Writing Chekov and Scotty

[JonLuck Pickerd]

Anyone else find it annoying when you read Trek books and they've actually spelled out the accents? Keptin, or Scotty's 'o wee' yessir, Capn'.

Dont write accents please. We know what they sound like!

 

[ICW]

I have to disagree. I actually prefer the writers doing that; they're staying true to their character.

 

[Greg Cox]

I think a little of that goes a long ways . . .

I may throw in a little bit for color, but try not to go overboard.

 

[Sandoval]

Nuclear wessels.

 

[bbailey861]

I also prefer the writers adding linguistic flavour to the dialogue. Please continue.

 

[Sandoval]

Following this phonetic strategy to its conclusion, could we not have Picard saying such things as "Numbah Whun!" as well?

 

[Therin of Andor]

Dont write accents please. We know what they sound like!

Any one Star Trek product could be someone's first exposure to the Star Trek characters.

I recall being very confused by photographs of Janice Rand and Dr Christine Chapel in the colour photo section of the Australian edition of the novelization of ST:TMP (my first ST novel, read in December 1979). I was pretty certain both characters were blonde in the old TV series, but now here were both characters in the same photo... and one was brunette!

The occasional accent in dialogue can be fun.

 

[Sci]

It's a stylistic choice, that's all. I'm fairly well apathetic about it either way.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Two or three times, authors have gone overboard with the accents. But it was never enough for me to even remember which novels it occurred in.

I've also noticed that some authors describe Scotty's accent noticably improving during times of crisis, wheras others make him even more unintelligable. I just wish I remembered which of the novels did this! I'll remember a book with a minor continuity error, but not one with a difference in character interpretation...

 

[SchwEnt]

If this is true, should writers also capture Kirk's character on the page... by... INSERTING dramatic... pauses... whenever he speaks?

 

[Relayer1]

David A. McIntee writes Scotty's dialogue in English, rather than American, which is good...

 

[JarodRussell]

If this is true, should writers also capture Kirk's character on the page... by... INSERTING dramatic... pauses... whenever he speaks?

Why... MUST... hediewhy... Bones...

 

[Greg Cox]

Okay, I admit I go back and forth on this. Should Chekov say "Captain," or "keptin"?

 

[Mr Silver]

It's a writing tradition that goes back a very long time. One of the most well known examples (outside of trek) is the character of Joseph in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. All of Joseph's dialogue is stylised with a heavy Yorkshire accent and it's extremely difficult to read even more-so these days, since much of the regional idioms are no longer used.

I actually quite like this technique when it's applied to one or two characters in a novel because it's adds a little variation.

@Greg Cox: Chekov should always say "Keptin"

 

[iguana_tonante]

I'd say "Captain". I enjoy a bit of accent, but too much gets annoying after a while. And since it's fair to assume Chekov would say "captain" a lot, I'd wager it's one of those instance when readability trumps flair. YMMV, obviously.

I'll also note there is a difference between speaking a language with an accent and speaking a regional variety of that language. Chekov speaks American English with a (supposedly) Russian accents. What I would like to see would be some Russian words and patterns interspersed into his speech: reading "keptin" again and again, on the other hand, gives me nothing of his "Russianity". Scotty, on the other hand, speaks Scottish English, which is a different variety of English. His "wee bairns" are part of his cultural heritage, not a pronunciation defect, and I'm cool with it.

 

[Greg Cox]

I'd say "Captain". I enjoy a bit of accent, but too much gets annoying after a while. And since it's fair to assume Chekov would say "captain" a lot, I'd wager it's one of those instance when readability trumps flair. YMMV, obviously.

.

That's sort of my instinct, honestly. Phonetic renditions of dialects can get pretty annoying after awhile. Just try reading "The Shadow over Innsmouth" by Lovecraft . . . .

 

[Owain Taggart]

I like reading the accents. I find it helps to set the tone and character. Otherwise, I tend to feel like something is missing. It's a double-edged sword, I guess. With Chekov, sometimes it comes across more like it's a Russian trying to fit into American culture, having just recently left his homeland. Though at the same time, It's likely difficult to do anything more.

 

[JD]

I really don't mind it as long as they don't go overboard. To me readability should come before the little things like accents.

 

[ProwlAlpha]

I don't really mind accents, but its when the author goes overboard with the accents or goes back and forth between the accent to non-accent.

 

[Sci]

To be fair, there is something to be said for the idea of not drawing attention to TOS's rather stereotypical depictions of Russians and Scots...