Hello readers!
Welcome to this week’s installment of First Sentence Friday and Free Book Friday! For the foreseeable future, the free book is an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of When the Jessamine Grows. ????
In this novel, I became enmeshed in the language of the time. Not all the characters “speak” the same way, but in Joetta’s case, and to some degree, her husband, Ennis, they use a manner of speech that’s more formal. All it takes are certain turns of phrase, or placement of words to bring readers into the era. Take the sentence of Chapter 14 below, and consider the salutation. “Dear one. . .” I don’t think anyone would begin a letter like this today. I get emails that begin Dear Donna, which is grammatically correct, professional, and appropriate, but it’s usually used for those who don’t know me personally, and it’s typically tied in with a formal request, like for an event. Otherwise, it’s “Hi there,” or, “Hey!” or, no greeting at all.
Much like the dress code of today, our manner of speech in the 21st century is much less formal – actually, forget 21st century. This was true fifty years ago – think of the 70s when EVERYTHING had a laid back vibe.( “Heeeey, maaaan.” ????)
Either way, I became invested in getting the “voice” for my main character Joetta, just so. I referred to several resources to get a handle on speech patterns while also creating Joetta’s voice from how I “heard” her. It was fun, and interesting to learn how language evolves as time goes on. For instance, here’s an example from Mary Chesnut’s Civil War, one of the books I used as a reference guide:
“To all this light chat did we seriously incline <<< interesting choice of word, but this is what’s written>>> because the man and horse and everything about him was so fine looking. Perfection — no fault to be found if you hunted for one. As he left us, I said, ‘Who is it?’ eagerly.”
“You did not know! Why, it is Robert E. Lee, son of Light Horse Harry Lee, the first man of Virginia” —raising her voice as she enumerated his glories.”
This, from her diary, the one place you’d think she’d let her guard down, or fall back to a less formal way of speaking. Not so!
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CHAPTER 14
Dear one,
At that, Joetta stopped reading.
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FREE BOOK FRIDAY!!!
For this week’s chance to win a signed ARC of When the Jessamine Grows, why do you think our manner of speech goes through such change, so that over time, it’s vastly different?
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PRE-ORDERS
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Pre-order links for your convenience:
Kensington Publishing Corporation
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I believe our manner of speech changes because of our environment, basically the exposure we have to people in our lives. We (some friends and I) were just talking about this last night. Leaving the NE at 14 yrs old and immersing into the South was a culture (language) shock. Now I return North and they say I have a southern accent. Think of the time when singer Spears came back from London with an English accent. Bwahh hah ha ha. It happens. We are all deeply affected by one another on so many different levels and partially based on our insecurities. We are a product of constant change, if we didn’t change, we would be dead. Others change more easily than most, its constant, whether we are aware of it or not.
OMG – that’s right! I think Madonna was affected this way too. ????
Another way to prove your point is my mom was from Maine – but she lived down here in NC most of her life. (about 62 years) She moved here at 21 with my Dad after they married. He was born in NC, and worked traveling the east coast repairing refrigeration systems, and that’s how they met. Anyway, when we took trips to Maine, her accent would fluctuate. She spoke more “Northern” up there, but would default to expressions like, “I swannee,” once she came back here. I remember her talking about it with relatives.
what we come in contact with
That seems to be the general consensus!
I think our language changes with the area we live in and the people we are exposed to. Thank you for opertunity for a chance to win an ARC of your newest book, looking forward to reading it. Love your books! following you all over.
Yes, I think this is the general consensus for sure. We want to fit in, and molding our manner of speech is one way to do this. Thank you for following! ????
I think the manner of speech changes because of our location or maybe even technology with its terminology. I remember meeting my husbands Grandmother for the first time; hearing her adorable German accent and the way she said things. (My husband did not notice it) She shipped to Ellis island at 19 all by herself. Anyway, I think the changes are slow that’s why we don’t notice it is happening. Also, someone new in the circle will hear it, like I did. ????
It’s been fun reading everyone’s experiences, and thoughts on this. If you think about the United States in general, and our evolution of language overtime, where we have influences from individuals like your grandmother. And then consider that tenfold, with all of the different cultures, from those early Ellis Island days, to now. It’s why I’ve always loved the term “melting pot” because it’s the simplest way of describing the language/pronunciations/word use for our different regions. 🙂
Our speech changes, as time changes with generations. What we might have heard speech wise, in the south from our family and other relatives growing up,,,it sticks with us. Going north to visit or live,,,we hear the “accent” and words pronounced differently. We learn from it. Time changes the speech/words used that we read or hear every year,,even in the Webster dictionary. 🙂
Hi Lenora – I found your comment TODAY in the spam folder! Sorry about that! I’ve “approved” your email/id so that shouldn’t happen again. Thank you for being here! ????
I am not sure why that is but it is very interesting and how that tends to happen.
It’s a lot of different things, and it sneaks up on us. I believe we might not even notice sometimes because we’re just going along and living life, you know???
I think the change happens because of the experiences and exposure around us shapes the usage of language. What my mom spoke in a small town growing up became different when she moved to a city and the regional difference brought drastic changes in her use of words and speech. When I moved to US there is further use of different speech and language. In short the environment and the rapid change in tech plays a big role.
That’s so true – I mentioned something similar above (about exposure/experiences around us) about my mom’s mispronunciation of a word. We learn to adapt our way of communicating, when/as our lives do, no doubt!
Well thinking back, during my 69 years, I grew up with parents that didn’t finish high school and acquired many words from them that stays with me today. Even though I was taught differently in school and college. I could write long love letters to my now husband, when we were dating, but now he gets a card that says nice things and an I love you from me. Tunings change and a person gets busy and I have gotten lazy at writing. Especially now that I’m on an I phone texting most of the time.
It’s true that our environment influences us a lot. I know that my mother used to mispronounce a word, and as a child, I said it like she did until I got older and realized it wasn’t right. Actually, I recall being shocked by this. ????
I think your language depends on your environment alot and how much education you have.
when u have a thirst for knowledge and want to learn new languages and go to different countries.
And now schools definitely incorporate new languages. When I was in school was only Spanish.
And