Answer: How do you punctuate stammering speech?

[theemdash]

verilyverity asks: How do you punctuate stammering speech?

with examples from Wonderfalls, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, NCIS, and Stargate: SG-1There are few characters continually afflicted with a stutter or stammering speech, but occasionally characters get tongue-tied and writers have to somehow punctuate that speech. So, how do you punctuate a word to show

Comments

[janedavitt]

Something I've seen two different ways and am unclear on is whether or not to have the second letter uppercase or not when the stutter is at the start of the sentence and the word isn't normally upper.

So which is correct:

"A-apples? N-no, thanks."

or

"A-Apples? N-No, thanks."

[theemdash]

Y'know what? I meant to include that but I couldn't find any research to support the correct usage.

When I asked my flist to help me find stuttering characters, o_deanna quoted from 'Brideshead Revisited' by Evelyn Waugh, Penguin Twentieth Century Classics (UK Edition)

'And I said, "S-s-sebastian, do you realize that those s-sycophantic s-slugs insulted me last night, and but for the warmth of the weather might have given me a s-s-severe cold," and he said, "Poor things. I expect they were drunk." He has a kind word for everyone, you see; he has such charm.' - p52

So, there is a published example of the stuttered letters being lower case. That of course doesn't necessarily make it a rule that could just be housestyle for Penguin. But if you wanted to go with the lowercase stuttered letters, I don't think you'd be wrong. However, I would still capitalize the "I" in "I-I'd" because the capital "I" has a special meaning.

edited for screwed up html.

[janedavitt]

Thanks! It's tricky:
"M-marion" looks odd and "M-Marion" looks better to my eyes

So always go to lowercase for the second letter unless it's a naturally uppercase word like a proper name or 'I'?

[theemdash]

I wish that I could find a real rule on this, but yes, that's what I would do.

[starwatcher307]

.
Very nicely explained. However, as a speech therapist, I can assure you that stuttering can occur on full syllables as well as on phonemes. So "c-c-candle" and "ca-ca-candle" could be equally accurate, depending on the character.

As your source pointed out, stuttering is extremely variable. For some people, it is possible, though less common, to stutter on a middle phoneme or syllable of a multi-syllable word. So --

i-i-incapacitated

in-in-incapacitated

inca-p-p-pacitated

incapa-pa-pacitated

-- would all be examples of possible stuttering.
.

[theemdash]

I can assure you that stuttering can occur on full syllables as well as on phonemes. So "c-c-candle" and "ca-ca-candle" could be equally accurate, depending on the character.

I actually started this answer by talking about syllables and then realized that phonemes would probably do for a broader explanation of stuttering. I did include some examples of stuttering on the syllable, so hopefully everyone has a full picture.

Thanks for commenting with your expertise!

[lmichelle599]

Thanks!

[melayneseahawk]

Good question! I'm adding it to the queue. May we use your name?

[saavikam77]

Thanks again for pointing me to this! I feel like a veil has been lifted, and now I can write Clark's stuttering/stammering correctly! :p

Now, to go back and edit all those instances in my epic Superman Returns fic. XD