Accents

[Catalyst]

If you were writing a character with a strong accent would you write what he says as he says it. For example if they are Scottish would you say (this is just a random sentance) "Ach dinnae worry, away af haem and git some tea"
Or would you say that the character has a strong
Scottish accent and just write it normally - "Ach don't worry, away off home and get some tea"

 

[novella]

Reading phonetic dialect can be so annoying and distracting. Unless it's vital to the story, I would use standard spelling and show the accent in other ways. For example, if every character in the book has the same accent, what's the point? But if one character has a thick accent that makes it hard for other characters to understand him or her, that might be important.

Also, you can show it by using it in the occasional word, in chosen vocabulary, or in syntax. You definitely don't want it to get in the way of telling the story.

"What the **** you lookin' at?" is just as effective at conveying character as "Wudda fu' you lookin' at?"

 

[Ice]

I would agree with Novella, it can be extremely annoying to read. One example is Welsh's Trainspotting.

 

[Stewart]

I'll agree also. I've just spent the day researching a local village for a story I want to write and, with it being set about 150 years ago, I'm not bothering with the intricacies of spoken dialogue of the time although I'll drop the occasional word in (despite some of the stuff I've read through today; loads of nice archaic words and terms). The only exception will be with the Irish immigrants that arrived in the village around that time.

Now I need to find some nice archaic Irish phrases.

 

[Mari]

Each accent has its own cadence as well as pronunciation. The rhythm of sentences can show an accent even if you don't use phonetic spelling. A classic children's book, By the Great Horn Spoon, can provide a lesson in that. Lots of characters come and go, and you can tell all their accents even though there are no variant spellings.

Grapes of Wrath also handles accents well. From my Chicago perspective, everyone in the book has an accent, but it is handled subtly, and is not a strain to read.

I'm sorry to say, on the other hand, that Jim's voice in Huckleberry Finn goes too far with the phonetic spelling. Even though it's one of my favorite books, I think Twain failed on that one point. Huck also has a very colloquial way of talking, but it is handled through humorous phrasing that never requires puzzling out, and doesn't rely on odd spelling.

A Confederacy of Dunces does a great job of portraying some New Orleans accents without being burdensome; and Salimandastron, another children's book, has one character with a spoof of a Scottish accent that is nevertheless smooth to read.

Just a few examples that occur to me in response to this interesting question.

 

[doc_williamson]

It depends on the context and the reason you are using the accent. If the work is to be performed by actors as a play or screenplay, accents are important for those people to get it "right" (which is to say, the way you, the author, meant it to be).
Accents should be the spice, not the "meat", however, unless you are writing a story in which the focus is on the "otherness" of foreigners, or the acceptance of differences as a principle theme.
On the other hand, I have written works that have then been performed with even (what I considered only moderately) mild accents and the audiences almost all complained that they had difficulty understanding the characters. In truth, a good deal of the difficutly understanding was a lack of familiarity with the idioms and cadence. (American audiences, mind you.) In Britain, as in other places and in other languages, sometimes the accent is also an indication of social status as well as education or ethnic background that can be easily recognized.
So in summary, if the characters speak a lot of dialogue, consider moderating the accented spellings to ease the reader through it, but by all means, if you can accurately re-create an accent without obscuring the meaning of the words, it adds a great deal. Try reading MacBeth some time keeping in mind that all the characters have Scottish accents (of various sorts), and you might find that the words flow together a little more sonorously. On the other hand, a great accent coach in Hollywood teaches accents by spelling plain words correctly, but "tar" is how Southerners say the word most of us recognize as "tire", or the British as "tyre", though the regimental major from colonial India would pronounce it, "tie-ah".

Good luck.
sincerely,

Stafford "Doc" Williamson