compare to “On the Beach”, which takes place in Australia, written by British-born Nevil Shute (later to become an Australian citizen). Despite the distinct differences between British and Australian English, the only written difference between the Australian speakers and the American Navy captain are uses of regional slang. Worth noting is the lack of any American English mannerisms at all – The American captain seems to only speak neutrally, ignoring the undertones of strong American English dialects.
I’m still undecided as to when it’s appropriate to use the written accent and when it’s superfluous. It seems to bother me most in comic form than anything else. If anyone has any good examples of the written accent done right, I’d like to read them.
