Lingo
As a writer I love playing with words. I sometimes refer to it as word whittling. You can have fun with it and put a little humor into a story in the bargain. One of my favorite lines in A Question of Bounty takes place in a saloon where Billy the Kid is attempting to write a letter to Governor Lew Wallace, requesting a pardon for his part in the Lincoln County War. The bartender, Pat Garrett helps him get his tongue around the fact that Wallace granted others involved in the war ‘Amnesty’. When the letter is finished, the grateful Kid tells Garrett, “If Honorable Ole Lew gives me animosity, I’ll have you to thank.”
We speak and write a living language. It evolves. Remember when somebody’s cell meant they were in jail? And whatever happened to Daddy-O, Dude? But I date myself. We add words, accepted meanings change and yes some words fall into disuse. Evolution in language comes into sharp focus for the intrepid author who presumes to write in another era, say the nineteenth-century.
There are two sides to the lingo coin. First you need take care that contemporary terms don’t find their way into periods before they were accepted. In today’s world with so much self-publishing, contemporary word creep happens more than it should. Can you picture Wyatt Earp saying he was ‘OK’ after the famous gunfight? I didn’t think so. Good editors catch that sort of thing. I’m blessed to have one. Not everybody does. Today’s younger editors are the product of their educations. I have a running editorial fuss over my use of ‘alright’ and contemporary insistence on ‘all right’. The flip side to the lingo coin can make for a bit of fun.
A couple of years ago I stumbled on a book based on the reminiscences of General David J. Cook, Superintendent of an organization that called itself the Rocky Mountain Detective Association. Cook and his organization are the inspiration for my Great Western Detective League series. The book, first published in 1882, is a compilation of case reports on criminal investigations conducted by Cook’s association. Needless to say the language in the reports is pure nineteenth century. I found the terminology so amusing I started building a little glossary. I thought I might use a term or two here and there to give my stories a ring of authenticity.
There is a risk of frustrating the modern reader if you over use antique jargon, so sparing is the watchword. Still who can resist something as tempting as: a character wending his way thitherward? Can you picture a romantic heroine who inspires her man to cupidity? Used sparingly, I see opportunities to capture a little rascality and jollification! We don’t dress our Victorian women in mini-skirts. Why deny our characters a little nostalgia in the lingo they use?
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
We speak and write a living language. It evolves. Remember when somebody’s cell meant they were in jail? And whatever happened to Daddy-O, Dude? But I date myself. We add words, accepted meanings change and yes some words fall into disuse. Evolution in language comes into sharp focus for the intrepid author who presumes to write in another era, say the nineteenth-century.
There are two sides to the lingo coin. First you need take care that contemporary terms don’t find their way into periods before they were accepted. In today’s world with so much self-publishing, contemporary word creep happens more than it should. Can you picture Wyatt Earp saying he was ‘OK’ after the famous gunfight? I didn’t think so. Good editors catch that sort of thing. I’m blessed to have one. Not everybody does. Today’s younger editors are the product of their educations. I have a running editorial fuss over my use of ‘alright’ and contemporary insistence on ‘all right’. The flip side to the lingo coin can make for a bit of fun.
A couple of years ago I stumbled on a book based on the reminiscences of General David J. Cook, Superintendent of an organization that called itself the Rocky Mountain Detective Association. Cook and his organization are the inspiration for my Great Western Detective League series. The book, first published in 1882, is a compilation of case reports on criminal investigations conducted by Cook’s association. Needless to say the language in the reports is pure nineteenth century. I found the terminology so amusing I started building a little glossary. I thought I might use a term or two here and there to give my stories a ring of authenticity.
There is a risk of frustrating the modern reader if you over use antique jargon, so sparing is the watchword. Still who can resist something as tempting as: a character wending his way thitherward? Can you picture a romantic heroine who inspires her man to cupidity? Used sparingly, I see opportunities to capture a little rascality and jollification! We don’t dress our Victorian women in mini-skirts. Why deny our characters a little nostalgia in the lingo they use?
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
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