In the interest of time for NaNo, I am using some modern slang in my story but I will need more appropriate verbiage when I hit the editing stage
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In a fantasy, I would definitely be thrown to see modern colloquialisms like that. I can't really think of alternatives beyond "My life is horrible/terrible/tragic," etc. It wouldn't necessarily need to be a ye olde word, but "sucks" is just too jarring. Same with "yeah" and "hey."
I have a feeling I've read "heya" in fantasy novels (Mercedes Lackey is coming to mind, but couldn't say for sure), and for some reason it doesn't bother me as much as "hey." No rhyme or reason for it, to be honest though...! Maybe check the etymology of the words you're unsure about and see if there are any historical equivalents?
I agree with you on yeah, but hey is actually pretty ancient used just the same way we do today. Goes waaaaay back to the 1200s used as an exclamation of everything from joy to encouragement to anger.
From etymology.com (an AMAZING resource): In Latin, hei was a cry of grief or fear; but heia, eia was an interjection denoting joy.
Sorry, not being combative. All opinions are valid and up to the opinion...ator? I just love this sort of thing, and can't seem to help myself when the chance for discussion comes up. :)
Oh, no offense taken! I love learning this kind of thing :) And I know there are plenty of words people assume are quite modern that are actually very old in origin, and vice versa. It's interesting to see what people's personal preferences are. Even knowing "hey" has such deep roots, I'd still think it weird if I saw it in a fantasy book because it seems so modern...It's a fascinating subject.
I have some definite words that irk me, even though technically, they're perfectly acceptable. One of them being technically! Technology is a term coined way back is something like the 1600s, but it referred to the arts for the most part and not the way we use it now. Technique is a French invasion that didn't happen until the 1800s, while technically is a fairly modern addition to the family. So while the root is "technically" fine, the useage really isn't.
And that is picking a nit's nit! But it's what I do. Ha!
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From etymology.com (an AMAZING resource):
In Latin, hei was a cry of grief or fear; but heia, eia was an interjection denoting joy.
Sorry, not being combative. All opinions are valid and up to the opinion...ator? I just love this sort of thing, and can't seem to help myself when the chance for discussion comes up. :)
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And that is picking a nit's nit! But it's what I do. Ha!
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