The dwarves of the Land, known here as Duergars, speak Solomon Island Pidgin. I'm still not sure if I've got a decent reason why it should be that in the terms of the book, but that it is some sort of pidgin is because it makes them look dim.
They aren't, but that's the way the world tends to think, isn't it?
They are actually modelled on Philipinos, who do tend to be smaller than Europeans and who also tend to be cheerful, polite, hard-working folk who make things work. Especially here in the UAE.
They speak English with a very distinctive accent, which is a thing that marks you. Geordie is now a popular accent in the UK, from what I've read, but I still remember when Geordies were described as speaking like Scotsmen with their heads kicked in. When I went off to do teacher training in Huddersfied Poly, I was told by someone (who thought it one hell of a laugh) that Geordies were the only ones in the country to do an oral English exam. My copy of Billy Elliott is subtitled in English - possibly for the benefit of Americans, who would have real problems - but as likely for the rest of the English, who were just as much in need of translation.
GB Shaw wrote Pygmalion to point out how much accents propped up the class system in the UK and how easily a person gets slotted into a position in the pecking order as soon as they open their mouth. So some things have changed and that is good, but it's still the idea that 'bad' English equals stupid.
The Duergars speak Solomon Island pidgin for my two reasons that I know it and that it sets up expectations that I can later upset. I spent four years in the Solomons, teaching in secondary schools there. It's a topic for another post, but I didn't see any evidence that the kids I taught there were thicker than any others I've ever taught - they just hadn't seen some things or been taught them before.
Again, as with Phoebe's speech, it's something that puts some people off. They don't understand what the Duergas are saying and start to lose interest because of that. For myself, I can't think of this as a big problem. I've made sure that what they say in Pidgin is both not that important and is comprehensible from context or translation. Later, when a Duergar needs to say something of importance to the story, he speaks in English. There's a trick to that which I won't go into yet.
For now think on the fact that the servants in this story speak 'broken English' and think why someone would do that.
They aren't, but that's the way the world tends to think, isn't it?
They are actually modelled on Philipinos, who do tend to be smaller than Europeans and who also tend to be cheerful, polite, hard-working folk who make things work. Especially here in the UAE.
They speak English with a very distinctive accent, which is a thing that marks you. Geordie is now a popular accent in the UK, from what I've read, but I still remember when Geordies were described as speaking like Scotsmen with their heads kicked in. When I went off to do teacher training in Huddersfied Poly, I was told by someone (who thought it one hell of a laugh) that Geordies were the only ones in the country to do an oral English exam. My copy of Billy Elliott is subtitled in English - possibly for the benefit of Americans, who would have real problems - but as likely for the rest of the English, who were just as much in need of translation.
GB Shaw wrote Pygmalion to point out how much accents propped up the class system in the UK and how easily a person gets slotted into a position in the pecking order as soon as they open their mouth. So some things have changed and that is good, but it's still the idea that 'bad' English equals stupid.
The Duergars speak Solomon Island pidgin for my two reasons that I know it and that it sets up expectations that I can later upset. I spent four years in the Solomons, teaching in secondary schools there. It's a topic for another post, but I didn't see any evidence that the kids I taught there were thicker than any others I've ever taught - they just hadn't seen some things or been taught them before.
Again, as with Phoebe's speech, it's something that puts some people off. They don't understand what the Duergas are saying and start to lose interest because of that. For myself, I can't think of this as a big problem. I've made sure that what they say in Pidgin is both not that important and is comprehensible from context or translation. Later, when a Duergar needs to say something of importance to the story, he speaks in English. There's a trick to that which I won't go into yet.
For now think on the fact that the servants in this story speak 'broken English' and think why someone would do that.
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