#oc language

This is a new blog of @rubystudios-yt 's to try and work out a fictional language, mostly for fun but it's also for my original characters!

Feel free to ask me about it or give suggestions and advice! but do remember this is for fun and lighthearted, don't take it too seriously.

I was tagged by @radioactive-synth and have played with the format a bit to make it easier for me to process and respond (sensory overwhelm can bring my mental gears to a grinding halt. All caps with multiple choice options are like mental spanners.)

Vincent 'Nate' Hudson

No. of Spoken Languages: 1½. English is Vin's mothertongue but since he served with a Japanese-American C.O. he learned a fair amount of 日本語。

Tone Of Voice: Deep and rich.

Accent: Generic Middle American but he does have a Boston twang at times, especially when very tired or drunk. He'll arrive at the 'bar' and later, leave the 'bah'.

Demeanor: He's generally confident but can be rather taciturn at times.

Posture: Excellent (ex-gymnast) unless he's at the bar or reading comics.

Habits: Stroking his moustache, smoking cigars, drinking whiskey, using interjections (um, er) when he's caught off-guard or embarrassed, drinking water and doing press-ups when he wakes up, swearing, [taking chems, especially Buffout, is a habit he broke]

Complexity:

Vocabulary: He has a wide vocabulary but is especially good with technical jargon in the fields of gymnastics, military, engineering and computer science (hacking).

Emotion: Vin can appear stoic but he is very passionate and has a great deal of empathy. He'll only really open up in private with those he feels comfortable being vulnerable with.

Sentence Structure: In writing, it's complete and largely grammatically correct. In speech, usually good with some local / colloquial / biker slang usage. In tense situations such as combat, his sentences become truncated and blunt, conveying only the information he needs to at the time.

Profanity:

Frequency: Often; less so around MacCready (who makes him pay swear tax) and very rarely around children.

Creativity (in regards to profanity): Highly creative. Some examples: 'Buttercup's Balls!', 'In the name of Jangles' junk' and 'sh*tgun shells' (but Skyler still owns the best one: 'f**k-a-feral').

Important Questions:

Do people have a hard time hearing or understanding your character?

No but Vin might have a hard time hearing or understanding others, especially in noisy or crowded places as he is profoundly deaf in one ear and the good ear isn't quite as good as it used to be. He lip-reads to a small degree.

Does your character's point come across easily when they speak?

Vin isn't one to waste time mincing words so yes, he gets his point across.

Would your character initiate conversations?

Yes, sometimes, depending on the situation and his mood.

Would your character be the one to end conversations?

Again, yes, depending on the situation and his mood.

In what ways does the way your character speak stand out to others?

Vin's occassional odd pre-war turn of phrase; use of biker / greaser slang; the way his accent can slide into a Bostonian twang sometimes, making his Rs sound like AHs. (Swatter versus swattah). If he's in a bad mood he can be brusque.

Would your character use 'whom' in a sentence?

Only if he was trying to emphasise a point, if it was grammatically correct and he was speaking to someone well-spoken (e.g. Proctor Quinlan). Or correcting someone else.

Your character wants to make a counterpoint. What word do they use?

'Yeah, but..' or 'though' or 'maybe'

How does your character end conversations?

Usually, politely although he might sometimes turn away suddenly or finish gruffly, depending on the context.

What social class would others assume your character belongs to, hearing them speak?

Working class, if we have to frame it in that outdated system (to be fair, the Fallout universe is steeped in it).

So uh. Ayah, Kelly, if I start randomly making weird ass noises at  you or something, I'm probably trying to determine how I want Iclar to sound.... We shall see.