Did anything in the HP series make you roll your eyes a bit?

[Indigo]

No: HPFGUIDX 24637

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Haggridd" <jkusalavagemd at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., cynthiaanncoe at h... wrote:
> > --- In HPforGrownups at y..., John Walton <john at w...> wrote:
> > > cynthiaanncoe at h... said:
> > > 
> > > > The diction of house elves grates on my ears, particularly 
Winky 
> > (PA,
> > > > GoF).
> > > 
> > > But house elves is supposed to be talking funny! Otherwise they 
is 
> > not being
> > > house elves! And they is sounding a lot less dangerous this 
way. I 
> > is
> > > thinking that house elves is going to be playing a bigger part 
in 
> > the next
> > > books, I is.
> > 
> > As for the house elves' dialect, dialects are fine, and Hagrid 
has a 
> > well-written dialect that really humanizes him.  Doesn't get in 
the 
> > way at all.  But the house elves?  Kind of like reading dialogue 
> with 
> > speed bumps in it.
> > 
> >
>  
> I must be in the minority about House Elf dialect.  I listened to 
Dale 
> after reading it and I thought that it was just perfect for the 
story.
> 
> Haggridd

It's appropriate.

The House Elves, like it or not, are a slave class [caste].  They are 
servants, and that is their sole purpose and function. It is not in 
the best interests of their 'employers' to make sure they learn to 
read and get proper educations, so naturally they will speak in a 
less educated dialect pidgin English than the other creatures in 
JKR's world.

At the risk of drawing a real world parallel,  slaves in the pre-
civil war US were treated likewise, and spoke likewise broken 
English.  "Yowsa, massa," etc.  

If in the series we see JKR liberate more elves than Dobby [whose 
English seems to be clearing up just a little bit from his gainful 
employment] then we may see their speech patterns clear up.

Indigo