By Maureen Bonatch
“Once I finish redding up the house ‘N at do yinz’ want to run down to the state store?”
You might be from Pennsylvania if you read—and understood—that sentence without hesitation. Many of us use local slang without considering that it may only be understood by those in the area. Or while you’re traveling your slang, or the accent that you didn’t realize you had, may help others place your home town.
But what happens when slang, or unusual terms, are used in a story?
Keep it Simple Silly
As a writer, using key terms for an area might help it make the story feel more authentic, but if you overdo it, then it can pull the reader out of a story.
As a reader, learning new words and expressions while reading can be enjoyable—until you have to stop to google a term.
Being pulled out of the story can take away from the scene and leave the reader feeling confused, or with the need to re-read the paragraph.
Consider Other Options
If you really want to add in some slang, consider having another character rephrase so the definition is in the story and the reader doesn’t have to go searching.
“It will take you forever to finish cleaning up the house. Besides, we have plenty of liquor here. What else did you want from the state store?”
Other authors might add a glossary of terms for reference.
You Might Be From PA if…
I might use a few terms or pronunciations specific to Pennsylvanians, but not all of these. How many are you familiar with?
- Buggy
- Warsh
- Crick
- Shush
- Gum Bands
- Hoagie
- Jagoff
- Sweeper
- Philly
- Djeetyet?
- Yinz
- Youns
- Dippy eggs
- Wooder
- Gutchies
- Dahntahn
- Gesundheit
- Slippy
- Babushka
- Pop
- Scrapple
Do you have any slang terms from your neck of the woods that you’d like to share?
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Just a small-town girl, Maureen Bonatch leads a double life. She lives in a magical world as a novelist, and as a nurse leader in reality. Maureen’s first novella was a paranormal romance published when blogs were a new-fangled thing. She’s since changed her focus to writing paranormal cozy mysteries as M.L. Bonatch and urban fantasy as Maureen Bonatch.
While she’s not busy writing or doing nurse-things, she’s a mom to her twin daughters, bicycling in the beautiful woods of PA with her hubby, doing the bidding of a feisty Shih Tzu, and dancing as much as possible. She believes music can be paired with every mood, laughter is contagious, and that caffeine and wine are essential for survival.
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