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Eye dialect

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The intentional misspelling of words to signal regional pronunciation or social identity, often used to evoke authenticity or class distinction.

Detailed Definition
Eye dialect is the deliberate misspelling of words to suggest pronunciation, regional accent, or social identity without altering actual sound; used in poetry to characterize speakers or critique linguistic hierarchies through visual orthographic cues.
Example
Example in poetry:
Mark Twain’s “He warn’t no saint” uses eye dialect to signal regional speech; Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God”: “Ah ain’t got no time fuh no foolishness”; Contemporary example: “gonna” for “going to” in spoken-word poetry; Avoids stereotyping by focusing on rhythm over misspelling
Additional Notes
Non-standard spelling representing dialect pronunciation. "Wuz" for "was," "gonna" for "going to." Not true dialect but imitation. Related: dialect poetry, phonetic spelling. Debate: authentic vs. condescending representation.
Also Known As
Phonetic spelling Pronunciation writing Accent transcription Dialect orthography Cacography
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