narrators who aren't omniscient and still say things that don't really read as 1:1 reproductions of the character's voice, and that's not all that much of an obstacle
I'm not sure I know exactly what you're getting at here, but I would say that I would hesitate ot argue that the character's voice can and can not be faithfully reproduced. In the same way that I would not advocate the idea of a canonical representation of a character. I *would* suggest you want your character to be credible to your readership and that would involve producing a voice that is acceptable within these parameters.
So - a Britishism in the narrative POV of a US character is perhaps something that would clash with the credibility of the piece. Spelling of the word makes less of a difference because while we assume the character/ narrator is a *voice* we don't assume the character/ narrator is a writer (I wouldn't say this is always the case - and I have been told that my Australian spelling makes the reader thinking of the piece being said in an Australian accent - but I don't find the obverse to be true so I'm suspecting the jury is hung on that one).
Writing is incredibly formal. I think there's a tendencey to see it as an art form when it's quite a regimented process with all it's little codes and conventions that must be adhered to.
And how does an American quoting a Brit spell colo(u)r, anyway?
I've noticed no changes in HP fandom. Or Giles POV. I don't change my spelling for my American characters either. Although I like the idea of "colo(u)r"...
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2005-08-08 10:49 am (UTC)I'm not sure I know exactly what you're getting at here, but I would say that I would hesitate ot argue that the character's voice can and can not be faithfully reproduced. In the same way that I would not advocate the idea of a canonical representation of a character. I *would* suggest you want your character to be credible to your readership and that would involve producing a voice that is acceptable within these parameters.
So - a Britishism in the narrative POV of a US character is perhaps something that would clash with the credibility of the piece. Spelling of the word makes less of a difference because while we assume the character/ narrator is a *voice* we don't assume the character/ narrator is a writer (I wouldn't say this is always the case - and I have been told that my Australian spelling makes the reader thinking of the piece being said in an Australian accent - but I don't find the obverse to be true so I'm suspecting the jury is hung on that one).
Writing is incredibly formal. I think there's a tendencey to see it as an art form when it's quite a regimented process with all it's little codes and conventions that must be adhered to.
And how does an American quoting a Brit spell colo(u)r, anyway?
I've noticed no changes in HP fandom. Or Giles POV. I don't change my spelling for my American characters either. Although I like the idea of "colo(u)r"...