Language

[annis]

Another point to consider if using words from another language to add atmosphere to a historical novel is the need to be familiar with that language or else have the work vetted by someone who is. I remember wall-banging a book set in Renaissance France that was liberally sprinkled with French words and phrases so incorrect it would have been laughable if it hadn't been so darned annoying.

[EC2]

[quote=""MLE""]Writers seem to forget that a story is for the reader, not the characters. That's why oral storytelling keeps me anchored in that very important fact: try telling a story where the audience walks away![/quote]

Your coment MLE and Rosemary Sutcliff's wise words hit the nail on the head for me. That work you gave us the link to Rowan, is an interesting experiment, but I think will only find a minute, niche market. I hope he's got the right idioms and dialect for Hereward's area of England at the time!

[Madeleine]

I'm enjoying A Great and Terrible Beauty, but some of the language....would a Victorian headmistress have referred to someone as "your new room-mate"? Or on joining the school, say (admittedly with a touch of sarcasm) that she was joining "the Spence family" (Spence is the name of the school).?

[wendy]

[quote=""Madeleine""]I'm enjoying A Great and Terrible Beauty, but some of the language....would a Victorian headmistress have referred to someone as "your new room-mate"? Or on joining the school, say (admittedly with a touch of sarcasm) that she was joining "the Spence family" (Spence is the name of the school).?[/quote]

This is an interesting issue and something HF writers struggle with all the time. To answer your immediate question, the word "room-mate" has been around since 1770 (according to Merriam-Webster) and joining "the Spence family" does not seem an inappropriate statement. However, the fact that it jars you as a reader is an unfortunate problem! This particular book was published by Random House so will have been thoroughly screened for inappropriate modern language by one of the editorial staff (the major advantage of not self-publishing).

My own pirate book was criticized for using the word "ditty bag" which an ill-informed reviewer claims was a term not used until c 1860. She presumably checked Merriam-Webster, who based their assumption on the first written evidence appearing in Admiral Smith's book of 1867. However, I had carried out a much more extensive search, finally coming across an article by Louie Bartos (Master Sail-maker) who traces the origin back to the Oxford English Dictionary's reference to the similarly-used word "dight," common in general speech since at least 1580. So even M-W doesn't always get things right!

As readers we demand the language stay as authentic as possible. As writers we try our best to accommodate.

Perhaps the other writers out there can explain how they approach this tricky issue?

[Lisa]

[quote="Madeleine"]I'm enjoying A Great and Terrible Beauty, but some of the language....would a Victorian headmistress have referred to someone as "your new room-mate"? Or on joining the school, say (admittedly with a touch of sarcasm) that she was joining "the Spence family" (Spence is the name of the school).?[/quote]

"Room-mate" would jar me as a reader in this case because nowadays, I believe it's a predominantly American term (just checked and the book is set in England). Or we don't hear it much north of the border at least

[CelticBlood64]

That is what I do, largely. Why depict ancient events with a modern viewpoint and language. Seems to me to defeat the purpose. You are an inhabitant of the time ... that is what you are aiming for ... to become that time and place.

[ellisael]

I think this such an excellent question esp because so many potential stalwart authors of historical fiction do not even attempt it because of their fear of not being able to capture the language of the era. I think Hamilton as a musical really does such a great job of playing with it- there the language is not as important as the register and storytelling of the particular era- at the end if the language doesn't break the spell that the author is trying to create- i, as a reader, would not be too put off. Another great example is Parable of the Sower ,wherein Octavia Butler uses language to negotiate the era