tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647897906477408775.post1890395096587841020..comments2023-04-27T06:35:19.095-04:00Comments on Anne Gallagher: HIstorical Research -- ContractionsAnne Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12299643638346680038noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647897906477408775.post-26502789406392675872013-05-26T10:27:33.441-04:002013-05-26T10:27:33.441-04:00I was pondering this very topic last night. I watc...I was pondering this very topic last night. I watched Django. I don't expect that movie to be anything other than what it was, but their use of the F-word tossed me considerably. McCammon in his Nightbird does the same thing, f-bomb f-bomb f-bomb. And this is among the Puritans!<br /><br />Like you say, we can't go back in time and listen, and even if we did we couldn't listen to every dialect and every slang, but we can read novels from that period and study their dialogue traditions.<br /><br />So if the author is writing a period piece, they should do their research and structure it intelligently.<br /><br />But you don't need that, do you. Case-in-point is your very wealthy and successful author. Another case-in-point is steampunk and fantasy, which actively disregard period, modern, and future traditions.<br /><br />Only other authors worry over these points! Readers simply do not care, so long as they are entertained. ;)<br /><br /><br /> - Eric<br />Eric W. Tranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13842968931062056407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647897906477408775.post-89633527444706015272013-05-22T21:51:15.875-04:002013-05-22T21:51:15.875-04:00I began to write my regency WIP with absolutely no...I began to write my regency WIP with absolutely no contractions, but as I've read more novels from the period (and watched mini-series and movies), I discovered they were actually used, if sparingly. Your blog post has spurred me to do some further research.<br /><br />It's clear that contractions were in use well before the regency - look at Shakespeare. It only seems that they were out of fashion with the upper classes in the early nineteenth century. Running word searches on P&P and S&S shows that Austen does use don't, won't and shan't quite a lot, and I'm and I'll with less frequency. There seems to be an absence of wouldn't, couldn't, isn't, didn't, etc. I think this will be my rule of thumb: if she used it for her upper-class characters, it's authentic.<br /><br />I also get annoyed with the speech patterns in best-selling books - a lot of the phrasing and even the vocabulary seems far too modern.Charlotte Brentwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17241042192422436027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647897906477408775.post-66259467425622836222013-05-22T21:42:13.369-04:002013-05-22T21:42:13.369-04:00I don't think I mentioned it before, but your ...I don't think I mentioned it before, but your blog here really looks super. <br /><br />As for contractions, you're absolutely right. If a writer is going to write historical fiction, she should use dialog to properly reflect that period in history.Susan Flett Swiderskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09425315552148200073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647897906477408775.post-38101618266757187252013-05-22T20:33:25.415-04:002013-05-22T20:33:25.415-04:00Sia -- I have a habit of using cannot instead of c...Sia -- I have a habit of using cannot instead of can't in my "modern" writing. Funny what creeps in.<br /><br />Michael -- I still maintain ain't ain't a word. <br /><br />Liza -- I think finding them might have bothered me. Sloppy writing. Shame shame.Anne Gallagherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12299643638346680038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647897906477408775.post-46445219426820909252013-05-22T18:46:46.680-04:002013-05-22T18:46:46.680-04:00I'm don't think your lack of contractions ...I'm don't think your lack of contractions bothered me. I think finding them might have.Lizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16170701034715108039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647897906477408775.post-34698879073726399452013-05-22T17:55:52.975-04:002013-05-22T17:55:52.975-04:00I remember I got into an argument with my English ...I remember I got into an argument with my English professor in college (she was very smart and I was foolish). I'd been taught all my life that "ain't" isn't a word. She correctly showed me it is the contraction for "am not."<br /><br />Sigh.Michael Offutt, Phantom Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557969104886174930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647897906477408775.post-61504255978964011562013-05-22T11:28:03.733-04:002013-05-22T11:28:03.733-04:00Contractions are great for modern stories but they...Contractions are great for modern stories but they were not, as you say, in use in the 1800's. I think how you use them is the key. Stilted? Not really. It gives a flavor of the time and all the proper varnish of how they spoke.<br /><br />Funny, I was taught not to use them in writing--not proper English you understand. We were given points off in school projects if we did use them. I think it stuck with me. I have to consciously put them in, at times.<br /><br />My beta readers still slap me with the need for contractions, lol!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.siamckye.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Sia McKye OVER COFFEE</a> ~Sia McKye~https://www.blogger.com/profile/08470562659597351033noreply@blogger.com