Post by ALEX on Jan 10, 2011 22:26:47 GMT -5
the truth about british teens[/font]
okay so i'm guessing most of you have seen skins, or at least a couple of soaps and movies set
in britain. but here's the truth: most of them lie. british teens do not act like that...well not
most of the time. so here's a complete guide on how to be convincingly british. and feel free
to correct or add to this!
accents and dialect[/font]
most people who role play as british folk make their charrie sound like a real ol' posh nob.
believe it or not, we're all different. even if you're playing a character in a boarding school,
not everyone's going to be rich and wealthy. some might be really chavvy or from an estate.
i'm from cumbria and none of us sound at all posh and use big words. i've met other people
from other parts of the country and they don't sound like that either. it makes sense if you
grew up in a wealthy environment or if you're from north or west london but if your charrie's
history is nothing like that, then it's not very convincing. okay, so the first thing is to find
out more about where your character was raised. don't overdo spelling out the accent.
dialogue riddled with apostrophes, slang, and alternate spellings can end up making your
text annoying and unreadable. just add a bit of slang here and there. "you been lookin' for
him all week. i were about to send out a search party!" sounds a lot better than: "ya behn
lookin' fur 'im all week. i were 'bout ta send't a search party!"
setting[/font]
consider your setting when writing. what year is it? where is it? and then consider how
your character fits in all of this. is it the victorian era set in london and your character
is a poor orphan from liverpool looking for work? or is it the 1980s in a small town in wales
and your character a wealthy girl from london sent to live with her hard-working aunt?
work this in with your dialogue, too.
personality[/font]
so skins makes britain seem like a country where sex and drugs are a big thing while
in other shows, britain is a country full of posh snobs. one thing i can say is that most
of us are very sarcastic, whether we are shy or confident. and we complain a lot about
almost ANYTHING. weather, news, fashion, celebrities, you name it. with personality,
there are no rules. have fun making your character unique. many british teens listen to
mainstream music and music that's on the charts. we also seem to have a set age with
what we do.
� in year 7, this is the age when they seem very young and are all about working
hard. of course there are the exceptions of the sl*gs who try to act older than they are.
� in year 8, everyone tends to mess around and this is when they first start styling
their hair and wearing make up. most become b*tchier and think they're older.
� in year 9, as my headteacher said, everyone's at their worst. this is when teenagers
try to enhance their looks and decide that they can't be bothered with school, although they
do try very hard in exams and tests. girls start trying out more makeup and hairstyles and
fake tan; boys start being more sportier and more jerk-ish. both experiment with drugs,
alcohol, and smoking. only a few have sex at this age and this is usually if they are in a serious
relationship or they're wh*res.
� in year 10, nothing has changed much, except people try even harder in school and
more are starting to have sex. a lot more parties are held at this age and a lot of the boys
are doing weed because it's the safest illegal drug.
� in year 11, it's pretty much the same except they're trying harder than before and
don't get in much trouble as they did before. not everyone will make it into sixth form,
depending on how well they did in their exams. and on the last day before they go on study
break, it's a big school party. everyone makes most of the day.
� in year 12, everyone seems to have matured. still loving the parties and the drinking,
but focusing on school and their education.
� in year 13, it's the same but now they're trying harder than they ever have before
and everyone's trying their hardest to get into university.
� in university or when they're above the age of 18, it's not very different to people in
america at this age.
appearance[/font]
britain is very diverse so it isn't just white people. there are asians, africans, other europeans,
americans, middle-eastern people etc. many people not originally from britain pick the large
cities to live in. and there are many subcultures here - just like other countries. there are
subcultures and stereotypes of preps, goths, emos, scene kids, hipsters, jocks, druggies, nerds,
music geeks etc. and then there are the natives: the chavs, the moshers, scallies etc. girls often
wear a lot of foundation or fake tan in attempt to cover up freckles, spots or pale skin. many girls
under the age of 16 will follow trends. the current trend is floral patterns and pastel colours
with jumpsuits, puffy shorts and blouses (sorry i don't know the name of them xD). boys don't
seem to have trends. =P
helpful sites[/font]
how to write dialogue for british charries
british youth subculture
subcultures of the british teenage population
look magazine
this guide was created by semm of atf and caution 2.0
okay so i'm guessing most of you have seen skins, or at least a couple of soaps and movies set
in britain. but here's the truth: most of them lie. british teens do not act like that...well not
most of the time. so here's a complete guide on how to be convincingly british. and feel free
to correct or add to this!
accents and dialect[/font]
most people who role play as british folk make their charrie sound like a real ol' posh nob.
believe it or not, we're all different. even if you're playing a character in a boarding school,
not everyone's going to be rich and wealthy. some might be really chavvy or from an estate.
i'm from cumbria and none of us sound at all posh and use big words. i've met other people
from other parts of the country and they don't sound like that either. it makes sense if you
grew up in a wealthy environment or if you're from north or west london but if your charrie's
history is nothing like that, then it's not very convincing. okay, so the first thing is to find
out more about where your character was raised. don't overdo spelling out the accent.
dialogue riddled with apostrophes, slang, and alternate spellings can end up making your
text annoying and unreadable. just add a bit of slang here and there. "you been lookin' for
him all week. i were about to send out a search party!" sounds a lot better than: "ya behn
lookin' fur 'im all week. i were 'bout ta send't a search party!"
setting[/font]
consider your setting when writing. what year is it? where is it? and then consider how
your character fits in all of this. is it the victorian era set in london and your character
is a poor orphan from liverpool looking for work? or is it the 1980s in a small town in wales
and your character a wealthy girl from london sent to live with her hard-working aunt?
work this in with your dialogue, too.
personality[/font]
so skins makes britain seem like a country where sex and drugs are a big thing while
in other shows, britain is a country full of posh snobs. one thing i can say is that most
of us are very sarcastic, whether we are shy or confident. and we complain a lot about
almost ANYTHING. weather, news, fashion, celebrities, you name it. with personality,
there are no rules. have fun making your character unique. many british teens listen to
mainstream music and music that's on the charts. we also seem to have a set age with
what we do.
� in year 7, this is the age when they seem very young and are all about working
hard. of course there are the exceptions of the sl*gs who try to act older than they are.
� in year 8, everyone tends to mess around and this is when they first start styling
their hair and wearing make up. most become b*tchier and think they're older.
� in year 9, as my headteacher said, everyone's at their worst. this is when teenagers
try to enhance their looks and decide that they can't be bothered with school, although they
do try very hard in exams and tests. girls start trying out more makeup and hairstyles and
fake tan; boys start being more sportier and more jerk-ish. both experiment with drugs,
alcohol, and smoking. only a few have sex at this age and this is usually if they are in a serious
relationship or they're wh*res.
� in year 10, nothing has changed much, except people try even harder in school and
more are starting to have sex. a lot more parties are held at this age and a lot of the boys
are doing weed because it's the safest illegal drug.
� in year 11, it's pretty much the same except they're trying harder than before and
don't get in much trouble as they did before. not everyone will make it into sixth form,
depending on how well they did in their exams. and on the last day before they go on study
break, it's a big school party. everyone makes most of the day.
� in year 12, everyone seems to have matured. still loving the parties and the drinking,
but focusing on school and their education.
� in year 13, it's the same but now they're trying harder than they ever have before
and everyone's trying their hardest to get into university.
� in university or when they're above the age of 18, it's not very different to people in
america at this age.
appearance[/font]
britain is very diverse so it isn't just white people. there are asians, africans, other europeans,
americans, middle-eastern people etc. many people not originally from britain pick the large
cities to live in. and there are many subcultures here - just like other countries. there are
subcultures and stereotypes of preps, goths, emos, scene kids, hipsters, jocks, druggies, nerds,
music geeks etc. and then there are the natives: the chavs, the moshers, scallies etc. girls often
wear a lot of foundation or fake tan in attempt to cover up freckles, spots or pale skin. many girls
under the age of 16 will follow trends. the current trend is floral patterns and pastel colours
with jumpsuits, puffy shorts and blouses (sorry i don't know the name of them xD). boys don't
seem to have trends. =P
helpful sites[/font]
how to write dialogue for british charries
british youth subculture
subcultures of the british teenage population
look magazine
this guide was created by semm of atf and caution 2.0
