Character dialogue

[Trump]

How should I approach dialogue if the character is ethnic (black) and speaks with slang/Ebonics. Should it be written in standard English so that the read is easier, or should it be written exactly like the character will say it.

[J off course]

I'm not an expert but I would think that, of course, you would write it as the character speaks it. Dialogue in another language other than english is common in screenplays. It is usually not translated for the reader. It is up to the writer to make it clear in the context or perhaps the writer intentionally makes it undecipherable. Spanish seems to be used all the time these days in screenplays.

However, you have to keep in mind that an urban black's slang/ebonics, even though it is english (and a lot richer than many might think, especially spoken by young black males with each other), will not be understandable to other characters who don't share the language, even after years of exposure to it. I count myself pretty good with languages but even after years of living where I do, (think white guy who didn't make the exodus) still alot goes right over my head. The intonation, cadence and slang words combined are what makes it a foreign tongue.

So, keep that in mine. You might have to add.

CHARACTER
Say what?

[DUCPHO]

I always attempt to include pigeon English, colloquialisms and dialectical slang in my character dialogue. Remove it and you remove part of the flavor and ambiance you are attempting to convey linguistically... remove that and it's like removing the spice from your spaghetti sauce!

At least that's my take on it!

[Writer1]

Not to be a smart ass, but the word is pidgin not pigeon

Pigeon describes a bird.

Pidgin describes a language based on two or more languages used for communication by peoples with different native languages.

I found this out when writing my last screenplay. I had a parenthetical describing the speech of a Chinese girl(pigeon). My fiance(she's the smartass!) noticed it and told me the correct word is pidgin.

[pantalone]

"Coo-coo" That's Pigeon English. I think you mean Pidgin, or Pidgin English, or Tok Pisin and eventually what becomes a creole. Pidgin of course means 'business'. There are dozens of different pidgins around the world. It's pretty cool stuff. Google it.

[jimjimgrande]

go easy on the slang and the ebonics. A little goes a long way and the read is more important.

throwing in a few words and phrases will add the necessary flavor, while trying to create street slang phonetically will only slow everything down as we all try to figure out what the hell you're talking about.

[guiltypleasures]

Use it, but use it sparingly. It gets annoying to read when every other word is slang or alledgedly ebonic. Elmore Leonard does it nicely in almost all his novels (Get Shorty and Be Cool in particular). Also, if you don't speak that way yourself, or don't intereact very often with people that do, it will come off forced or inaccurate. Not believable. You don't want a young black reader (or audience member) rolling his eyes thinking "this is crap."

It's kind of like Americans thinking we can pull off a British accent by simply dropping the letter "r" at the ends of words and thrwoing in "jolly" or "indeed" every now and then. There's a lot more to it.