Hi all,
I'm currently writing a character whose English is rather poor, and I find myself conflicted. On the one hand, poor English is part of character. On the other, badly written syntax and the occasional use of a different language could make the script harder to read.
Online advice is very contradictory. Some say it's okay to use other languages but never poor syntax, while others advise to always write in the same language but it's okay to be creative with grammar and syntax.
What do you reckon?
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A Stage 32 exec told me to just pepper . Just enough that the actor/reader understands the character's way of speaking. Hope this helps. Good luck, Bo.
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Kelly Namey It really does.
Thank you, Kelly
Here's a similar post, Bo Rubin: www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Authentic-dialog-versus-readable-sc...
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Using parentheses can work just as well.
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When my characters say something with poor syntax, I use italics to differentiate. Just remember that you have to be consistent throughout the script - if you do it once, do it every time.
Best of luck!
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Thank you for all the advice, it's greatly appreciated!
You're welcome, Bo Rubin.
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I like Matt Dycus's advice here. That way the reader knows it's intentional.
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I like Matt's idea as well as giving the whole dialogue with the note of broken English. You should also check out our Script Coverage service as a way to get an idea of how your dialogue is coming across! Check it out here>> https://www.stage32.com/scriptservices/coverage/buy?id=23
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I was just wondering about this, thanks for posting. One of my scripts is about primarily African-American characters who speak with a ton of slang and I want them to sound authentic but wasn't sure how much is too much.
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Oh, one of my main characters is this black dude named Antonio. I totally lean into how he speaks... because it's real. Do not be afraid to write what you hear in your head! You know damn well what your characters sound like. Write it and be unafraid!
We are storytellers. Don't change the story because you're afraid of what some idiots are going to say about you. Be brave!
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How poor can it be? Just watch Brad Pitt's gipsy character talk in "Snatch". It literally boosts the story...
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Brad did amazing work in that show.
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Kiril, have you ever seen the "behind the scenes" thing from Snatch? It's am amazing insight into how Matthew Vaughn and Guy Ritchie brought Brad Pitt in to "put butts in seats," but then he kinda took the role on and blew everyone away.