Writing dialogue in Washington

Submitted by AltRedditForGames t3_102axbf in Washington

Hello all! I am currently writing dialogue for a video game, I am from the southeast and know there must be grammatical differences in the way we speak. I would like for the dialogue to not sound alien to the people who live in the area. I was wondering if anyone would be willing to take a look at some dialogue or offer the way they would say certain things to keep it accurate.

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TVDinner360 t1_j2s50n1 wrote

This is very astute. You're wise for doing this. Wish I could help, but I'm sure another Cascadian with more time can step in.

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Norwester77 t1_j2syjes wrote

I was born and raised in Washington, and my academic background is in linguistics. Happy to help!

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stupidpunname54 t1_j2s6bzr wrote

I'm game... feel free to send a small sample my way to see if we are on the same page and we can go from there. Lived in WA most of my life.

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darth_sinistro t1_j2tp4q0 wrote

I'd also be down to read and look it over. Grew up in eastern WA and now live in western WA.

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always0k t1_j2wddlq wrote

Not from WA so I can’t help OP, but am fascinated by this question. Any native WA folks have examples of different patterns of speech up here?

One thing I’ve noticed is more usage of “hella” than I heard in the south, which I believe comes from proximity to Norcal where it originated. Any other examples would be interesting for me to look out for as I go about my life.

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SeattleTeriyaki t1_j2x0p61 wrote

A typical one people point out is we pronounce "cot" and "caught" the same.

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always0k t1_j2x7di9 wrote

Interesting, although that is consistent with my experience in the south as well. Both are pronounced “caht “ yeah?

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AltRedditForGames OP t1_j2xsk9p wrote

The only time I've heard caught pronounced different is if someone has a strong southern accent

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Seraphynas t1_j3q9pb5 wrote

Sadly I’m no help as I don’t currently live in Washington, we are looking to move this summer. But reading this post made me realize that folks in Washington are probably going to find my accent and dialect very strange.

I was born/raised in Kentucky and I have lived in North Carolina for the past 12 years.

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brakos t1_j300evy wrote

So this one is a little older and it's fading with all the new transplants, but the E in "egg" (and less commonly the A in "bag") are pronounced with a long A, so "Bacon and Eggs" have the same vowel sound.

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