Dialogue question regarding young character

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  • Dialogue question regarding young character

    I have a script where one of the characters is a small child (2 years old).

    The kid has problems with pronunciation.

    he says stuff like:

    Puh ma room
    Doh whon to go.
    I doh lye my sissy
    In her roo. (room)

    I'm thinking about italicizing all words that are spelled incorrectly. To show the reader I'm not making typos and this is done on purpose.

    What are your thoughts on this? I'm pondering if anyone has ever seen a script with a young child (1-2 years old) as a major character and how the screenwriter went about it regarding the kid's pronunciation in terms of dialogue.

    Thank you.

  • #2
    Re: dialogue question regarding young character

    You don't have to italicize the pseudo-phonetic spellings of childhood pronunciation. It does not help anything.

    As for what someone else may have done in a script, why do you think that the writer knows any more about the matter than you do?

    "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

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    • #3
      Re: dialogue question regarding young character

      FWIW --Toddlers, being toddlers, usually will pronounce words wrong, but how are you going to teach a two-year-old actor to pronounce words wrong the precise way you want? I did not understand what "Puh ma room meant." "Whon to go," on the other hand, looks to me like it would be pronounced "Want to go" and is spelled more incorrectly than it needs to be.

      I suggest spelling the words right, or at least clearly enough for the reader to understand, but using simple, childlike language, and mentioning that the child hasn't yet learned to pronounce all the letters. And then you leave it up to casting to pick a child who is smart enough to learn what to say but has a cute way of mispronouncing, even if it isn't the exact mispronouncing you have in your mind. It will make for easier reading and easier directing.

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      • #4
        Re: dialogue question regarding young character

        Originally posted by Joaneasley View Post
        ...leave it up to casting to pick a child who is smart enough to learn what to say but has a cute way of mispronouncing, even if it isn't the exact mispronouncing you have in your mind. It will make for easier reading and easier directing.
        Yes, just use normal simple dialogue. The director/coach/parent will try to get the child actor to say the lines on the day and they'll get the best they can and use the best they've got. A child actor at that age is not going to learn the lines from your script, someone will be sitting off-camera coaching them so don't waste time or energy trying to replicate what yo would like to happen in the script. On rare occasions where the dialogue matters a voice actor who can do child voices may record lines but unlikely in the scenario presented.
        "Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood

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        • #5
          Re: dialogue question regarding young character

          How important to the story is it to have a character this young providing dialogue? The reason I ask this is that I've read about the difficulties producers/directors have finding talented young actors to play young roles. One article I read cautioned writers against writing central roles too young - it was along the lines of "does the character really need to be seven years old? Would the same function be served by writing it as 10-12 years old?" I imagine finding a toddler that can deliver the performance you imagine would be even more difficult, and quite possibly time consuming.

          Don't get me wrong... if it serves the purpose of your story then have at it. Just be aware that it may limit your options when it comes time to sell/produce your script.
          Check out my blog:
          Rookie Australian Screenwriter

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          • #6
            Re: dialogue question regarding young character

            Originally posted by tony6pack View Post

            Puh ma room
            Doh whon to go.
            I doh lye my sissy
            In her roo. (room)
            I don't think you understand how agonizing this sort of stuff is to read.

            I mean, it is frakking painful. Every line of dialog you make your readers squint and try to figure out what you meant. Literally - none of the examples about are obvious unless you stop to think about them and sound them out.

            What is adorable coming out of the mouth of an actual child is far far worse than nails on a chalkboard on the page. It's like having your own fingernails pulled out slowly, line by unbearable line of dialog.

            I am BEGGING you not to do this unless there is a word where the specific mispronunciation plays a key role in the plot. Everybody who reads the script will hate you for it, even if everything else in the script is good.

            This stuff usually comes up with accents - and many writers don't understand how far a tiny bit goes. I think it's because you know what you what the words are, so it's easy for you to tell what you meant.

            But for the rest of us, it is AGONIZING.

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            • #7
              Re: dialogue question regarding young character

              I don't think you need to use italics for the mispronounced words.

              As others have said, your example is a chore to read (this also happens with odd accents and dialects when the writer wants to record them in detail). You just need to hint a couple of times that the child mispronounces words, preferably if you choose cute examples of this (if the tone of your script allows it). I think Stephen King does it well, you may want to check out some of his books.

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              • #8
                Re: Dialogue question regarding young character

                I also had a tough time reading those examples. This is what I'd do, write something like this in the action:

                Toddler speaks gibberish.

                Then the MOM answers with dialog - "Oh, you want to go in the room?" - or whatever.

                Parents decipher gibberish all day long.

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                • #9
                  Re: Dialogue question regarding young character

                  Thanks for all the responses. You've made me see the light. I'm just going to spell it out normally for clarity/ the reader's sake. I'm trying to play more by the rules these days. I certainly don't want to piss the reader off and have the script passed on for something like this.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Dialogue question regarding young character

                    Originally posted by tony6pack View Post
                    Thanks for all the responses. You've made me see the light. I'm just going to spell it out normally for clarity/ the reader's sake. I'm trying to play more by the rules these days. I certainly don't want to piss the reader off and have the script passed on for something like this.
                    As long as you don't have a 2-year-old speaking in complete sentences, I think a reader will get the gist and will buy it. I would. Then any kid they actually had repeating the lines would say it how they say it and the director would thank his lucky stars and that would be it.

                    But gosh, could it be a slightly older kid? Even a 3-year old would be better. 4 and up preferable. Or any age with double digits. Or just no kids. ...I kid, I kid.

                    Pearl in The Landlord (Will Ferrell -- Funny or Die) was 2 but honestly, I bet she was nearly 3 -- there's a big difference between 2 and 3 -- and still, watch the outtakes and after you're done laughing, try not to get a headache thinking of doing anything like that with a bigger production.

                    Bottom line, that was just an excuse for me to post a link to The Landlord because this all made me think of it and it still makes me laugh. But the outtakes really are a good cautionary tale, if an amusing one.
                    "You have idea 1, you're excited. It flops. You have idea 99, you're excited. It flops.
                    Only a fool is excited by the 100th idea. Fools keep trying. God rewards fools." --Martin Hellman, paraphrased

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                    • #11
                      Re: dialogue question regarding young character

                      And this:

                      Originally posted by Ronaldinho View Post
                      I don't think you understand how agonizing this sort of stuff is to read.
                      "Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood

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                      • #12
                        Re: dialogue question regarding young character

                        I agree with Ronaldinho.

                        Just add something like this when we meet the toddler.

                        CASEY, 2, has trouble pronouncing her words.

                        That's all you need. Then type short sentences for her dialogue.

                        CASEY
                        Don't wanna.

                        CASEY
                        My room!

                        CASEY
                        Don't like my sissy.

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