Dialect

Dialect is a way of speaking that is characteristic of a particular place or group of people.

Writers sometimes use dialect to provide clues about the people and settings in stories.

?What

does this character look like?

Y’all come on back to my ranch

and watch me lasso that steer.

Dialect

Literary Devices

Y’all come on back to my ranch

and watch me lasso that steer.

Did you guess that the character is a

friendly cowboy?

Dialect can make characters seem more real.

Dialect

Literary Devices

In literature, dialect can help the author to develop a particular character.

Writers sometimes use dialect to convey a character’s attitude or trait. It can help the reader visualize a character.

?What

does this character look like?

“Blimey, ’ere we are at last,” growled Captain Hook. “Shiver me timbers! We’ve got gold to steal.”

Dialect

Literary Devices

“Blimey, ’ere we are at last,” growled Captain Hook. “Shiver me timbers! We’ve got gold to steal.”

Did you guess that the character is an

eager, greedy pirate?

Dialect

  "Vwood you like?" Toby's grandmother said as she offered him a pastry. Grandma Maia was raised in Estonia and didn't come to the United States until she was in her 40s.      "Have anuzzer!" his grandma coaxed. "Vee have zo many, zey vill never get eaten ozzervise."     Toby grinned sheepishly and helped himself to another pastry. "Thanks, Vanaema," he said, calling her by the Estonian word for Grandma, as he always did.     

• The dialogue shows how the grandmother is clearly from another country. The dialogue is added so that readers can "hear" how she speaks differently from Toby. This kind of reading selection is best read aloud, so the reader can really hear the character's accent.

The End