Writing Lister

[lordvalerymimes.livejournal.com]

Sorry for posting so much on the group, but I have SO many questions.

So I'm still working on my "epic" and I've been going back and forth between writing Lister phonetically and not writing him phonetically. I want to be consistent throughout the fic and I can't decide which I prefer. Sometimes it just feels right writing Lister with an occasional dropped consonant and in' instead of ing. Other-times it feels... I dunno, forced? Maybe like I'm trying TOO hard to sound like Lister.

I know I've encountered both phonetic and non-phonetic Listers in my fanfic readings, and I was curious what everyone else thinks of it. Do you have a preference? Does it irritate you when you read, "smeggin' hell" instead of "smegging hell" or do you prefer it?

This has probably been discussed before, so I apologize if I'm dredging up a dead-horse to beat. :)

Comments

[rosecathy1.livejournal.com]

Ooh, what if the Ionian accent = Essex-ish and Rimmer would therefore sound like Gordon Brittas if not for his upbringing/facade? Though that wouldn't explain the "thick" part (since it's supposed to be noticeable). Hmm. Hmmmmm.

[(Anonymous)]

OOOOH I HAVE A HEADCANON ABOUT THIS my headcanon is that Rimmer's accent in the show is a thick Ionian accent, because "received pronunciation" has moved on by the ?23rd century (and probably sounds kinda mid-Atlantic, what with all the "dollarpounds" stuff?), and therefore modern Standard British English sounds massively regional!

It comes as a pair with my other headcanon, that Io is a specifically British colony (which explains why Rimmer asks to be taken to the British Embassy in Terrorform, rather than to the Ionian Embassy, because Ionians still think of themselves as British), ergo the Ionian accent developed out of modern RP, in isolation from whatever became "RP" back on Earth :D

(Hello, I'm Feckles, and I'm such a language geek this is one of the few kinds of thread that will have me wishing I had a proper LJ account instead of having to post on anon. :) )