Language in “To Kill A Mockingbird”. Thinking about how words and phrases are included to reflect the characters and their social background. MK 2014

HARPER LEE uses southern dialect to set the scene 1Harper Lee uses dialogue to mimic the way people would’ve talked in 1930s Alabama. She makes it realistic by using: Dialect words – she uses some unfamiliar Southern words like “scuppernong” (a type of grape) or “shinny” (a type of alcohol). Non-standard spelling – Harper Lee tries to suggest how words would’ve been pronounced by spelling words differently such as “pizened” for poisoned and “chillun” for children. Ellipsis – letters are missed off words and replaced with an apostrophe to show how the words would’ve sounded such as “goin’”, “nothn’”, “makin’”.

Consider language choice You could, for instance, check the terms used by different rich white individuals to refer to the African-American - some say "nigger", some say "Negro", some say "coloured persons" - and choose the word they use as an indication of their racial attitude. A minor example of the same type of variation in usage is to be found in the name used by various characters for the narrator. Friends call her Scout; enemies call her Jean Louise. One further function of the language used in this novel is the creation of atmosphere. All the characters, even the highly educated Atticus, use distinctive Southern dialect expressions such as "You all".

THE BLACK COMMUNITY SPEAK DIFFERENTLY In the novel, black people and white people have different dialects and the black community use less standard grammar – e.g. “They’s my comp’ny”, “I wants to know”. This reflects their lack of education. In Chapter 12 Scout tells Cal that “nigger-talk” isn’t right – this is a good example of how white characters assume anything they do is better than anything black people do.

The characters’ language reveals a lot about their status Atticus is respectful to everyone. He calls women “Ma’am”. He is always polite. The less-educated characters like the Ewells, Cunninghams and the black community have stronger accents than the more educated townsfolk like Atticus and Miss Maudie. Aunt Alexandra uses the word “aren’t” while the children use “ain’t” – she’s more concerned about her image and sounding correct. Calpurnia changes how she speaks depending on whether she’s talking to black or white people – she knows that she wouldn’t fit into the black community if she spoke to them like she does to the Finches. Cal understands how important language is to her identity.

APHORISMS An aphorism is a short pithy statement or saying, which expresses an opinion or something generally believed to be true. Examples from To Kill a Mockingbird include Aunt Alexandra’s aphorisms: "No Crawford minds his own business" and "All the Bufords walk like that" (p. 145). Atticus tells Scout that "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view ... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it" (p. 33). Aphorisms are used in dialogue when people want to give advice, point out a mistake or explain something about human nature. Lee uses a lot of aphorisms in To Kill a Mockingbird to convey ideas about character, setting and relationships within dialogue. We quickly figure out what kind of person Aunt Alexandra is through her frequent use of aphorisms!

Your monologue… Use quotes from the novel to reveal your character’s attitudes. (They don’t strictly have to be quotes that your character says but they fit be suitable / adjusted to suit your character). Try to add into your writing the dialect, non-standard spelling, ellipses and words used in 1930s Alabama. Link to glossary * If you are concerned that you will be marked down for spelling – include an annotated version of your monologue which shows where you’ve tried to incorporate these ideas.