To "ah"-ccent, or not to "ah"-ccent?

[HorsesandMOARGaloar 300]

Whenever I write Applejack's dialogue, I usually write with standard spelling, instead of the "Ah"s and other dialect-like spellings typical of any fanfics about her. To me, it not only looks nice, but I also prefer the reader to imagine AJ speaking, because I am sure that they already knew that AJ speaks in a country accent, making the accent-ised spelling unnecessary.

What do you think? Do you think that this is fine (relying on existing info and imagination), or is it better to use a dialectal spelling to reflect AJ's voice better?

Eg. "I'm sure that you're not wandering around, partner. Trust me." vs. "Ah'm sure that yer not wandrin' 'round, pardner. Trust me."

 

Edited December 20, 2017 by HorsesandMOARGaloar
Needs example and picture.

[Foxy Socks 2,602]

I prefer that it's readable, but has dialectal phrases and spelling. Too much and it can be annoying. For example, "I'm" doesn't need to be "Ah'm,"  but "wandrin'" and "'round" are fine.

[StormBlaze 992]

pretty much how I speak and often type anyway - just without the countryisms and the American accent.

My hometown is the County town of Somerset, which is pretty much farmer cider country here in the UK. When I feel lazy I drop into the accent and direlect, which is very similar to AJ's way of speaking.

[KatonRyu 1,035]

I never write out the accent. I throw in some of the words and phrases AJ tends to use every now and then, but I'm not even going to try getting the accent phonetically. It's like you said, readers know AJ's accent so I'll let them fill it in for themselves.

[Dreambiscuit 10,988]

Personally I like phonetic dialog for accents. I use it all the time. I think it's fine to write it straight out and normal, but sometimes the phonetic approach makes it seem fun and accessible, as long as it doesn't get too over-the-top. Anything overdone tends to feel like a gimmick, so anything done within reason is good with me. Some words can't be written phonetically without looking like complete gibberish, so obviously the writer has to pick and choose what works best for each individual work.

[BlueBrony 388]

I like phonetic spelling, although it is definitely harder to read. It helps me put the right accent in my head. I love it when books do this as well.

[Jeric 46,878]

When it comes to accents, it's like a seasoning, a little goes a long way and too much distracts from the flavor of the meal. 

A good writer will actually use non spoken dialog observation to creatively describe what other characters hear, while making the accented character's text more readable. Best of both worlds because then the reader will always read said character with the described accent. 

[RDDash 19,241]

Always wrote her without an accent, I don't know accent is a phonetic thing, something there is a slang that uses specific words like Y'all.

[EpicEnergy 23,242]

I think the accent isn't needed in writing.

[Widdershins 9,964]

 Now! *plucks suspenders*  Ah'm jist a simple country draconequus who don' pay no nevermind to yer fancytalk. But ah got me a few dithers about what you goin on about hyar.

 What yokel talk be, is more shorthand speakin than no inclination. It ain't no lopping off of every letter G and just buckshotting in comma marks! Iffen you can manage to go more'n three words without some figuring than you got yourself a dandy way of speakin. That's more what Applejack does, in my humble opinion, is sprinkle in some tropes and metaphors. In short...

 "Ah" doesn't always mean "I'm", generally it's more of a stand-in for "I". "Ah'm" happens pretty rarely, as I do reckon most can figure it sounds a darn lot like "Aim." Any Hillbilly Filly gots more to use than a few short word alternations and the "-in' " and a fair lot of them, I do believe, I say, I say, I do, tend to vary wildly from what specific town yer thinking of. 

 An' dunno iffen you've noticed, but alot of what slang you use tends to play a part in "Country Talk." Why, that's pretty much what british Cockney is. More slang and public consciousness of what words mean than if they grammatically fit in. Because, as you well know, ...

"AIN'T"  ISN'T A BUCKING WORD!!!

And "Literally" isn't used for EVERY SENTENCE!!!

 I might be country, but I also have some serious OCD when it comes to language.