Slang and Slang Use, Feast yer mince pies on this one! Options

[Guest_Jox_*]

Hi,

In another tile, Don and I had a brief discussion on slang (reproduced in the next post in this tile). However, it seems to me that the subject is a very wide one and has big implications for all writers. So what do you think about slang? Do you / would you use it and, if so, when? What are the dangers and advantages of using it?

Please post your thoughts in this tile.

Oh the sub-title?? "mince pies" is Cockney (London) rhyming slang for eyes.

James.

[Guest_Toumai_*]

Surely slang is just an evolving part of the language? Thus some words and phrases will become so accepeted that they pass into common parlance, while other die a (usually merciful) death.

I very much agree with Nina that phonetically transcribed accents are a pain when reading. You either know the accent, in which case a few choice words or phrases will bring it to mind (JJ is a master of that) or you don't know the accent in which case no amount of dialect will help you truely 'hear' it. (Reading 'Brass' by Helen Walsh I kept 'hearing' Jimmy talking as Cilla Black, which was very disconcerting ... )

I would definitely use slang, and, if appropriate, swearing to bring dialogue to life in a story. I would only use it in naration if it is from the first person, when again I'd be getting into the 'voice' of the narator. In that same vein I might consider using it in poetry.

I love hearing other people's phrases and language use - looking forward to more Cockney rhyming slang from Alan here. This is one of the joys of a multi-cultural site - lots to hear and learn.

Fran