Spelling in Children's book

Priya Mathew · Post by **Priya Mathew** » 18 Aug 2023, 02:20

Hello everyone,

I'm currently reading a children's book, and something interesting caught my attention: the author's use of spellings like 'Yesss,' 'loooong,' 'thank yoouuu,' and the like. Reading these words, I couldn't help but imagine them being pronounced in the adorable, exaggerated manner of a child.

But here's where my internal editor kicked in. While this style adds a playful tone and emphasizes pronunciation, it does make me wonder whether these spellings should be considered as typo errors. From a purely linguistic perspective, they deviate from conventional norms. However, considering the target audience and the intention behind such spellings, I'm in a bit of a dilemma.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Should these creative spellings be embraced as part of the book's charm, or should they be seen as unintentional mistakes? How do you mark them in your reviews? Let me know your thoughts.

Post by **Diana Lowery** » 19 Aug 2023, 11:47

Priya Mathew wrote: ↑18 Aug 2023, 02:20 Hello everyone,

I'm currently reading a children's book, and something interesting caught my attention: the author's use of spellings like 'Yesss,' 'loooong,' 'thank yoouuu,' and the like. Reading these words, I couldn't help but imagine them being pronounced in the adorable, exaggerated manner of a child.

But here's where my internal editor kicked in. While this style adds a playful tone and emphasizes pronunciation, it does make me wonder whether these spellings should be considered as typo errors. From a purely linguistic perspective, they deviate from conventional norms. However, considering the target audience and the intention behind such spellings, I'm in a bit of a dilemma.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Should these creative spellings be embraced as part of the book's charm, or should they be seen as unintentional mistakes? How do you mark them in your reviews? Let me know your thoughts.

I would consider these as stylistic choices of the author. I don't think they objective errors.

Priya Mathew · Post by **Priya Mathew** » 20 Aug 2023, 23:19

Thank you! This helps.

Post by **Daniel Staples** » 22 Aug 2023, 07:13

I think it's fine to elongate words for expressiveness. That's the fun of creative writing. However, to me, it depends which letter is repeated. A looooong word is not the same as a longggg word. Another example, which I actually see in friends' posts, is Niiiice, as opposed to Niceee. The former, rather than the latter, would survive my scathing scrutiny.