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Let's talk about spelling.
Let's talk about spelling.
Let's start with the orgasmic moan, because we all know that's why you clicked the cut. Except expand that to not only about moan, but all sounds made during sex. Expand that further to not only sex sounds, but any sounds made at any time that don't really have real letter representations: the moan, the groan, the grunt, the scream, the cry, the cheer, the tsk, the huff--whatever else you can think of.
1. What are your thoughts on writing out those sounds?
For instance, would you prefer to see Angel moaned Or, "Uhh," Angel moaned in text? Does it really make a difference? For me, it does. I hate to write out moans, and generally I don't like to see them because no matter how you spell them, moans don't sound like letters. Then again, in rare instances, especially in smut, a moan written out affects me more than just being told someone moaned, becuase, like dialogue, it is more immediate.
2. Now, how do you spell them?
We've got some traditional spellings: "ugh", "humph", "ah", "aw", "aiee", "uh", "mm", "harrumph", "ahem", "eh" and "oh". Are these spellings modifiable? For instance, I rarely make the sound, "Humph." It's more like a "hmph"--but dictionary.com doesn't have that. And yet, it's pretty easy to decipher my meaning and imagine the sound.
a. But what if we start more complex modifications, such as writing out a moan during sex, which is is more often "Uhhghnn" than "Uh"? Maybe "Uhhghnn" is a rather neat letter representation that you can actually relate to, but what about, "Uhhhghahhhnnnnoh!" Can you imagine that sound? Would you want to read it in a fic? At what point does it start to look stupid, rather than add an element of realism?
b. How many letters can you add to one of these words--is there a limit? I find, "Mmmmmmmmmm" to be very annoying in text, because "Mmm" conveys the meaning without looking ridiculous. But to me, that visual aspect of the text is something that can pull me right out of a fic. And anyway, do people really "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh" for that long?
c. How do you differentiate? "Ah" can mean a sound of realization, as in "ah ha!" But it can also be soothing. "She's rubbing my back. Ahhh." Or it can be a scream. "Vampires. Ahh!" (And notice my addition of letters. Is the difference between reliation "ah" and soothing "ahh" an extra "h"? Same with "oh". There's a realization: "Oh, I get it," and a wonderment, "oooh, pretty fireworks". And I've seen people use "ugh" as an expression of disgust and a sound of pleasure. Do they really sound the same?
Now, technically the above words, such as "ugh", are interjections (any member of a class of words expressing emotion," dictionary.com). But I differentiate from noise words (the above) to words we say. (Sometimes they overlap. "Tsk", I think, can both be a sound and a word you say.) I mean words such as "yuck!", "ow!", "oops!", et al. And there's a level up of interjection from that, words that aren't exclamations, such as, "yeah".
3. Uh-huh, uh-uh. What the hell do they mean? And how do we spell them?
I hate to see these words in text. To me, "uh-huh" means an affirmative, and "uh-uh" means a negative. But I've seen people jumble them up until I don't know which is which. And yet, I use them in text too, because there's nothing quite like "uh-huh"--the laziest, most not committed, non attentive kind of affirmative. And what about "nuh-uh"?
4. whoa.
This is where it begins to get complicated. The reason I did this post is that sometimes I'm aggravated by the feeling that certain interjections are mispelled, and I want to correct people. For instance, some people spell this word, "woah" and it drives me ABSOLUTE BONKERS. Then I begin to question myself. I can't spell a moan, and to me, "hmph" is a perfectly valid thing to write in text. How do I know how to spell, "whoa"? dictionary.com has it, and does not have "woah". But this dictionary only has "whoa" in the context of when the word used to mean "stop" (as in, a command to stop a horse). It doesn't have the other more contemporary, slang usages of "whoa". Is there a right and a wrong way to spell this word? Is it, in fact, more of a noise word, with which you can take liberties without alienating readers?
5. yeah, yea, and yay.
This is my biggest pet peeve of all, and yet, I don't think I--or possibly anyone else--really has the authority to put the smackdown on those who use "yea" in a way that makes me ITCH. According to dictionary.com, "yea" is pronounce "yey"--as in, rhymes with "hay," what horses eat--as in, same word as "yay!" a word you use when you're happy to get something, or the word you use to delineate size "when I was yay big"). Now, the meaning of "yea" is yes, and back in the day, it was probably used colloquially. But nowadays, people use "yeah", pronounced as "yah", rhymes with the "ma" sound in the word "mad". But dictionary.com doesn't have that pronounciation, and who's to say how "yeah" is really spelled? I've seen "ya" (which always strikes me as ja, as in German) and "yah", both of which look wrong to me).
I could google around and try to find the "right" answer; I could examine other dictionaries, including those that some consider the "final authority" (e.g., the OED)--but I'm not interested in that so much as how it strikes you in fic/writing/text. I've seen smart people who's writing and intelligence and rudimentary knowledge of such things I respect using "yea" when I think they should be using "yeah" in great, beautiful, grammatically perfect fic. So, what gives? Should this not bother me? Do you feel there's a right or wrong answer to things like this? What do you feel that answer is?
6. Lastly, there's just something I want to throw out there about what I see as "newer" interjections. "Whoa" evolved from the "stop" command to mean something else, nowadays (though it can still mean "stop"). But are other interjections being created? I see "gah" around all the time now, and never used to. It's not in dictionary.com. And "guh".
7. What about "internet" words? What about "glomp"? Didn't "squick" evolve from internet usage? Is it weird to have a character say something like that in a fic?
8. How do you pronounce, "eh?"
Let's start with the orgasmic moan, because we all know that's why you clicked the cut. Except expand that to not only about moan, but all sounds made during sex. Expand that further to not only sex sounds, but any sounds made at any time that don't really have real letter representations: the moan, the groan, the grunt, the scream, the cry, the cheer, the tsk, the huff--whatever else you can think of.
1. What are your thoughts on writing out those sounds?
For instance, would you prefer to see Angel moaned Or, "Uhh," Angel moaned in text? Does it really make a difference? For me, it does. I hate to write out moans, and generally I don't like to see them because no matter how you spell them, moans don't sound like letters. Then again, in rare instances, especially in smut, a moan written out affects me more than just being told someone moaned, becuase, like dialogue, it is more immediate.
2. Now, how do you spell them?
We've got some traditional spellings: "ugh", "humph", "ah", "aw", "aiee", "uh", "mm", "harrumph", "ahem", "eh" and "oh". Are these spellings modifiable? For instance, I rarely make the sound, "Humph." It's more like a "hmph"--but dictionary.com doesn't have that. And yet, it's pretty easy to decipher my meaning and imagine the sound.
a. But what if we start more complex modifications, such as writing out a moan during sex, which is is more often "Uhhghnn" than "Uh"? Maybe "Uhhghnn" is a rather neat letter representation that you can actually relate to, but what about, "Uhhhghahhhnnnnoh!" Can you imagine that sound? Would you want to read it in a fic? At what point does it start to look stupid, rather than add an element of realism?
b. How many letters can you add to one of these words--is there a limit? I find, "Mmmmmmmmmm" to be very annoying in text, because "Mmm" conveys the meaning without looking ridiculous. But to me, that visual aspect of the text is something that can pull me right out of a fic. And anyway, do people really "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh" for that long?
c. How do you differentiate? "Ah" can mean a sound of realization, as in "ah ha!" But it can also be soothing. "She's rubbing my back. Ahhh." Or it can be a scream. "Vampires. Ahh!" (And notice my addition of letters. Is the difference between reliation "ah" and soothing "ahh" an extra "h"? Same with "oh". There's a realization: "Oh, I get it," and a wonderment, "oooh, pretty fireworks". And I've seen people use "ugh" as an expression of disgust and a sound of pleasure. Do they really sound the same?
Now, technically the above words, such as "ugh", are interjections (any member of a class of words expressing emotion," dictionary.com). But I differentiate from noise words (the above) to words we say. (Sometimes they overlap. "Tsk", I think, can both be a sound and a word you say.) I mean words such as "yuck!", "ow!", "oops!", et al. And there's a level up of interjection from that, words that aren't exclamations, such as, "yeah".
3. Uh-huh, uh-uh. What the hell do they mean? And how do we spell them?
I hate to see these words in text. To me, "uh-huh" means an affirmative, and "uh-uh" means a negative. But I've seen people jumble them up until I don't know which is which. And yet, I use them in text too, because there's nothing quite like "uh-huh"--the laziest, most not committed, non attentive kind of affirmative. And what about "nuh-uh"?
4. whoa.
This is where it begins to get complicated. The reason I did this post is that sometimes I'm aggravated by the feeling that certain interjections are mispelled, and I want to correct people. For instance, some people spell this word, "woah" and it drives me ABSOLUTE BONKERS. Then I begin to question myself. I can't spell a moan, and to me, "hmph" is a perfectly valid thing to write in text. How do I know how to spell, "whoa"? dictionary.com has it, and does not have "woah". But this dictionary only has "whoa" in the context of when the word used to mean "stop" (as in, a command to stop a horse). It doesn't have the other more contemporary, slang usages of "whoa". Is there a right and a wrong way to spell this word? Is it, in fact, more of a noise word, with which you can take liberties without alienating readers?
5. yeah, yea, and yay.
This is my biggest pet peeve of all, and yet, I don't think I--or possibly anyone else--really has the authority to put the smackdown on those who use "yea" in a way that makes me ITCH. According to dictionary.com, "yea" is pronounce "yey"--as in, rhymes with "hay," what horses eat--as in, same word as "yay!" a word you use when you're happy to get something, or the word you use to delineate size "when I was yay big"). Now, the meaning of "yea" is yes, and back in the day, it was probably used colloquially. But nowadays, people use "yeah", pronounced as "yah", rhymes with the "ma" sound in the word "mad". But dictionary.com doesn't have that pronounciation, and who's to say how "yeah" is really spelled? I've seen "ya" (which always strikes me as ja, as in German) and "yah", both of which look wrong to me).
I could google around and try to find the "right" answer; I could examine other dictionaries, including those that some consider the "final authority" (e.g., the OED)--but I'm not interested in that so much as how it strikes you in fic/writing/text. I've seen smart people who's writing and intelligence and rudimentary knowledge of such things I respect using "yea" when I think they should be using "yeah" in great, beautiful, grammatically perfect fic. So, what gives? Should this not bother me? Do you feel there's a right or wrong answer to things like this? What do you feel that answer is?
6. Lastly, there's just something I want to throw out there about what I see as "newer" interjections. "Whoa" evolved from the "stop" command to mean something else, nowadays (though it can still mean "stop"). But are other interjections being created? I see "gah" around all the time now, and never used to. It's not in dictionary.com. And "guh".
7. What about "internet" words? What about "glomp"? Didn't "squick" evolve from internet usage? Is it weird to have a character say something like that in a fic?
8. How do you pronounce, "eh?"
no subject
1. What are your thoughts on writing out those sounds? For instance, would you prefer to see Angel moaned Or, "Uhh," Angel moaned in text?
It depends on the context. I do both, though I'm more apt to just say that X moaned because I think that writing it out can look silly if it's over-used.
2. Now, how do you spell them?
Phonetically. If I want someone to moan "Ohhhwawerrowooo!" I'll have 'em moan "Ohhhwawerrowooo!" (And yea, this can look silly if take to ridiculous extremes, so...don't take it to ridiculous extremes.) I don't have any particular letter limit; I go with what looks right and won't wrap (or fail to wrap) obnoxiously. As for differentiating, if I haven't made it clear in context whether "Oh," is an "Oh" of surprise, an "oh" of "I see, that answers my question," or an "Oh" of "Some has just poked me with a sharp stick," then I've done a very poor job of writing the scene.
3. Uh-huh, uh-uh. What the hell do they mean? And how do we spell them?
Uh-huh is an affirmative. Uh-uh and nuh-uh are negatives. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.
4. whoa.
I spell it "Whoa," but as it's used to mean far different things than "Stop, horse!" these days, I don't object unduly if it's spelled "Woah." If nothing else, I think you could make a good argument that "Whoa/woah" derives from "Wow" rather than "Whoa/stop."
5. yeah, yea, and yay.
I spell "Yeah" with an H, save on rare occasion when I spell it "Yeh," or "Yah." Whenever I use a spelling that is not "yeah," I am trying to indicate to the reader that the character is pronouncing the word in a non-standard fashion. I've never seen it spelled "yea."
I only use "Yay" if I mean "Hurray!"
6. I see "gah" around all the time now, and never used to. It's not in dictionary.com. And "guh".
I have no objection to using those words so long as we remember that they weren't current in the early years of the show–they should only be used in later and post-show fics, IMO.
7. What about "internet" words? What about "glomp"? Didn't "squick" evolve from internet usage? Is it weird to have a character say something like that in a fic?
Which character are we talking about? Angel or Wesley or Giles? Probably not. Buffy doesn't show much interest in computers. But for some characters in some time periods, sure. We know that Willow, for example, was internet-savvy and probably wrote and maybe even posted Doogie Houser fanfic. I could easily see Willow using net words (though not L33T-speak, because that would horrify her order-loving soul.) And if a story's set post-show, then it seems very likely that characters who are in their late teens or early twenties might have a passing familiarity with net jargon. I mean, hell, Dawn's probably hanging out on MySpace 24/7 like everyone else her age. And Andrew? He's a total geek.
8. How do you pronounce, "eh?"
"Eh." Take off, hoser!
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I don't have any particular letter limit; I go with what looks right and won't wrap (or fail to wrap) obnoxiously.
Once I started thinking about it, I felt more and more than anything over three repeated letters didn't look right, and now I have trouble even with that. And it's funny you mention the wrap--it's snorfle-worthy seeing an exclamation in sex that had to go on its own line.
As for differentiating, if I haven't made it clear in context whether "Oh," is an "Oh" of surprise, an "oh" of "I see, that answers my question," or an "Oh" of "Some has just poked me with a sharp stick," then I've done a very poor job of writing the scene.
That makes sense. One thing I like about the word "oh" though is that it can be used so many ways. I've found I had characters saying it when I suspect they might not've if you could've *heard* them speaking, because it can create a particular effect that shows the characters thought process. You know the whole, "Oh," then, "Oh!" thing--the first as an acknowledgement and the second as a realization.
3. And when people mix 'em up in fic it makes their whole meaning wonky.
I think you could make a good argument that "Whoa/woah" derives from "Wow"
I was wondering about that, or where else it could derive from. My dad uses, and has always used, a sound kinda like, "wuh!" when he's impressed (or "Wahuuuuhh!" when very impressed ;o) Does that mean the double-u sound is instinctive to that kinda reaction? I mean, is whoa more of a sound you make, than a thing you say? I also think it sounds kind of like a really low whistle you do when impressed. Anyway, I wish I had the OED so I could see what it says about that word, because I think it's really interesting.
so long as we remember that they weren't current in the early years of the show
I find this difficult. I find "gah" very natural. And when I picked it up, I wondered whether it wasn't something I always kinda said. I mean, if someone is surprised/stratled they often make a sound that starts with a "g" and kind of glug glugs for a second before getting to a vowel. I bet if we looked at older movies and sound recordings we could hear it because it seems to me instinctive. So is "gah" a representation of that instinctive surprise sound--so even if we didn't used to say "gah" as the word "gah" we made a sound like "gah"? Gah, I dunno. I find that and "guh" very frustrating in that respect.
Willow, for example, was internet-savvy and probably wrote and maybe even posted Doogie Houser fanfic.
Could definitely see Willow saying it. And I think I might've had Buffy actually use it. And Dawn on MySpace--ha! Now, what I really want to know is whether anyone one has written a fic with "by Willow Rosenberg" in the title. Because I feel like writing her Doogie Houser fic would be fun.