Abstract
Martin Chuzzlewit is considered a very rich linguistic mosaic where a number of characters are in the habit of speaking 'private languages' or idiolects. In this travel-book we find a source of Dickens's impressions of America and a treatment of a linguistic problem: to make each class, each group and profession speak in its own characteristic way. In the representation of American speech the Victorian writer uses features such as deviant spellings, unusual morpho-syntactic patterns, standard words used in a different context, extralinguistic capitals and hyphens. The technique in the dialogues of Martin Chuzzlewit is especially the graphic and humorous, by means of which he exhibits the most trifling and commonplace things in a new and amusing light.
Highlights
This study adheres to the qualified opinión that the dialogue is a necessary element in any novel which purports to reflect the dimensión of human life based on the fact that people who come together invariably talk
Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses of his characters, and for many of them he devised special languages or 'prívate languages'. Each of these special languages may well be described, in linguistic terminology, as an idiolect, the term used to describe the totality of speech-habits of an individual, in contrast with a dialect, which refers to the speech-habits of a group (Brook, 1970: 138)
Each of these special languages may well be described, in linguistic terminology, as an idiolect, the term used to describe the totality of speech-habits of an individual, in contrast with a dialect, which refers to the speech-habits of a group (Górlach, 1999:136)
Summary
Some idea of Dickens's responsiveness to the spoken language as part of his social environment may be gained by considering a well-documented episode in his life which left its imprint on two of his books: American Notes (1842) and Martin Chuzzlewit (1843-4). We can see more examples: Eu-rope ( XVI, 262); en-tirely (XVI, 264); in-door (XVI, 265); re-tard (XVI, 271); a-mazing Eu-rope (XVII, 289); a-begging (XXI, 349); Ac-tive (XXI, 349) This point is discussed by George Leslie Brook , who correctly relates this with the accentuation of the first syllable of certain polysyllabic words, a trait highly characteristic as of American speech, and one which produces an indubitable comic effect on non-American English speakers (Brook, 1970:135). What George Leslie Brook neglects to mention is that this change in stress often results in a corresponding change in vowel quality, a device which is traditionally used to comic effect in parodies of American English He fails to point out that Dickens uses this hyphenation to denote deviant word stress in certain 'English' characters, most notably Mark Tapley, Bailey and Bill the coach driver. The combination of all these non-standard linguistic features accompanied by the repetitive rhetorical speech patterns combine to help créate Dickens's figure of the unsympathetic American
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