Words With Impact: Direct Language Study

Workshop: Discover Words That Sing

“Creativity is itself an act of optimism.”  Edward Albee

Language Study

Another aspect to consider is the sound of your language. This goes beyond sentence structure of flow and pacing, although it can impact both. What sound do you want as your influence—a soft flowing romantic lilt or a more guttural tone such as Klingon. And yes, I do know it’s not a real language even though it has its own dictionary.

Give yourself a few days to wander through a busy city and stop in restaurants to listen to styles of speech. When you hear the accents that attract you, then use their tones and words for your backdrop atmosphere. In my city culture changes from neighborhood to neighborhood. On one street alone within a two-block radius the restaurants include, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Italian, Greek, Hamburger joints, vegan, coffee shops, bakeries (Russian and Polish) and an Irish pub. And I know I’ve forgotten some. Each is owned and provides meals from their cultural specialties.

A twenty-minute stop for an appetizer or dessert or drink offers an opportunity to listen to another country. It’s a relaxing way to study a language.

Another way to hear with a fresh insight is to watch a television show episode, or a movie, in a different language without the sub-titles in any language you speak. Note how intensely you listen and observe and write down any actions or expressions that stand out. Then go back and watch again with the sub-titles to verify or clarify your immediate impressions.

Action Steps:

1. Using one of the suggested categories, write up a brief three to four paragraph scene using a setting from your novel. Or a location you have found charming.

2. Incorporate the sense of communication unique to this place and/or specific conversation between two characters.

Share: Did any details surprise you? Why?

Read deep, marcy

Building a Story World

Language Study

Another aspect to consider is the sound of your language. This goes beyond sentence structure of flow and pacing, although it can impact both. What sound do you want as your influence—a soft flowing romantic lilt or a more guttural tone such as Klingon. (And yes, I do know it’s not a real language even though it has its own dictionary J)

Give yourself a few days to wander through a busy city and stop in restaurants to listen to styles of speech. When you hear the accents that attract you, then use their tones and words for your backdrop atmosphere. In my city culture changes from neighborhood to neighborhood. On one street alone within a two-block radius the restaurants include, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Italian, Greek, Hamburger joints, vegan, coffee shops, bakeries (Russian and Polish) and an Irish pub. And I know I’ve forgotten some. Each is owned and provides meals of their cultural specialties. A twenty-minute stop for an appetizer or dessert or drink offers an opportunity to listen to another country. It’s a relaxing way to study a language.

Take notes. Where did a conversation sound harsh or worrisome? What sounded sweet? Did the inflections go up or down?

Exercise: Choose a section of dialogue in your own work and play with different sounds. Take each person’s conversational part and write it up as a poem to see what sound it leans towards. Replace a few words to intensify the effect you want and then put the conversation back together.

Share: Did you notice anything specific when you kept one’s person’s words apart?

When I did this once I realized one character spoke with assurance and the other spoke in monosyllables.