Ten tips on writing characters with accents, by Rose Lerner


She’s very generously written this post on how she writes characters with different accents. Let us know how you deal with characters’ accents in the comments!





1. I never write an accent phonetically.






Enough said.

Which leads me to rule #2:

2. Accents have nothing to do with intelligence or temperament.


















8. Be even more understated in narration than in dialogue.


9. Be aware of contractions, but don’t overdo it.







55 thoughts on “Ten tips on writing characters with accents, by Rose Lerner





        I apologize to all genuine Francophones everywhere.


          And yay for line edits!




    1. Wow, thanks! I’m so glad it was helpful.

















      1. Thanks–it set up a moment of understanding by the heroine. What she knows of this man is his affinity to nature, and how much he seems to revel in the sunlight on his face. When she learns he was cut off from everything in punishment for refusing to kill an innocent, she falls all the way in love with him









  14. So If I have someone that has an accent I shouldn’t write out how the accent may sound like? I also don’t want to come off as rude & ignorant. I know how you feel. How do I create my character so he’s from that area? I know you can do it by certain slangs, but what if slangs aren’t even necessary with what’s being said? I welcome any help. If my message sounds crazy Im sorry I have been up all night and its now 7:15am. : )

  15. I found this article both interesting and insightful, yet feel in the realm of playwrighting, especially, it may not be the best approach for all material. In published short stories and produced plays, all containing copious amounts of varying Southern dialects, I have felt I was putting the audience/reader in the room with the person, helping them hear that person’s voice, by supplying the dialogue written “in dialect..”

    I have found this particularly effective, even necessary, when I consider MOST people have relatively little reference point for people outside their small circle of living. I feel it is my job to give them the experience of a WHOLE world to encounter… the landscape, the culture, the voices and the sounds. I don’t think people are stupid, but without aural assistance (as so many are accustomed to from TV, movies, etc.), brought to unfamiliar locations with people who speak and sound much differently, I think it is unfair to ask the reader to “guess” the sound of Gerard or Clement. I think I do them a disservice if I don’t assist their ear in hearing, not only the words, but how they are said.

    Obviously, it’s FOR the writer, to paint the pictures BETTER. If the phonetic spelling of things begins to overwhelm rather than assist, well then, one may have to (gasp!) re-write.

    Line of dialogue: Living is hard. So hard. But I see the light.

    Written for BOTH Gerard or Clement to say “sounds” the same…or:

    Gerard (French): Zee living is ‘ard. So ‘ard. But I see zee za light.
    Clement (Backwoods Kentucky: Tha’ livin’ is hard. Soooo hard. But I see tha’ light.

    I can say, too, as I actress, while it is ultimately our job to study the dialect of our character, it can still be a helpful thing to get the ball rolling, to “hear” what the writer heard when we read the script.

    Below is just one writer who thought so too…

    “Atticus says you can choose your friends but you sho’ can’t choose your family, an’ they’re still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge ’em or not, and it makes you look right silly when you don’t.” -To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

    Gotta run. Believe it or not, I stumbled on your article seeking a phonetic way to spell something French for a cheese-obsessed chef I created for a sketch show. Wish. I. Was. Kidding.

    1. I read Brian Jacques’ Redwall series and I loved them. Each of his character species have a different accent that is unique to their race, whether it be hare, mole, shrew, otter, highlander, or vermin. Some of them took a little time to understand the accent. On other occasions a double take on a sentence was necessary, but that is what made it fun to me. I could hear the accent.

      In my book I have pirates(I really have to use phonetic accents here) and French. I don’t want to insult anyone with the French accent but I like hearing an accent in my mind while reading.

      Here’s an example of what I’ve got so far from Maurice, a French corsair. “Wrimy, is not zat your name? We were merely wagering as to whether Capitaine ‘Arshley would kill Mr. Wittson or not. It was such a vital erreur zat ‘e made.”

      I am dropping the “h”s and changing most of the “th”s to “z”s. Then I am adding French words in italics that fit in the sentences. Like “oui” for “yes”, “erreur” for “error”, and “Capitaine” for “Captain”.

      What do you all think? My editor and I are kinda stumped. Any help is welcome. Thank-you.
      Isaiah T. S. recently posted..Pirates vs. Ninjas: What’s More Awesome!My Profile


        Apologies, but I think this is a huge mistake that many writers make. A French person speaking English never says “oui” for “yes”. It’s one of the first words they learn – why would somebody who otherwise speaks the language pretty well, get such a basic word wrong? When I see that in a book, I think “aha, tedious French stereotype coming up.” The same with words that look/sound similar and have the same meaning. They’re easy to remember, so people don’t get them wrong. Where French people make mistakes is where the two languages differ, with words that look the same but have different meanings (e.g. the English word “foot” in French means the game of football, and they only have one word for both “make” and “do”, so they often mix those, by saying “he made a 5-mile walk” instead of “he did”). To write a foreign character who makes mistakes in English, I think we need to know something of their native language, or at least know people of that nationality and listen to the actual mistakes they make.

  16. I’m from Chicago and I carry a distinct Chicago accent. AFAIK an accent is a notion of speech sounds and can’t be translated to the written word without some illegitimate improvised written creativity. i.e.” I live on the Nort side of Chicago and travel frequently to visit the youts on da Sout side.” What do these written words say about the character, and further, what do they say about the writer? This is pure trouble for me.

  17. I want to wholeheartedly agree with number 5, people with accents definitely time them down around people with different accents. I’m from a small island with a very unique accent and dialect, and when I travel in the rest of my country I speak in the more common accent and try not to use dialect. It isn’t always a conscious thing either. I also find if I travel with friends I speak in my “native accent” to them but not others.

  18. I think it really depends on the story, genre, and author’s writing style. Many beautifully written books use phonetic spellings to denote an accent and do it well. I never found Hagrid’ accent funny. It just reminded me that he had one. I often miss accents that are mentioned only in passing the first few times I read them, so it helps to have the reminder phonetic spelling gives. I do agree that it shouldn’t be overused, or used lightly. I know there are stories where everyone has a different phonetically spelled accent. It gives me a headache just to think about it. BUT there are many others who have used phonetic spellings in just the right way and ended up with a classic. Like I have heard time and again, it really is up to the writer to find a style that works for them.

  19. I think #5 is so true, people do slip in and out of regional accents depending on mood, stress, anxiety, happiness, and their company! I think a character that is fluid and whose voice changes depending on the characters they are interacting with is genius! Great suggestions, thank you!

  20. Great post! I’m repeating other commenters, but there are many good points, especially how we change our dialect depending on who we’re around or what we’re doing.

    I’m in the SE of the US, and contractions shorten “not,” such as “I haven’t.” If someone says “I’ve not” in the south, it typically sounds formal and out-of-place.

  21. Pingback: Welcome!
  22. I’m co-writing a story with a close friend of mine and the characters all come from different countries to go to an elite school in Iceland. (There is a much larger story line, but I’d prefer to keep that information to myself.) Anywho, one of the main characters comes from the U.K. (England area). I have very little idea to do with her speech patterns. I obviously do not speak the same way people who speak British (as my peers call it). What is some advice on how her speech patterns should be? Should she speak in the same way Americans do, but have some British slang? I am at a complete lost.

  23. Wow. Picking on Harry Potter AND How to Train your Dragon? Two of the most successful franchises in history? Death-wish much? I for one, appreciate Hagrid’s written accent. Reminds me each time that he’s Scottish. And HTTYD is a children’s film AIMED at children. I’m an ADULT and find the Scottish accent sometimes difficult to understand, so how do you think kids would cope. The MAIN characters are American because it’s easier for kids to understand.
    And I’m sorry but ‘People with accents know they have accents.’ is pure nonsense and only an American would think that way.
    “ANYONE WHO DOESN’T SPEAK AMERICAN HAS AN ACCENT!” FYI, yanks also have accents to us foreigners.
    I’m Australian and as I go about my everyday tasks I’m not thinking to myself “Oh, I have an Australian accent.” Ridiculous! The way I talk isn’t an accent to me, it’s just the way I speak. When my American and British relatives stay with us THEY’RE the ones who sound strange. THEY’RE the ones with accents.
    “People with accents know they have accents.” should be changed to “People from different backgrounds don’t recognise they’re own accents at all and only notice foreigners ones.”

  24. This is very helpful, thank you miss Rose! I recently got myself more into writing. I just started my first project and had the idea to possibly go for an accent or two. I don’t think I’m brave enough to attempt it for the story I’m working on, but in the future it is possible that I will play around with it.

    Thank you!

  25. Hello, Rose. This article is very helpful. I am looking for an advice on how to write a few lines of foreign accent speaking person, for instance, a person in who’s language some of the letters are silent.

    Many thanks!

Leave a Reply to Rose Lerner Cancel reply
