1. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Colloquialism or local color

2. Colloquialism or local color
is the use of ordinary, informal language. This might mean grammatically incorrect sentences, slang or local sayings, even misspellings that better capture the local dialect of a culture or region. For example,
“Fuhgettaboutit, youse guys are alright wit me” capture a more northern, urban dialect; whereas
“Ah might could whip sumpin’ up fo’ y’all” captures a more southern, perhaps rural culture.
What are some reasons authors choose to write in such a style?

3. Some examples of colloquialisms from Their Eyes Were Watching God
Basically, remember that:
apostrophes mean letters are missing (‘em instead of them, ‘bout instead of about, etc.)
d = th (wid = with, dis = this, dem = them)
Vowels switch all the time (kin = can, whut = what, uh = of, git = get, wuz = was, fuh = for)
c’s, k’s, and q’s are often interchangeable (likker = liquor, kivver = cover)
Compression happens (offa = off of, lil = little)
Context is key! Focus on the sentence or the passage as a whole instead of single words
Ah or Ah’m I or I’m
Mah my
Dat that
De Lawd The Lord
Lawd a’mussy Lord have mercy
Wid with
Yaller yellow
Lak like