The Underground Lectures: Phon Fiction: Descriptions of Speech in Novels
This talk will explore the limits of speech and how we describe it in fiction across genres and formats.
About The Underground Lectures: Phon Fiction: Descriptions of Speech in Novels
The Underground Lectures:
Phon Fiction: Descriptions of Speech in Novels
Dr Rebekka Puderbaugh, University of Edinburgh
In literature, descriptions of speech often provide depth and background to characters. Their accent might be described as “broad”, “twang”, “guttural” or “lilting”. Such descriptions may be evocative, but they do not clearly relate to the sounds that the character would produce. In linguistics, speech is typically described in terms of human anatomy such as the tongue and larynx. But what is a character didn’t have a tongue? How would we describe the speech of an alien, or a robot? This talk will explore the limits of speech and how we describe it in fiction across genres and formats.
Suitability
8+
Tickets:
Full Price - £7
Concessions - £6
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